A brief overview of my woodworking skill base.

I believe that I was very fortunate when I attended school, in that woodwork, metalwork and technical drawing were still
being taught as separate subjects.   I had some excellent teachers and they were people and craftsmen that I admired.

I left school in 1969 with top grades in woodwork and technical drawing and entered Loughborough College of
Education, intending to take up life as a teacher in Creative design.  I really enjoyed college but after the teaching
practice I decided teaching was not for me.  

I set up a one man business making small pieces of furniture, coffee tables and nests of tables but unfortunately I could
not make a living from this.  

I took a completely different career path but maintained woodwork as a real passion.   On retiring from work I booked
myself onto a skill building cabinet making course with David Charlesworth who is based in Hartland, Devon, England.    
I transformed my old Bailey hand plane into a tool that would allow me to take incredibly fine shavings.  I was introduced
to the wonders of Japanese laminated chisels and David’s method of sharpening them, plus Eschhenbach clip on
magnifiers.

I spent the second week making the through and lapped dovetail on a small drawer. What was highlighted here was the
complete lack of good dovetail templates and marking knives.   

And the final week I made a small mirror in ripple sycamore.   In that three week course I took my skills to another level
and I felt it was money well spent.