It’s well worth getting along to Mittagong, NSW on the weekend of February 14–15. Sturt School for Wood is hosting its annual Tools & Techniques event and has a star line-up of demonstrations and specialist tool and timber suppliers. Admission is free, as is parking. Food and drink are available.
Sturt School for Wood, Cnr Range Rd & Waverley Pde Mittagong, NSW, phone (02) 4860 2083, see www.sturt.nsw.edu.au
Here’s the program:
Saturday Feb 14
Darren Oates: Bending Techniques
Darren graduated from the Sturt School for Wood in 2007 and has since set up his own successful practice in the Hawkesbury district of NSW. Darren specialises in curved work using traditional joinery techniques and is also a regular instructor for the Sturt School for Wood.
Evan Dunstone: Chair Design
Evan Dunstone is a designer, craftsman, educator and writer. Evan is a 2001 Churchill Fellow in contemporary chair design and manufacture. He has established his showroom in Canberra with a workshop in Queanbeyan and produces a range of contemporary studio furniture.
Keith Houston: Carving
Keith is a retired scientist with a passion for woodcarving and tool restoration. He has run many carving courses as well as numerous tool-sharpening workshops for woodworkers, print makers and leather workers.
Sunday Feb 15
Phoebe Everill: Sharpening without waterstones
Phoebe graduated from the Sturt School for Wood in 2011 and has since set up her own successful practice and wood school in rural Victoria. Phoebe teaches at Sturt Winter School and has also taught weekend courses here.
Pam Erasmus: Preparing for finishing
Soon after her arrival in Perth in 1985, Pam began acquiring her formidable woodworking skills, and created a small range of furniture that she sold through galleries around the country. Pam has run woodwork courses for women, established a women’s woodwork network and now teaches with her husband Neil at their own private woodwork school, the Erasmus School of Creative Arts.
Neil Erasmus: Half-blind dovetail joint
Neil, originally from South Africa, is descended from generations of furniture makers and as well as making and teaching for over 30 years, he is a contributing editor for Australian Wood Review. Neil and his wife Pam teach throughout Australia, in New Zealand and the USA and have won prestigious awards for their designs.
Timber and tool suppliers include: HNT Gordon Classic Planes, Colen Clenton, Japanese Tools, Allwood Timbers, Gifkins Dovetail Jig, Bowral Men’s Shed, Jim Davey Planes & Sharpening, Vesper Tools, Southern Highlands Woodies Inc, The Traditional Tools Group and Dunstone Design.