Teaching at Handsome & Co – School for Woodworking and Design

I have been teaching adult woodworking classed for over 2 years now and would like to share my experiences as a tutor, but also as somebody who has been educated, employed and been witness to a diversity of workshop practices, environments and more importantly workshop cultures.

Handsome & Co provides a facility for hobbyists to practice and develop traditional cabinet making skills, which are adaptable to all facets of furniture manufacturing. While attendance is primarily for the development of skills and to make custom furniture to own, the school is also an environment in which to meet others who share an interest in woodworking and to participate in others experiences while making or just have friendly conversation during morning/afternoon tea with a slice of cake. As a tutor morning tea is probably my favourite part of a session, as it gives an opportunity for me to learn about the people who I instruct.

 

New students will often begin their time at Handsome & Co trialling there hand at cutting and refining a ‘half lap’ joint, ‘mortise and tenon’ joint and maybe, if confident enough, might attempt a ‘dovetail’ joint. From this early stage students identify quite quickly an emphasis on exceptionally high quality, which some might even describe as the pursuit of perfection in construction and application of joint systems. While this might provide frustration and anxiety for some, others relish in it, for its aesthetic rewards and the excitement of achieving an accurate and tight fitting joint.
For the students to best learn and address their unique and specialised requirements within individual projects, the school provides a massive variety of tooling and machines, which enable students to accomplish their goals to the best possible results. Catering to all students and applications, the workshop is equipped with a range of hand tools to suite everybody and every need. These tools are kept razor sharp, maintained for precision and come in multiples to ensure productivity in a class of seven.

 

 

I have been in many different workshop settings and find Handsome & Co to be an exceptional facility and I am pleased to be a contributant to its operation. The divisions of machine and working space provides a clean and quiet space to use hand tools and develop a product without being subjected to a barrage of dust and noise, the provision of good quality tools that are kept sharp and ready for use, with access to sharpening systems if needed and lastly the woodworking culture, in which knowledge, experiences, resources and shared enthusiasm for achieving good results, more specifically a community dedication to quality and credibility within the manufacturing with wood.

check out the website here: Handsome & Co – School of Woodworking and Design

 

3 comments

  • March 12, 2012 at 7:59 pm // Reply

    Utterly written written content, Really enjoyed reading.

  • April 5, 2012 at 4:39 am // Reply

    Great blog Elliot.
    As a MSFW member, I reckon you’ve really captured the essence of the place.
    No wonder members get so much enjoyment out of it

    • April 5, 2012 at 5:43 am // Reply

      Thank you for your comment, I’m glad you enjoy the article and more importantly the MSFW.

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