Woodturning Course: Intro to Woodturning

Recent reviews of Woodturning Course: Intro to Woodturning

• 5/5 from Iain McCall, attended Aug 2026: Great introduction to wood turning with great instruction on tool techniques and lots of hands on turning to practice and make things to hone your newfound skills. Simon had great way of encouraging and correcting ensuing and “faults” become part of the final design. Great intro
• 5/5 from Adrian de Giovanni, attended Aug 2026: Excellent class! Teaching was great, equipment was great and I was pleased with what I created. Have already recommended it to others!
• 5/5 from Robert Gozna, attended May 2026: Great course and excellent teacher highly recommend goes at a nice steady pace so you can learn
• 5/5 from Bernice Scherer, attended May 2026: Amazing wood turning class conducted by Simon. Learned so much in 2 days. Would recommend to anyone who is interested in taking turning up as a hobby. Simon made class interest and supported everyone along the way. Thanks very much
• 5/5 from William (Bill) Spence, attended Feb 2026: All good. Every thing I expected. Simon is a great resource. Blah blah blah blah
• 5/5 from Mark Weismantel, attended Feb 2026: Ive been interested in wood turning for many years and went into the class thinking I would like to turn wood and left knowing i had to turn wood. I found the class perfect, Simon our teacher fantastic and the facility and equipment faultless. I was lucky enough to do this course with my daughter and we both had a ball. The best present I have ever been given and for a total novice, the 2 days gave me exactly what i needed to get my new hobby started. If you are interested in wood turning, this course will get you hooked.
• 5/5 from Nic Bax, attended Nov 2025: Great atmosphere and although class was full, we all had our own lathe and with two highly experienced woodturner teachers we were never far away from advice and new ideas.
• 5/5 from Harry Campbell-Ross, attended Nov 2025: Both Simon and Ken were fantastic teachers and instructors. Both infinitely patient and quick to offer assistance and advice.
• 5/5 from Lars Oleson, attended Nov 2025: Very fun and thorough intro to woodturning. Like many in the class, I had last worked on a lathe in school (30+ years ago) and have old hand-me-down lathe 'on a shelf'. I wanted the confidence to safely turn. I came away with confidence I can actually make some nice looking stuff. We practiced the applied skills in class and came home with some (actually nice looking) bowls and other projects.
• 5/5 from David Brewster, attended Nov 2025: Simon was an excellent leader who gave clear guidance and direction. Day one gave me- a complete novice- the chance to learn new skills while making a wand and spinning top for my grandson!! Day two involved turning bowls. This was a very rewarding day and I managed to produce 2 bowls. All very satisfying
• 5/5 from Nick Rowley, attended Nov 2025: Simon was an excellent teacher and the two day course was truly excellent. If you want to learn the basics of woodturning and creat something lasting and beautiful then this is the course for you.
• 5/5 from Andrew Durran, attended Sep 2025: Great teachers, very experienced. Shop had everything we needed and it was a fun weekend. Improved a lot, and ready for the next course!
• 5/5 from Anna Douglas, attended May 2025: Absolutely fantastic class- very well organised, fantastic teachers and materials. It was a lot of fun and I have been recommending to anyone who would listen to do it if they are interested in woodturning
• 5/5 from James McVeigh, attended May 2025: Great teachers- great equipment- so good to learn how to work with wood in this way. Great value for money
• 5/5 from Michael Edmond Leahy, attended May 2025: Excellent class everything was very clear and explained by very clear demonstrations. These were followed by us working on the lathes and the teachers providing us with feedback to improve our actual operations all very good.
• 5/5 from Peter Landis, attended Mar 2025: Experienced and friendly trainers who are very attentive
• 5/5 from Paul Drebing, attended Feb 2025: very knowledgeable instructors, up to date equipment & plant. Had a great weekend in their workshop and learnt a lot, thank you!
• 5/5 from Janette Evans, attended Feb 2025: Great course and fantastic teachers in Simon and Ken. Lots of fun. I learnt a lot about turning wood on a lathe and wood in general. Highly recommend it.
• 5/5 from Bryan Scott, attended Feb 2025: The course essentially consisted of four demonstrations by the instructors, each followed by practical application at the lathe. I found the amount of detail in the demonstration was too much per practical application and struggled to remember all the detail once back at the lathe. I would have preferred more frequent, smaller demonstrations between each practical session at the lathe.
• 4/5 from Todd Whiley, attended Feb 2025: Knowledge and technique from the teachers was great. The machinery and equipment provided was top notch. I really enjoyed the course and recommend it to anyone who is interested in wood turning
• 5/5 from Karen O’Neill, attended Oct 2024: It was fantastic. I learnt so much and loved every minute.
• 5/5 from Keith Hunt, attended Oct 2024: Simon and Ken were so generous with their skill and knowledge it was a pleasure to participate in the class this weekend. Made a huge impact on my woodworking moving forward.
• 5/5 from Eliza Maunsell, attended Oct 2024: Wood academy always puts on excellent courses and this was no exception. All the teachers are great and the facilities are top quality.
• 5/5 from Yulia Akerholt, attended Jul 2024: This was a great two day workshop - a good balance of demonstrations and lots of hands-on woodturning, with two teachers on hand to help individual students as needed. I had a great time!
• 5/5 from Bernard Orenstein, attended Jul 2024: Great course. Super fun & intersting. Wood turning gets you in the zone. Very calming experience.
• 5/5 from Chris Betcher, attended May 2024: This class was given to me by my partner after she noticed I was interested in woodturning. I was very pleased to receive it, and was really looking forward to attending the 2 day class. It was excellent and far exceeded my expectations. Simon and Ken, who led the course, both brought years of practical experience and advice to the participants and by explaining and demonstrating the necessary skills we all progressed quite quickly. The projects we worked on were well chosen and structured to teach the fundamentals of the craft. The location, facilities and equipment were excellent, and I came away from the 2 days with several finished products that I'm very proud of. I would absolutely recommend this course to anyone interested in learning more about woodturning and wanting to understand the essential skills required to do it the right way. Definitely take this course if you want to know how to turn wood!
• 5/5 from Anna Disney, attended May 2024: This class was a great mix of trying a new skill and learning a bunch of interesting things about bush regeneration, the properties of wood and different wood carving traditions. I honestly wish it was a longer class, it was so interesting!
• 5/5 from Stephen Neilsen, attended May 2024: Demonstrations including Instruction. Excellent approach. Then the follow up by teachers with individual students. It worked really well. I learnt enough to be confident at the lathe, and have a good basis for further development. Started with simple techniques and progressed at an appropriate speed to more complex techniques. Every question was answered professionally and was very helpful. Techniques were demonstrated until mastery was achieved. Good range of suitable materials, tools and ancillary items like polish, pencils and sandpaper. The smocks were good.
• 5/5 from Aurel Vasilescu, attended Feb 2024: The course was a combined birthday and fathers day present. The Teachers were very engaging and patient with us. For a start up venue it was very well put together. All the tools and materials that we required and were provided were of the best quality. I was shown the best techniques for working with wood, we first made some wands (as in Harry Potter) and the we learnt bowl turning. I believe it was good value for money. What I liked the most was that both Teachers spent what ever time we needed with all the class and they gave me renewed confidence in wood turning. It was a pleasure to learn.
• 5/5 from Michael Greene, attended Feb 2024: This was an excellent course. Simon and Ken were great instructors and all of the tools and equipment were first class quality. Everyone enjoyed it and it reignited my love of turning wood.
• 5/5 from Grant Blackley, attended Feb 2024: Thanks for a great two day Wood Turning course. The course was engaging, illustrative and a wonderful opportunity to learn new skills. The new venue was good and teachers were fantastic. Enjoyable few days.