One Week Woodworking Course – Rowden Atelier

One Week Woodworking Course

The One Week Course is for those who want to understand on a more visceral level, what a year at Rowden might feel like. It also is a course for individuals who want to understand and develop the most fundamental skills associated with accurate cabinetmaking.
Rowden student checking for square on a component on a furniture making course
Page Contents

Course Overview

In the One Week Course, you will learn from the ground up, the professional methods that ensure exactness in your woodwork. We introduce the fundamental disciplines, setting the stage for quality furniture making.

The course mirrors the first week of our Six Month Professional Maker and Twelve Month Professional Designer/Maker courses. As such, students with us for one week start to develop the same skill and accuracy associated with Rowden-trained professional makers.

A STUDENT AT ROWDEN ON A FINE FURNITURE MAKING COURSE, WORKING ON FURNITURE COMPONENTS
Rowden students have such an advantage compared to other makers - you will go miles further than the rest … I'm impressed.
John Makepeace OBE - July 2022

How your hand and body relate to bench planes, chisels, and hand tools in general is critical to their correct application. You will learn to hold them, to position yourself at the bench, and work with your whole body, not just your forearms. We will teach you to create dead flat surfaces, plane adjacent square edges, and create dimensioned components. You will accomplish this using relatively simple tools to an accuracy of 0.25 mm. We examine tool setup, sharpening (independent of unnecessary honing guides), assembly, and finishing techniques. It is a rewarding and intensive course that gives you a taste of the demands of professional-grade woodworking.

Many dismiss hand tool woodworking as ideological or assume that it is an old-fashioned way of making furniture. At the highest professional level, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Regardless of the course, Rowden students start with hand tools because they are a crucial component for reaching a professional level of output.

A CLOSEUP OF HAND TOOLS, USED AS PART OF THE FURNITURE MAKING COURSES AT ROWDEN ATELIER

Where this course can take you

One week at Rowden provides students with the foundational knowledge of accurate and precise cabinetmaking. Even in five days, students often feel a shift in mindset. It should open your eyes not just to the work we do at Rowden, but to what you can achieve with a tool in your hand. A week at Rowden often ignites a spark, with students finding themselves eager to push further and discover what they can achieve. Having spent time at the workbench and experienced our methods, it is not unusual for this course to be a prelude to our full six or twelve-month courses. Regardless, students will also be able to take advantage of our daily lectures alongside our current full-time students, in sessions covering a wealth of designer/maker insights.

a student on a short woodworking course at Rowden Atelier, UK

Your Tutors

Jonathan Walter, Jon Greenwood or Ed Wild will guide you through this course. Each is an exceptional maker in their own right. You can find our more about them and the rest of us at Rowden on our Meet The Team page.

Logistics: Getting to Rowden

Every year, approximately 99% of our students come from elsewhere in the UK or abroad. In our short courses, students often want to test life at the bench, seeing if Rowden is the right environment for them. Students at Rowden range in age from 18 to 80. Universally, there are logistics to consider.

Can I do this? Where will I stay? How will I get around? What is Devon or the UK like? We can help with all of these questions. Our FAQ page will answer most, but get in touch if you would like to discuss your specific situation.

Course Tuition Fees:

One Week Course:

£1,150

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