woodturning courses?

magicbastarder

am thinking of going on one of these to get me out of the house once in a while - was wondering if anyone had any recommendations or warnings.
am handy enough in a general sense, but the most advanced woodworking i'd have done would have been building basic shelves from deal. would i need a better knowledge of woodwork before tackling woodturning?

Alun

Many adult education colleges do them .. I went to one in Bray. Check your letter box for flyers, and also the local free papers, it's the time of year these places start advertising for their spring term. Make sure that there is one lathe per student .. some places I've heard of share one lathe between two which isn't ideal.

I hadn't much of a clue about general woodworking before I went, despite having a father who was a woodwork teacher (!), but that didn't stop me. Possibly the only warning I'd give is that if you show any aptitude for it at all, it will become addictive result in you spending vast amounts of money on equipment to the detriment of your bank balance

magicbastarder

cheers - i was afraid about the last bit, about it sucking away time and money.

i know someone with a ready supply of (fresh) wood, so at least i might save a *wee* bit of money that way.

it's not a discipline which could conceivably be self-taught, is it?

Alun

magicbastarder wrote:

i know someone with a ready supply of (fresh) wood, so at least i might save a *wee* bit of money that way.

Sounds interesting

it's not a discipline which could conceivably be self-taught, is it?

For an absolute beginner, not really, no. You really need someone to show you the basics and make sure you don't kill yourself within the first few hours of trying Flying blocks of wood and chisels can be lethal!

magicbastarder

cheers - was the one you went to a VEC?

Alun

magicbastarder wrote:

cheers - was the one you went to a VEC?

I don't think it is, at least it isn't mentioned in the Wicklow VEC's brochure .. there are one or two in Bray that are VEC's, but the one I went to (St. Kilian's) is just an Adult Community Education centre based in a school.

magicbastarder

mentioned it to my dad, turns out he knows a woodturner who will be more than happy to show me what's involved, and give me advice on where to go in my area for courses.

Alun

magicbastarder wrote:

mentioned it to my dad, turns out he knows a woodturner who will be more than happy to show me what's involved, and give me advice on where to go in my area for courses.

Great! Good luck, and start saving

magicbastarder

don't say that to me. i want to buy a hasselblad off a mate this year too...

whitehead

magicbastarder wrote:

am thinking of going on one of these to get me out of the house once in a while - was wondering if anyone had any recommendations or warnings.
am handy enough in a general sense, but the most advanced woodworking i'd have done would have been building basic shelves from deal. would i need a better knowledge of woodwork before tackling woodturning?

you could contact the irish woodturners guild for beginers courses in your area or come and join in at st killians where i tutor the woodturning course

dubtom

I learned from a guy in Ballintyre called Joe O'neill. He did courses a few times a week, everything supplied.There could be 4 or 5 people in a class, which in it's self isn't ideal but you pick up the basics. His number should be available from the Dublin woodturners guild.

magicbastarder

whitehead wrote:

you could contact the irish woodturners guild for beginers courses in your area or come and join in at st killians where i tutor the woodturning course

cheers - am looking at options. i live in D7, but work in sandyford, so bray mightn't be too difficult. no car, though.

Stanirish

For anyone in the North of the country, Tom Campbell in Strabane runs wood turning courses. He is contactable on 048 81658458. He also has brought over some famous turners from the UK, a very enjoyable day was spent with Tobious Kaye just before Christmas, who demonstrated as well as tutored with hands-on class of eight people. Contact Tom as he is bringing some else over now around the 9,10 and 11 of March, details will be added on confirmation of who it is. Tom also sell woodturning blanks if anyone is having difficulty getting them, (only substainable). Wishing everyone a happy new year, Stan

Stanirish

Jimmy Clewesis the next woodturner to come to Tom Campbell's in Strabane on the 10/11 of march, contact Tom at the above numbers for more details of the courses

ednwireland

magicbastarder wrote:

cheers - i was afraid about the last bit, about it sucking away time and money.

i know someone with a ready supply of (fresh) wood, so at least i might save a *wee* bit of money that way.

it's not a discipline which could conceivably be self-taught, is it?

most of the guys that teach you are self taught - your always learning i've just been on my first course recently with tobias kaye which was great but i'm glad i was turning a while beforehand. i started on a borrowed lahe made of tin plate i've now got a record power cl1 a bandsaw loads of tools, piles of wood, bench grinder in 3 years so get a peice of wood spinning and stick a chisel at it (wear safety specs) books are good Woodturning: A Foundation Course keith rowley i found great http://www.amazon.co.uk/Woodturning-Foundation-Course-Keith-Rowley/dp/1861081146

magicbastarder

cheers - went around to my dad's mate's house this evening, and my father came with me.

now he's considering going on a course with me.

JoeB-

The beginners course in Bolton St is starting in a few weeks, (Feb 2007). Ten to twelve in the class, each person has their own lathe... totally hands on, Monday night 7.00 to 10.00.

Cheers
Joe

magicbastarder

i saw that - it's not cheap though, €300.

Alun

magicbastarder wrote:

i saw that - it's not cheap though, €300.

Ouch! That is expensive. I can't remember how much the course was that I did at St. Kilian's, but it was certainly much less than that.

geofftulip

i would be glad to take you through the basics - unfortunately i am in county down - not the handiest. cost £10 per hour.
it will certainly give you the feel for turning, before you shell out loads on equipment -
if you want further details let me know

magicbastarder

cheers, but that'd be over a two hour round trip, and i've no car anyway, so it's a non-starter.

JoeB-

magicbastarder wrote:

i saw that - it's not cheap though, €300.

Hi
I did it (Bolton St. course) last year, was definitely cheaper than €300... can't find the exact price right now but I reckon it was a fair bit cheaper than that. Maybe it's gone up. If you haven't rang them and got the price directly from them I think it would be worth double checking.

Joe

edit. I found the price I paid. €50 Capitation, €187 tuiton = €237

dubtom

Did you have to bring your lathe with you every week Joe?

magicbastarder

JoeBallantine wrote:

Hi
I did it (Bolton St. course) last year, was definitely cheaper than €300... can't find the exact price right now but I reckon it was a fair bit cheaper than that. Maybe it's gone up. If you haven't rang them and got the price directly from them I think it would be worth double checking.

here's where i found the price:
http://www.dit.ie/DIT/study/parttime2006/courses/dt147.html

JoeB-

dubtom wrote:

Did you have to bring your lathe with you every week Joe?

not at all... everything is provided, lathes and materials. It's Bolton St, the engineering college so they have a lot of stuff.
Lathes are Record Power but he has a few larger lathes as well. Willie, the tutor can also provide advice on sharpening etc, he has a nice slow running water wheel which the students can try out.

I thought the price was quite good, €237 for 30 hours tuition, everything provided as I said, you're insured, you can take home your work which is all hardwoods... spindles, bowls, little boxes, little mushroom trees with the bark around the edges etc. We did a lamp as well but you'd have to get your own switches, bulb holders etc.

magicbastarder

just back from my first class, in hartstown community college, €90, plus €25 for materials. good fun, and the instructor is a sound chap.

sillymoo

The beat woodturing course I did was in Galway-a weekend with a chap called Ambrose O Hallaron. It was excellent-small class with lathes and tools for each person. Amby is the secratarty of the Galway chapter of the IWG too and he also teaches a weekly woodturing course in the GTI in Galway which is always sold out. If you want to check it out you can go to this page to get his number and ring him www.galwaywoodturners.com or through www.irishwoodturnersguild.com and would be happy to help. He might even be able to recommend some places in Dublin as he is very involved in the guild. ope this helps and is not too late!