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Improve your furniture making skills – make a mitred and veneered box
Peter Sefton designed this intensive course to follow on from the beginners’ course, however it is suitable for students who already possess good furniture making skills and are practised in tool care and sharpening.
The improvers’ course offers students the opportunity to learn the skills needed to make a mitred and veneer keyed box with a hinged burr veneered top. This project is designed to fine tune your hand skills under Peter’s informative guidance with a mixture of solid and veneered work.
Course suitability
Beginners X
Intermediate √
Advanced √
Thank you for yet another very satisfying and interesting week at your school on the box making course – I’m very pleased with the final result
Matt Poole, Box Making Course
Book now
You can book and pay for our short courses via our secure online booking system.
Course overview
Why choose this course?
Making the box introduces students to the following skills; selection and use of solid timber, burr veneer and inlays, accurate marking, joint cutting, gluing, cramping and cleaning down veneers. You’ll receive hands-on tuition in the accurate use of the router table for cutting grooves and rebates and expand your skills to individually fit hinges to form a stunning box.
There’s no need to buy any tools to come on the course; we have a complete, individual quality tool kit for each student to use whilst on our short courses, but if you do want to bring your existing tools, they should be very sharp and ready to use – please note this intensive course does not allow time for tool sharpening and tuning. Participants will be given practical demonstrations and shown the quick and professional methods used to produce quality handmade boxes. Peter teaches the course; small groups ensure plenty of hands-on tuition for every student.
Impartial advice is available to help students with any problems they may have encountered at home, as well as on tool selection and buying.
What will I achieve?
Students are taught the skills needed to cut, strengthen and glue up accurate mitres, lay burr veneers and fit hinges. Practical demonstrations and one-to-one tuition provide participants with the knowledge, experience and confidence to attempt more advanced furniture making projects. You’ll also gain a fuller understanding of fine furniture construction and timber selection as well as take home your own hand-crafted beautiful box.
Do you offer a student discount?
Whilst on the course students will receive a 5% discount code for use at Peter’s tool shop www.woodworkersworkshop.co.uk students are able to try out, test and buy woodworking tools and equipment – try before you buy.
Course content
Induction and welcome to the school
Health and safety in the workshop
- Safe use of hand and basic machine tools
Hand skills
- Reading drawings and preparing cutting lists whilst considering timber movement
- Accurate marking and measuring to form accurate mitred constructions
- Appropriate use of face side, face edge and timber selection
- Using hand tools and machines to produce perfect mitres
- Cutting in veneer keys to strengthen mitred corners
Veneering techniques
- Selecting and flattening veneers
- Cutting and book matching burr veneers
- Laying and gluing veneers
- Dealing with holes in burrs
- Fitting an inlay around the veneer
Machine skills
- Using the router table to cut grooves and rebates
- Using the router to cut the box in half
Hand finishing skills
- Scraping and sanding techniques on solid and veneered surfaces including damping
- Shellac sealing and waxing to give professional results
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to bring any tools?
You don’t have to bring any tools with you, as we have a complete, individual quality tool kit for each student to use whilst on our short courses. However if you do already have them, you will gain much more out of the course.
What facilities are available?
Students will need to provide their own lunch each day. Tea and coffee are provided by the school. It is only a 3-minute drive to the town centre, where you will be able to buy lunch from the bakery or supermarkets on the High Street – there’s also a great fish and chip shop.
Where can I stay during the course?
To find out more about accommodation click here
Are you under 18?
The school regrets that we are unable to accept applications from anyone under the age of 18 at the start of their course.
I’ve been busy the last couple of days playing catch-up at work but wanted to thank you both for the excellent service I received before and during the course.
Peter I have to say that I was very impressed with the standard of instruction from yourself and the professional way you got the information across, and therefore, I would have no hesitation recommending your school to anyone who is interested in woodwork.
I was a little worried that we were using machinery which I would never use. However, the principles are the same and what you cleverly did was show the problems which could be encountered with each machine and how to remedy them.
As I said before I departed I would be very interested in attending the router and box making courses and will monitor your website in the New year.
Thank you for a most enjoyable week making a box. I was most impressed in that you showed us many different ways of doing the same job, which make it perhaps fit in with what equipment we have at home.
Thank you for yet another very satisfying and interesting week at your school on the box making course – I’m very pleased with the final result.
Review Box Making Course.