How to Choose a Woodwork Course in 3 Easy Steps
It's always hard for us to admit that we need something like a woodwork course. We like to think that we can build anything with a hammer and a few nails, but the reality often brings us back down to earth with something of a bump! Typically, we'll start our great new project only to find out part way through that it simply doesn't work the way we envisaged, or that we come to the end of our ability way before the end of the project. When we're willing to accept this, we either need to give up and call a professional, or preferably take some time to improve our skills. In this article, we're going to look at the 3 things that you need to consider when choosing the right woodwork course for you.
Step 1 - Look for an Industry Expert
Anyone with a little more experience that you in any area can teach you a little on that subject, but it takes an expert to help you really raise your game. For a woodworking course, you should be looking for someone with at least 10 years experience and preferably, someone who's been published in the professional press.
Step 2 - Look for a Course with Multiple Projects
If you take a night class in woodworking, you'll probably learn to make a bird house or a stool or something. You'll come away with some basic skills, but unless you want to perfect your bird house or stool building abilities, you'll probably find it hard to relate those new-found skills to other projects.
With this in mind, you should look for woodwork courses that also deliver a good selection of plans so that you can continue to develop and hone your skills. I would recommend that you should have at least a hundred projects, but if you have a larger selection (i.e. more than a thousand) then you'll have more flexibility to choose the ideal project to suit your requirements and abilities.
Step 3 - Look for a Course that Covers All Abilities
Following on from step 2, you want a woodwork course that delivers projects for all skill levels. Sure, to start with you'll probably be focusing on the easier projects but as your abilities improve you'll want to tackle more challenging builds. If your course only caters for beginners, then it's likely that you'll quickly outgrow the course - even if you've found something that meets the first two criteria.
Make sure your woodworking course caters for all levels from beginner to advanced and offers tried and tested projects across the board. This will provide you with appropriate plans and designs for many years to come.
Look, you can carry on approaching your woodworking projects the way you have been using a hammer, a few nails and a huge bucket of frustration. Alternatively, you can use these three steps to find yourself a great woodwork course!