Beginners Course: The Fundamentals of Fine Woodworking - The Shaker Nightstand
Josh Cohen
$2100.00 AUD
Presented by Alastair
Discover the joy of woodworking with our ‘Shaker Nightstand’ course, perfect for beginners! Learn the basics of fine woodworking, including carcass construction techniques. You'll master mortise and tenon joinery, hand-cut dovetails, fitting an 18th-century styled drawer, hand planning, turning a drawer knob, and tapering legs. Join us and create something beautiful with your own hands!
*PLEASE NOTE: There will be an extra charge for the drawer front & table top, as you will be selecting your own individual timber species. It will approx. be $100.
If time persists, you will also learn the basics of French polishing, hand rubbed oil finishing and traditional ‘milk paint’ finish using a product imported from the United States of America. Your understanding of the finer points of furniture making will be greatly enhanced after completing this class. A timeless piece of furniture that will inspire you and others.
Please note: This course runs for 22 consecutive weeks.
When
27th January to 30th June 2026
Tuesday Evening - 7:00pm to 10:00pm
(22 week course)
PLEASE NOTE: There is no class on 9th March 2026 (Labour Day).
Location
Melbourne Guild of Fine Woodworking.
14 Cottage St, Blackburn
Testimonial
“I would like to thank all of the teachers at the Melbourne Guild of Fine Woodworking. They all provided great support and knowledge which was especially helpful for someone rekindling their love of working with wood.”
Trevor Clarke
“After 30 years watching our Maple grow from a sapling to a 10-metre tree, we decided it was too large for our suburban block and it needed to be felled. We didn’t want to see it cut up as firewood or mulched so we looked into what would be involved to make it into furniture. After several phone calls, I was directed to Alastair Boell who would be able to ‘slab’ the tree for us. Alastair visited us on a rainy day in May 2020 and advised us on what could be done. Alastair was encouraging and supportive of our idea, commenting that he wished more people would do what we were considering. Six months later, after COVID lockdown ended and the top part of the tree had been removed, Alastair visited again with his portable milling machinery. It was a great experience and I was able to be involved by stacking the ‘slabs’ in our patio where they would remain for up to 2 years while the timber dried out. I learned a lot about timber that day; Alastair's excitement of seeing ‘figures’ in the beautiful, creamy white timber was contagious as each slab revealed a new slice of our much loved tree. I am so glad we decided to take this direction. Alastair's care in providing an excellent service was evident throughout the process - he kept me informed of any delays, arrived when he said he would, included me in any decisions and cleaned up afterwards. It has been a very positive experience.”
Denise Lyons March 2020
Highly recommended for anyone that wishes to learn from an inspiring, humble master of the trade. I gained a wonderful insight into the relaxing and challenging world of hand crafted woodwork. I also met a fantastic bunch of people!
Matt Stonehouse - 2014