November 2024 Newsletter
Cheril Barber
Welcome to the November newsletter
As the weather turns on a dime from glorious sunshine to downpours, this has also been a month of mixed emotions. We've had some wonderful news in hearing of Lou and James' engagement, and we wish them every possible happiness together. We've also being struck with tragedy that has shaken all who knew Will Bayliss.
With the end of the year in sight, we want to send to you, our whānau, our gratitude that we have you to share our highs and lows with.
Will Bayliss
14/10/98 - 10/11/2024
With a very heavy heart we share the terrible and shocking news that we have lost one of the most talented and brightest stars in the world of furniture making and fine woodworking here in the southern hemisphere.
Will was a truly gifted maker and achieved more in his short life than other makers would hope to achieve in a lifetime. Will’s first visit to us here in New Zealand in 2020 was when he was awarded the prestigious and inaugural scholarship to attend Michael Fortune’s residency programme beating over fifty other applicants for the place and by far the youngest. Within the first few days we could all see that although quiet and humble he had immense talent and without a doubt was born to make.
Will returned earlier this year to be an integral part of the 2024 Michael Fortune Residency - still humble but clearly his rare talent for making, the way he so willingly shared his knowledge and encouraged his fellow students was all part of what made Will such a well respected young man. We all knew he would go far and become a phenomenal world class maker.
It’s just so hard to find the words… for one so quiet and humble he left such positivity and inspiration in his wake. We were just in awe of him. Such a gentle soul and beautiful guy to be around. He elevated those around him.
Will, we will miss you enormously - it was a privilege to have known you.
We have received messages from everyone who knew you whilst you were here with us in New Zealand, all expressing their shock and sadness at the loss of a shining shooting star.
On behalf of us all here, we send our love and deepest condolences to Will’s family, the Dunstone team and Stella.
Moe mai, moe mai, moe mai rā, e hoa - We hold you in our hearts.
The Australian Wood Review's editor Linda Nathan visited here in 2020 during the residency Will attended, and wrote this lovely piece.
CFW Holiday Closure
I think everyone is looking forward to a little break before bringing in 2025 with good cheer. The school will be out of action from 14th December until 8th January. We'll use some of that downtime to give our workshop, machines, and tools a little love, and then enjoy spending time with family and friends. Please take care of yourselves as we slide into the home plate for 2024.
FEELING SPONTANEOUS? STILL TO COME IN 2024...
We have one more course coming up this year!
The last course of the year is right around the corner, so if you're needing one more fix in 2024, get in touch! This beautiful little side table would make a perfect gift.
2025 SHORT COURSES TO START THE YEAR
We have a few courses lined up for the start of next year that are perfect to get the beginning woodworker on their way. These two courses are a great foundation for many of our courses throughout the year.
If you've got some woodworking experience, our Dovetail Box Making course focuses on learning to cut dovetails by hand, and incorporating them into an elegant box which includes the extra delight of a wooden barrel hinge.
OUR 2025 SHORT COURSE PROGRAMME
We've got a wide variety of courses to suit every experience level, teaching a full range of Fine Woodworking skills. Check out the courses and descriptions on our website, or download our calendar below...
Please call us if you would like to discuss our programme further. 03 545-2674
CONGRATULATIONS!
Huge congrats to three of our students who are finalists in the student category for Maker of the Year! Read more here.
SAVE THE DATE
Centre for Fine Woodworking - Exhibition 18
13th December – 23rd January
Showcasing beautiful work from 18 practising furniture makers - all tutors and former students.
COLLET ROUTER REVIEW
We recently purchased a Collet Router and wanted to give a little review now that we've had it in the workshop a while. The level of accuracy, speed to set up, and ease of repeatability make it our ‘go to’ router in the workshop. With its digital read out, a joystick to adjust the cutter position in 0.1mm increments both vertically and horizontally it is intuitive to set and the preferred choice for our beginner students and experienced students alike. On the health and safety front, the two biggest hazards for woodworkers are excessive noise and dust. This machine almost eliminates them. It is remarkably quiet and the dust pick up is fantastic. It also has excellent inherent safety controls over speed and stopping time of the cutter. This machine has greatly improved time efficiency and repeatability of operations. It's improved the facility and the learning experience for our students.
Designed and developed by John Shaw, and manufactured by Compakto, a Nelson Based design and engineering company. For more info : https://www.compakto.com/collet-router/
WOOD QUIZ
ANSWER TO LAST MONTH'S WOOD QUIZ
There are two different woods used in this beautiful piece by one of our tutors, Ben Grant.
You can see Ben's other work on his Instagram.
The main wood is Rewarewa which belongs to the Proteaceae family, found mainly in Australia and South Africa. It's also found throughout the North Island and in the Marlborough Sounds. The Rewarewa grows up to 30 metres tall, with a trunk up to 1 metre in diameter. The wood has a grain similar to plane or honeysuckle. It's known as “the bucket of water tree” because the wood is too wet to use for firewood.
The darker accent wood is Puriri also known as New Zealand mahogany, teak, oak or walnut. It is found in the northern North Island, from sea-level to 800 m above sea-level and tends to grow best on fertile or volcanic soils. Puriri grow up to 20 metres high, with a trunk up to 1.5 metres in diameter, sometimes thicker, and a broad spreading crown. Puriri timber is usually greenish dark-brown, but sometimes nearly black or streaked with yellow.
Another Wood Quiz coming soon!