Heartwood Creative Woodworking in Marrickville, New South Wales | Education

Heartwood Creative Woodworking

Locality: Marrickville, New South Wales

Phone: +61 419 690 757

Address: Heartwood Creative Workshop, 1A, Building A, 10 Carrington Rd, Marrickville 2204 Marrickville, NSW, Australia

Website: http://www.heartwoodcreative.com.au

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25.01.2022 An elephant, leaves, jigsaw pieces, a sword and the Millenium Falcon. Examples of the creations made in our 8x8 Intro to Woodworking course covering hand planing, shaping and wide board glue ups. Our participants also crafted a beautiful box and those that finished early rocked out a stirring spoon. Take that Covid Yes, you closed us down. Yes we were forced to send out a tonne of emails and reschedule classes. But our students and instructors hung in there, and well alway...s remember the experience in spite of you, not because of you and we had a few welcome laughs along the way. Ps - if we didnt tag you, send us a message

24.01.2022 Today I made the details on the legs of this walnut console Im making for @tim_noone_furnituredesign I decided it would be too fiddly to make individual pieces and fit them accurately around each leg. Instead, I made some square donuts and dropped them over the tenon on the end of the legs. I offered up the cross stretcher and marked out where the pieces would intersect then cut out the waste on the bandsaw. After some fine tuning with a chisel, I glued in the custom shapes.... At this point, for some reason, Carol thought it opportune to take some Ziggy Stardust inspired portrait shots. ?? An alternative approach would be to cut and fit smaller individual parts. Then use a brad nailer to secure them to each side of the leg and use putty to cover up the nail holes prior to glue up. But being an old fashioned woodworker at heart with big big fingers and poor eyesight, the thought of using air powered gadgets didnt thrill me. Horses for courses as they say. The only downside to my approach was working with the piece upside down, so I had to trust that the fit on the show face was going to be acceptable. Hopefully these photos tell the story. @ Heartwood Creative Woodworking

24.01.2022 Despite my hair pulling, we really are making progress with Martijns chair.

21.01.2022 Carol and I enjoyed the sun and a road trip to Mittagong yesterday to visit @peter_young_design and the @sturtschoolforwood_students It was fantastic to see how the drawer projects had progressed since my earlier visit when the students presented their models, sketches and initial ideas. The tweaks to designs, the experiments with materials and the approach to construction made it clear to me that under the direction of Peter, the group was thoroughly engaged and committed to... their work. I always enjoy my visits to Sturt, but yesterday Carol and I left thoroughly energised by being around so many passionate and enthusiastic young makers. I cant wait for the end of year exhibition to fully appreciate their efforts and what they achieve in their year of study. You can follow the makers to see more of their work as it unfolds, as some of the designs are currently under wraps and not mine to share.

21.01.2022 Safety training refresher for our Sunday morning table makers with @benpercydesigns

21.01.2022 Saturday morning with our ongoing making furniture group. @ Heartwood Creative Woodworking

20.01.2022 Working on a circular outdoor table this week was the perfect opportunity to use all the add ons with the Felder panel saw and bandsaw. I used the extension table on the bandsaw to support the longer boards while I ripped some waste off the edges. Then I plugged the DGL into the back of the sliding table to do some angle cuts that create the various segments of the top. The DGL double cut mitre gauge for those that arent familiar, allow me to dial up 1/4 of a degree which ...is dam impressive. The front fence I left in position so I could dock the work to length without interrupting the angle cuts I was processing. Im using polyurethane to glue this job, so only 10mins open time. To get maximum clamping pressure I made some clamping blocks from the offcuts to achieve pressure at 90 degrees to the joints. This is the dry fit, I also chamfered all the edges before the final glue up. Shown here is part of the outside section, the central piece was made earlier and sent to the CNC guy who cut the internal groove for a Lazy Susan. Of the hold downs, Ive always said, you dont use them every day. But when you need them, theyre great to have and boy did they make light work of this job. On the other hand, this teak really killed the blade on my hand plane! Job by @tim_noone_furnituredesign @ Heartwood Creative Woodworking

20.01.2022 New saw delivery and instal yesterday by #feldernsw Its hard to believe, but I sat down with George almost a year ago and ordered this machine. Wed just missed the October delivery, was in NZ in January and lockdown over Easter. So finally it arrived and set me thinking about what a difference a year makes. Of course the minute we closed I doubted the wisdom of having bought a new machine, but I really wanted a joinery saw and an overflow machine so students arent waiting... on the larger saw to do smaller jobs. I chose another Felder in part because of my relationship with George, in part because it has an excellent overhead guard, but mainly because Felder offer a wide range of safety hold downs that can be used with both machines. I know there are cheaper options, I know there are machines with different safety features, but Im confident Ill be happy with this choice. It was a bit of a squeeze trying to retain everything that we had in the sanding room, plus adding the K700 but we did it. And of course Ron deftly managed the pallet lifter before setting about doing what he does best, calibrating and testing. @ Heartwood Creative Woodworking

20.01.2022 Adding the shop made coat hanger to @ianfelman gentleman’s valet. Isidoro chose wenge and rock maple for this project.

20.01.2022 Dr Adrian performing surgery on these pieces of timber that will become the drawers for the hall table hes working on. Adrian has been with me for almost 6 years, and this is the first time hes hand cut dovetails. But its clear that the skills hes previously learnt are coming together nicely.

17.01.2022 New furniture making course coming soon! Just like summer.

16.01.2022 Sad days, happy days as we say farewell to @brianatrujillodesign Carol and I wish you well for your trip to Europe and thank you for teaching with me last term. We love the Silky Oak box you made, quietly hand cutting those dovetails behind the scenes, I hope you fill it memories of your time in Australia.

15.01.2022 Finishing up my part on this project and getting the reclusive @tim_noone_furnituredesign to give it the once over before dropping off to the polisher. This console and a table will be stained a darker colour to match an existing bar counter, but you should still be able to see the figure in the walnut. I used contact adhesive to fix the brass plates to the drawer fronts and used a jig to register them. I could have used epoxy but was concerned about the clean up and of course the time. So while there was very little clean up, boy did it end up taking a lot of clamping pressure. @ Heartwood Creative Woodworking

14.01.2022 Having assembled and fitted the drawers on this project, I then had to disassemble it to glue on the last lip that sits just underneath the bottom of the lower set of drawers. It also needed a final sand it, and thats just the way things turned out. Specified in this project are brass panels that cover the drawer fronts. They tie in with the brass clad feet which are currently at the polishers. So while the glue was drying on this part, I set about fixing the brass panels to the drawer fronts. Not. Much. Room. For. Error. Let me tell you, that was a tricky little exercise at the end of a long day. Results to follow, but only after @tim_noone_furnituredesign gives me the tick of approval. @ Heartwood Creative Woodworking

14.01.2022 Regular woodwork classes with @mattdwight1 back in session. Good to see Darren making progress with the base for his coffee table.

14.01.2022 Here is the 8x8 Follow On cohort who recently finished their course. We had a strong start, faltered somewhere between the 24hour news cycle, then finished strongly with some beautifully made caddies and mallets. My thanks to everyone for hanging in there, particularly when admin miscalculated the number of weeks left in the course and I immediately launched into operation glue up boot camp Also thanks to my assistant this term @brianatrujillodesign a graduate from @thekr...enovschool who found herself on a working holiday in Sydney during a worldwide pandemic. Im thrilled that Ill be seeing almost all of these fine people again when they undertake the Small Table project in a few weeks, along with our table makers who have been patiently waiting to start their course from earlier this year. I promise no glue up boot camp

14.01.2022 Saturday afternoon vibes with our 8x8 Intro students, @mattdwight1 @sebastian_woodworks and some nice sharp hand planes. What a wonderful way to spend some time

11.01.2022 Our new table project is now available as 4 x Sunday afternoon sessions. Come and join @mattdwight1 and I and learn some of the secrets to creating solid timber furniture. A professional approach scaled for smaller workshops and suitable for all levels of woodworkers. Beginners will love taking home a versatile piece of furniture they created. More experienced woodworkers will be intrigued by the use of customised jigs and set ups to create accurate and repeatable components.... Were offering a choice of timber and finishes so you can customise your table. Choose White Oak like this one for a timeless, elegant look. Or White Oak with a white oil finish for a contemporary look. Check our website for course dates starting in October and November as weve just released new dates and places are limited to 6 participants per group.

10.01.2022 Rounding off a 12 sided polygon with a compass jig on the router. Or, rounding off the top on the outdoor teak table. I left a 1mm tissue at the bottom of the cut to minimise breakout, and removed that with a coping saw. @ Heartwood Creative Woodworking

10.01.2022 After passing the sit test, Natalie and I agreed on the shaping and profiling for her bench seat. Its always great when your students trust you to help with some design suggestions. I always think its the subtle detailing that makes a piece and adds interest.

08.01.2022 Wrapping up our 4 x half day table course yesterday. We saw some wonderful tables that were beautifully finished ready for a coat of oil. Great job everyone and thanks to @mattdwight1 and @silkyfinish for expertly guiding the troops. For anyone that’s interested, we’re offering this course again on Sunday afternoons starting in February. We also have a 2 day course in January. Details on the website.

08.01.2022 Its always great to celebrate a team effort. @mattdwight1 and @sebastian_woodworks both lead instructors at Heartwood and I, collaborated as part of @studiowoodworkers_australia mentorship program to design and construct new work for the exhibition Edge that wrapped up at Sturt Craft Centre in April. The Ash in the top of Matts table were longish offcuts of around 80mm x 80mm and were given to me more than a year ago, so it was great to see them put to good use in such a ...wonderful piece. You can see our work and that of our fellow exhibitors, and read the stories behind some of the pieces in Edge in the current issue of @woodreview magazine Article titled Edge: Exploring Boundaries written by architect Melissa Ward.

07.01.2022 Not fine woodworking, but woodworking when your school is closed due to a world wide pandemic is still woodworking in anyones book. Also, Ive enjoyed myself. And Carol undoubtedly has enjoyed some fine wine thanks to the revenue from this job Thanks @tim_noone_furnituredesign for trusting me with your clients job and giving me work while we were closed. Thanks also to my co-tenant and senior instructor #nikteply for helping me lift this beast around the workshop.... Were looking forward to being up and running with a full timetable this week, although we have reduced the numbers in our classes and rearranged the bench room inline with CovidSafe work practices. With support from friends and affiliated associations, and understanding and cooperation from our students and instructors well remember the closure as a time of generosity and kindness.

07.01.2022 Joe progressing his chaise and fitting the slats to the frame. Still a bit of work to do, but always satisfying for students when the project starts to come together.

07.01.2022 A big night of glue ups, sanding and finishing with our Wednesday night table making group. Were almost there! This is one of four diagonal gauges I made with Tom at the #sturtschoolforwood many years ago. Always a pleasure to use a tool that brings back fond memories of my time at Sturt. Oh too many years ago though.

07.01.2022 Our 8x8 Intro Warriors who came out to learn new woodworking skills post Covid lockdown. Like so many other small businesses that rely on face to face interactions, we made a start, observed how well we were doing within the new Covid Safe framework, then adjusted as we went along. Thank you to everyone who supported us this term. Particularly our hard working instructors who have adapted to a slightly different method of delivery for our Intro courses. So great to be back up and running.

06.01.2022 We kicked off our first table making course with some good old fashioned technical drawing. Thanks to Covid, we have 14 return students completing the last course in our 8x8 Intro series. Thats a first, and we love having everyone back in the workshop. We also jumped into timber properties, revisited FEWTEL and made full use of the machine room dressing a face and edge on what will be the tops, legs and rails for this project. This term we welcome Rhys Jones to the team. Rhy...s studied furniture at ANU under Rodney Hayward and starting teaching woodwork in Melbourne a few years later while undertaking a masters of Architecture. He now works for a Sydney based architecture firm but maintains a craft practise through commission work. He comes with a very impressive portfolio of work. We should have called Term 3 the designer series, as were also welcoming back @benpercydesigns who will be delivering this course with me on Sunday mornings. Yes its a seven day a week gig, but I know were making a lot of people happy by being open and were so very fortunate to be doing what we love, particularly during this time - still struggling with the mask though

06.01.2022 Get your spoon carving groove on with @silkyfinish and I in our January courses. See website for details.

06.01.2022 Yesterday @silkyfinish and I spent the day at Marist College North Shore. One of my teachers Donna, is now working as a technician in the Wood section so I was invited to do some safety training on the schools new Felder bandsaw and not so old Felder panel saw. I also got to spend time with design and industrial tech students and their teachers and left elated although somewhat ragged around the edges ... So my local hero badge goes to all those hard working teachers and TAs that worked through Covid and continue to do their best everyday to help their students realise their designs - no project too big or too small

06.01.2022 Details of Joe’s chaise in American White Oak. This piece features hand stitched leather and copper detailing, finished with natural oil from @livosaustralia See our previous post for the full image of this wonderful piece.

05.01.2022 With my thoughts set on welcoming back our intermediate and experienced students this week, I had time to reflect on my own learning experience earlier this year @centreforfinewoodworking_nz It was great being a student again, although it wasnt without its challenges. I went with a chair design that I wanted to develop but once I started model making and working on iterations of the original design, so many more ideas presented themselves. Yes, give me some cardboard and w...ire and a hot glue gun and Im as happy as a pig in mud. Although it could be said that I went a bit crazy on the model making front. I realised some time ago that the demands of running our business meant that I had neglected the biggest joy in my practice and thats design. Its a skill like any other that can be learned, but it takes practise to master and feel comfortable with, let alone confident about - but it is also one that improves with regular application, like cutting dovetails. But dont get me wrong, the motivation to go to NZ was definitely to add to my skill set and learn from #michaelfortune and @kellyparker and my fellow students as much as it was to give myself time to design. Often we would congregate around someones project and Micheal would discuss a number of approaches to construction, or a casual remark at lunch could lead to a demo the next day. It was a very fluid learning platform that would have me thinking well after the work day had ended. A big shout out goes to Helen, Lou and Lance our go to people on the ground who enabled us all to focus on our individual goals. Six weeks was a remarkable amount of time away from our school, but after 5 years of building the resource, training and mentoring instructors, trying new things, making mistakes, and trying again, and generally saying yes to almost every opportunity that came along, it was the perfect way to recharge the batteries, at a perfect time and place. If you want to learn more about the residency program and the experiences of the gang that shared the course with me you can read the article by @lindanathan.woodworder in the current issue of @woodreview magazine. You wont be disappointed!

03.01.2022 Progress being made on the commission Im undertaking for @tim_noone_furnituredesign Zero progress on the two bicycles I took to the workshop for some TLC about six weeks ago! @ Heartwood Creative Woodworking

03.01.2022 Graphic lines and sensusous curves on display at ‘Twenty Twenty’, the graduating exhibition of the @sturtschoolforwood_students @sturt_craft_centre Congratulations everyone. If we missed tagging you, please let us know.

02.01.2022 Setting up the machine room be like ........ Thanks to @sebastian_woodworks for carrying the jointer around to the pod, and @silkyfinish who got the dust extractors. I think we’re almost there with the big ticket items.

02.01.2022 Cutting large bevels on the bottom rail of the base of the outdoor table Im working on. I used a shop built jig and a 400mm blade on the jazzy old K540 with equally jazzy Ruwi hold downs. Yeah, it was a jazzy kind of a day.

01.01.2022 It may have been Fathers Day yesterday but we still had a full compliment of enthusiastic table makers in the workshop. That includes Bill, whose daughter gave him this course as a birthday gift. Thanks to @benpercydesigns for giving up Sundays to make so many of us happy and to @silkyfinish for the coffee run