Short Courses

Phoebe Everill’s Furniture Making School holds a range of woodworking and furniture making courses and classes suitable for everyone.

Short Courses

The following woodworking short courses will be running this year. Click through for more details and to register.

INTENSIVE & FORTNIGHTLY CLASSES
Phoebe also runs regular classes at her Furniture Making School – for details, check the main furniture making school page here.
 

Tool Making Workshop – Draw Knife

Two day course to make your own draw knife with Liam Culbertson and Phoebe Everill.

You will begin the process from a pre-cut steel billet, forging and tempering and setting the bevel with Liam.

You will make and fit the handles with Phoebe and learn hands on sharpening techniques.

You will learn about:

  • Turning handles on the lathe
  • Using a shave horse
  • Forging and tempering steel
  • Making a leather sheath for your draw knife
  • Carve a green wood spoon

There will be 8 people in the class.

Level:
All levels

Please bring with you:
You will need to bring your own PPE, earmuffs, safety glasses and dust mask (P2).
Please wear covered shoes.

Cost:
$660 inc. GST

Dates:
20th and 21st of April 2024

Bookings:
Please register your interest here to attend this course.
REGISTER INTEREST »

liam draw knife 2024
draw knife making course

Tool Making Workshop – Jack Plane

Two day course to make your own Jack Plane.

An opportunity to make your own HNT Gordon ‘JACK PLANE’.

Hardware kit supplied by Terry Gordon @ HNT Gordon.

You will assemble the kit, make a tote and knob handle from scratch.

You will also make and shape an adjusting mallet.

You will learn about:

  • Making custom dowels to align your kit.
  • Turning a knob for the front of your plane.
  • Cutting and shaping a custom ‘tote’ handle to fit your hand.
  • Installing the handles using the router table and bandsaw drilling and tapered mortice and fitting/shaping a handle to your mallet.
  • Adjusting the plane wedge
  • Sharpening and testing your plane
  • Sanding and finishing

There will be 5 people in the class.

Level:
Intermediate / Advanced

Please bring with you:
You will need to bring your own PPE, earmuffs, safety glasses and dust mask (P2).
Please wear covered shoes.

Cost:
$660 inc. GST
(covers tuition plus hardware kit)

Dates:
10th and 11th of August 2024

Bookings:
Please register your interest here to attend this course.
REGISTER INTEREST »

Tool Making Workshop – Spokeshave

One day course to make your own spokeshave.

An opportunity to make your own spokeshave, utilising a premium hock blade assembly with rock maple body and brass ware.

You will learn about:

  • Cutting a mortice using the morticer.
  • Shaping the tool using the bandsaw, linisher and lots of hand work.
  • Sharpening the blade
  • Sanding and finishing
  • Using your new tool!!

There will be 5 people in the class.

Level:
Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced

Please bring with you:
You will need to bring your own PPE, earmuffs, safety glasses and dust mask (P2).
Please wear covered shoes.

Cost:
$350 inc. GST
(covers tuition plus hardware kit)

Dates:
8th June 2024

Bookings:
Please register your interest here to attend this course.
REGISTER INTEREST »

Tool Sharpening Workshop

The Art of Sharpening

Keeping chisels and plane blades really sharp is absolutely essential for achieving excellent results in your work.

Woodworking is also far more enjoyable and easier when your tools are really sharp.

The workshop will provide you with a very comprehensive sharpening class.
You will learn the fundamentals of tuning and sharpening a hand plane, sharpening chisels and using a variety of sharpening methods.

Bring along your own plane blade and at least one chisel.

There will be 5 people in the class.

The course runs from 9am – 4pm with lunch from 12:30pm – 1pm.

Morning & afternoon tea provided – please bring your own lunch.

Level:
All Levels

Please bring with you:
Your lunch
A notebook, pencil & eraser.
Your own PPE, earmuffs, safety glasses and dust mask (P2).
Please wear covered shoes.

Cost:
$220 inc. GST

Dates:
31st August 2024

Bookings:
SORRY, THIS COURSE IS FULLY BOOKED, but you can register your interest to be added to our waitlist should a vacancy open up.

tool sharpening course

Designing and Mocking up a Chair with David Upfill-Brown and Phoebe Everill

10 day course.

I am delighted to introduce David Upfill-Brown to students of my wood school. David is an internationally renowned chair maker and teacher. Please look at his website for more information.

David Upfill-Brown and Phoebe Everill will guide participants, through designing and planning to make a sittable mock-up of an occasional, dining or work chair out of wood.

Our expectation is to enable participants to make their chair later, in their own studio or workshop or in continued classes with Phoebe.

Particular emphasis will be on ergonomics and structure.

Limited upholstery; seat and back can be considered but overall upholstery is too big a subject for this class.

Participants will arrive with a firm design idea but be prepared for change.

The design process will also accommodate repeats and production – if desired.

There will be 6 people in the class.

Level:
Advanced

Please bring with you:
Sketchbook with your own design idea / brief.
You will need to bring your own PPE, earmuffs, safety glasses and dust mask (P2).
Please wear covered shoes.
Please bring your own lunch.

Cost:
$3300 inc. GST

Dates:
This course runs for 10 days:
Wednesday 21st – Friday 23rd February 2024
Monday 26th February – Friday 1st March 2024
Monday 4th – Tuesday 5th March 2024

Bookings:
SORRY, THIS COURSE IS FULLY BOOKED, but you can register your interest to be added to our waitlist should a vacancy open up.

chair making design & planning

Mastering Joinery Series – Mortise and Tenon
Krenov Sawhorse

This two day course is a great opportunity to construct a pair of these classic sawhorses, light, strong and stackable, every woodworker has a use for these.

You will learn how to accurately mark up, cut and fit 3 types of mortice and tenon joinery (blind, through wedged and draw bore pinned). With these skills you can tackle more complex furniture projects.

Kim Winton and Phoebe Everill provide a learning environment where plenty of time is available to progress your skills.

Please bring with you:

  • Your own hand tools if you have them (handsaw, chisels and block plane) or you can use ours.
  • Dust mask
  • Closed shoes
  • A notebook, paper, pencil and eraser
  • Your lunch

The workshop is suitable for adults (16+). All skill levels are welcome, no experience needed

There will be 8 people in the class

Cost:
$475 inc. GST

Dates:
26th and 27th of August 2023 

Bookings:
SORRY, THIS COURSE IS FULLY BOOKED, but you can register your interest to be added to our waitlist should a vacancy open up.

sawhorse course
sawhorse course

Spoon carving with Emily Dellios

1 Day Course

You will design and carve your own wooden spoon, which you can take home and use with pride.

Your instructor for this class, Emily Dellios, will begin with a discussion on types of wood, a guide for the tools you will be using during class, and a general overview of various wooden spoon carving techniques.

You will get the chance to practice the correct usage of hand tools and feel confident in making your very own spoon. No previous experience is necessary for this class, as you will be guided every step of the way. We will focus on safe use of hand tools.

Allow 7 hours including an hour break for lunch.

All tools and materials supplied on the day (though we recommend bringing your own tools if you have them). We will help you get them really sharp!

Please wear covered shoes to class, all tools and materials are provided.

Please bring with you:

  • Bring your own PPE (dust mask, eye and ear protection, closed shoes)
  • A notebook, pencil and eraser
  • Your lunch

The workshop is suitable for adults (16+). All skill levels are welcome, no experience needed

There will be 8 people in the class.

Cost:
$180 inc. GST

Dates:
6th of March 2023

Bookings:
Please register your interest here to attend this course.
REGISTER INTEREST »

spoon carving
spoon carving

Carving a Huon Pine Boat Sculpture with Carol Russell

Boats are symbolic of many things, freedom and adventure among them. Their lines are beautiful and inherently sculptural.

Huon Pine is a renowned boat building timber, In this 3 day course you will carve your own little Huon Pine boat sculpture.

It isn’t so much a model, as a sculpture that captures the essence of what boats mean to you and how they make you feel. You can create a small row boat or a sailing boat with a billowing sail.

It’s enormously rewarding to sit and drink a cup of tea or coffee from a vessel you’ve carved yourself. In this 2-day class you’ll design and carve a small handled cup from white beech using hand tools only.

Carving small objects is a very meditate process, the slower process of using hand tools allows you the time to really understand the relationship between the timber, the tools and the form.

  • Timber and tool selection
  • Design
  • Safety
  • Creating a blank
  • Carving techniques
  • Finishing – sanding, texturing, painting and charring (shou sugi ban)
  • Tool maintenance and sharpening
  • Mounting work

Please wear covered shoes to class, all tools and materials are provided.

Please bring with you:

  • Bring your own PPE (dust mask, eye and ear protection, closed shoes)
  • A notebook, pencil and eraser
  • Your lunch

The course runs each day from 9am – 4pm over 3 days.

There will be 8 people in the class.

Cost:
$990 inc. GST

Dates:
18th, 19th and 20th of April 2023

Bookings:
SORRY, THIS COURSE IS FULLY BOOKED

carol russell huon boat 3
carol russell huon boat 2
carol russell huon boat

Carving Small Animal Forms from a solid block of wood with Carol Russell

This two-day class will focus on carving small animal forms from a solid block of wood, not a pre-cut blank. We will use only hand tools so you are in control of the whole process and need very little in the way of tools to continue after the class.

The emphasis is less on anatomical correctness and more on the features that bring out the characteristics of the subject and those aspects that make animals so endearing to us. The tilt of a head, the position of the ears, the way light falls on their features. Timber choice plays an important role too, form can be highly influenced by grain and colour.

We’ll be working with a range of Australian timbers. The level of detail, hardness of the material and finish will determine how many little sculptures you will complete during the course.

The course will cover:

  • Timber and tool selection
  • Design
  • Safety
  • Creating a blank
  • Carving techniques
  • Finishing – sanding, texturing, painting and charring (shou sugi ban)
  • Tool maintenance and sharpening
  • Mounting work

Please wear covered shoes to class, all tools and materials are provided.

Please bring with you:

  • Bring your own PPE (dust mask, eye and ear protection, closed shoes)
  • A notebook, paper, pencil and eraser
  • Your lunch

The course runs each day from 9am – 4pm over 2 days.

There will be 8 people in the class

Cost:
$660 inc. GST

Dates:
15th and 16th of April 2023

Bookings:
SORRY, THIS COURSE IS FULLY BOOKED

carving animals
carving animals
carving animals