Learn And Watch.
There are a few different ways to learn with me, depending on where you are in your woodturning journey and how you prefer to work. Some people want to be in a workshop with their hands on a tool. Others want to watch and absorb at their own pace. Some want community. Some want solitude with occasional guidance. All of those are valid, and I've tried to build something for each.
The Woodturning School, Hampshire
The Woodturning School is based near Alton in Hampshire. We run courses for beginners, intermediate turners, and experienced makers who want focused time on a specific project or technique. Les Thorne and I designed the space for learning: six full-size lathes, all tools provided, proper dust extraction, good lighting, and enough room that you don't feel like you're turning in a cupboard.
Beginner courses are exactly what they sound like — you'll be making shavings within the first hour, and you'll leave at the end of the day with finished pieces and the fundamentals to carry on at home. Intermediate sessions take on boxes, bowls, and hollow forms. Sunday Studio Sessions are unstructured mentored practice time for capable turners who just want the space, the equipment, and someone around who can answer questions.
All courses are hands-on. The ratio of talking to doing is deliberately kept low.
YouTube — Nearly 300 Free Videos
The YouTube channel is where most people find me first. Nearly 300 videos covering turning projects, techniques, tool reviews, design principles, and the occasional honest account of something going sideways.
I stream live most Tuesday evenings. It's free, it's informal, and the chat moves fast. Pull up a chair, bring tea, ask questions. It's the next best thing to being in the workshop, and considerably less dusty.
Woodturning360 — Online Club
Woodturning360 started in 2020 during lockdown, when the turning community needed new ways to connect. It's grown since then into something I'm genuinely proud of: an online club with members in eleven countries, meeting twice monthly.
On the first Monday of each month, we host a professional demonstration from a guest demonstrator — someone from a different part of the turning world, bringing a different perspective. On the third Monday, it's an open discussion: members sharing work, asking questions, talking through problems. It's relaxed, honest, and useful.
Membership is £6 a month. That gets you both monthly meetings, access to a growing archive of past demonstrations, and a discount on my paid demonstrations. No long-term commitment, no hierarchy, no competition. Just turners helping turners.
Project Downloads
A growing range of PDF project sheets — step-by-step turning projects you can work through at your own lathe, with diagrams, measurements, and finishing notes. Each one is based on a project from my demonstrations or books.
