A 6 Day Making Course
Cost: £1100 including materials
Course dates: 12th – 17th April 2027
During this six day course, you’ll explore the intricacies of the Japanese dovetail joint, learning how this beautiful and highly refined piece of joinery is designed, constructed, and executed by hand.
Images to follow shortly. Oct. 2026.
You’ll be guided by Theo Cook, who has spent many years developing and mastering this distinctive joint. Through detailed demonstrations and hands-on instruction, you’ll gain an understanding of both the technique and the precision required to achieve a clean, elegant result.
You’ll then put your new skills into practice by creating your own Japanese dovetail console table or bench— a piece of furniture designed to showcase the beauty of this exceptional joinery.
Alongside the technical aspects of the build, Theo will also explore how small, considered details can transform a piece of furniture, refining your designs to create a more elegant, balanced, and sophisticated final piece.
Expect six days of making, learning, a little head-scratching, and plenty of satisfying sounds as everything hopefully comes together.
Experience Level
This course is not recommended for complete beginners.
We suggest that you have some previous woodworking experience and feel reasonably confident cutting traditional dovetails before attending.
Details of our next weekend Dovetails course can be found here.
Eyesight!
Good eyesight, or a good pair of reading glasses, is recommended.
Cutting Japanese dovetails over several days can be quite demanding on the eyes, so please make sure you have whatever you need to work comfortably and accurately.
Tools
We can provide all the tools required for the course, so you don’t need to purchase anything in advance.
However, if you already have your own tools, or are considering purchasing any for the course, please let us know what you have or intend to buy. We can advise where necessary. Having your own tools can of course be useful afterwards, particularly if you don’t quite complete your project during the six days.
Our tool recommend are the following:
- Japanese saw with a thick saw kerf
We recommend the Temple Tool Pull Saw – 7 Ryoba. - Coping saw
A coping saw with a spare pack of blades. - Set of chisels
A good-quality set suitable for fine joinery work. - Hand plane
A well-tuned hand plane suitable for preparing and fitting your work.
Booking & further info.
This is a 6 day course running from Mon – Sat inclusive.
Cost: £1100 including materials
Next course dates: 12th – 17th April 2027.
If you feel you would like to find out more before booking or visit the studio, please contact us, we’d be delighted to show you around or talk through your questions.
Email us here. Or tel: 01273 513611.
