Reviews of Dovetail Woodworking. (Carpenter) in Stoke-on-Trent (Staffordshire).

Dovetail Woodworking

40 Reviews

40 Comments

Carpenter

Wood working class

Spode Works, Elenora St, Stoke-on-Trent ST4 1QQ, United Kingdom

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Description

Information of Dovetail Woodworking, Carpenter in Stoke-on-Trent (Staffordshire)

On this page you’ll find the address, open hours, more popular times, the contact, photos and real reviews of this business.

This business has received very good reviews from their customers, so probably it’s a place you should try if you are looking for this kind of services.

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Reviews of Dovetail Woodworking

M. P.

Had a great woodworking taster day making a clock with Steve yesterday. Thoroughly enjoyed the day and found both the practical stuff and the conversation fascinating. Steve is a wonderful tutor, passionate and incredibly knowledgeable, but guides you through the day in a very relaxed and fun way. I'll definitely be back!

R. B.

Really lovely day making a key shelf. Steve’s teaching style is really good - excellent pace, clear instructions, ensuring everyone is given the support they need. We all came away with a lovely finished project to be proud of, with new skills and knowledge. All materials and tools provided, workbench set up for your height, and care and attention taken with any power tools (pillar drill). Thoroughly recommend on the basis of my workshop day. Plus, nice little cafe so handy on the wharf too. But Steve provides ample tea/coffee + biscuits 😊 Thanks Steve!

P. R.

Did a 2 day workbench building course with Steve. Absolutely fantastic. Under his excellent tutelage I built a superb workbench tailored to me and learnt a whole lot along the way. Can’t recommend highly enough.

J. D.

I really enjoyed my two days with Steve at Dovetail woodworking making the bookstand. He’s really got everything spot on here, the project is interesting and challenging for all levels of experience whether you're never attempted woodwork before or your proficient with a plane. Not only do you get taught a variety of techniques but you also learn about the trees the timber come from finishing process. I especially like working with the beautiful Oak that was supplied and I even got to bring in my old chisels to have a go at sharpening. I be looking forward to returning on another project some time soon. Jason

S. K.

I thoroughly enjoyed my taster day last week from the moment I walked into the superbly equipped classroom/workshop (and handed a coffee!) until the moment I proudly walked out at the end of the day with the clock I had made. Steve is a great teacher, giving clear demonstration and instructions and offering further support if any is needed, both delivered gently and at just the right pace. His knowledge of wood and woodworking totally fascinated me. The first thing I did when I got home was check out other courses! Highly recommended, Thanks Steve.

D. F. (.

What a super day spent making my clock, really enjoyed my time in the workshop learning some woodworking techniques and skills. The old building has been repurposed to support local talent and businesses and I can't think of a better use for it. Steve is a very patient mentor and even provided chocolate biscuits (what a bonus) and coffee. The workshop itself is very bright and I found the bench to be perfect working height for me and the task at hand. Could not recommend this highly enough!! And you come away with something to be proud of! Thank you Steve

K. H.

From the initial enquiry, through booking, scheduling and delivery of the workshop, Steve was quick to respond, courteous and professional throughout. I was looking forward to my two-day workshop and the experience didn’t disappoint. I am a hobbyist woodworker and like to think that I know my way around hand and power tools, but I learnt a lot from the many hints and tips that Steve introduced. Quality was forefront! The quality of the timber, the tools and the finished product was extremely high. Steve’s dedication to his lifelong trade was evident in his initial preparation and his ongoing diligence as I built my workbench. Very pleased.

s. p.

The workshop was just brilliant. The atmosphere was relaxed and friendly, conducive to learning. And learning is what I did. I had trouble learning to keeping the knife at 90⁰ but the tutor was patient and caring enough to keep reminding me so a could learn the feel of the correct position/technique. Thank you. Now I have written myself some notes I wish I had payed more attention to the sanding and polishing. I know what I did but not what I used. I'll have to do another course! I should say I did a marquetry one day workshop and came to it with craft skill and interest, not wood skills but it was brilliant and very recommendable to craft groups looking for a new experience or to stretchtheir skill base.

F. F.

Today I joined Dovetail Woodworking to refresh woodworking skills from xx years ago! In fact, I learned some new skills and had a thoroughly enjoyable day. Tomorrow will be the great wall hanging. Many thanks Steve for your instruction (and at times patience).

J. M.

I attended the clothes dryer woodworking on day course with my uncle. It was fantastic value and the instructor was just the right level of helpful and hands off :) It felt very empowering and was very organised. One of the best courses I’ve ever been on. Many thanks

P. B.

Completed a two day beginners course and made a lovely oak recipe book stand. In the process I learned about the importance of precision in terms of preparing and sharpening tools, measuring, cutting and assembly. I found Steve to be an excellent teacher who blends the theory and practical elements together in a way that makes learning interesting. I highly recommend both Steve and the introductory course.

C. F.

I spent two very busy and happy days this week at Dovetail Woodworking with Steve. I chose to do the workbench course and had a fabulous time crafting and constructing it from scratch under Steve’s expert tutelage. The workbench was made to my specific dimensions but to Steve’s overall design, which I must say was brilliant. I was particularly taken by some of the more technical elements Steve had designed in to keep the build interesting and challenging. The Dovetail Woodworking workshop is in a marvellous setting, which adds to the overall experience. It shares space with a canal boat workshop at Norbury Junction. The history of the site gives something extra, I think. As a relative novice as a woodworker, I was not sure what to expect but Steve balanced his tutoring with considerable freedom for me to do most of the work. It is always a pleasure to learn from a master craftsman and Steve took time to impart some really useful and valuable woodworking practices. This was true of the technical woodworking and crafting elements as well as simple things like how to handle and use woodworking and other tools properly, including power tools, all of which I found massively helpful. It all certainly helped with my confidence for doing more in the future. The course was one-to-one, which meant I was able to gain the most from the two days instruction. It was also excellent value for money when the cost of materials and Steve’s time and expertise was combined - especially as it was all focussed on me and the production of a top-notch workbench. I used a British Army Standard Learning Credit to part-fund this course as part of my Resettlement from military to civilian life. I would highly recommend this course to other service leavers who may be looking for something different to learn - and gain a very useful item in the process. All in all, Steve has created a great learning experience with bags of practical appeal. If you are reading this recommendation, I suggest you sign up for a course as soon as you can!

J. H.

Brilliant course, Steve is great a really good teacher, but also allows you to use your own initiative, he also offers a really good insight in to the many different types of wood you may work with and the sense of achivement that you get when you have completed making your stand is great, will definitely be looking to do another course in the future!

A. S.

I had a great time at Dovetail completing the mortise and tenon course. Steve goes at a great pace to enable you to learn all the necessary skills as well as tips and tricks to end up with a quality finished product. It's great that he teaches you the skills to complete each process both by hand as well as by machine so that whatever your workshop setup you should be able to go home and practice afterwords. Hope to come back for another course next year. Thanks!

I. C.

Best day EVER! For those of us who spend our days glued to a laptop, or on a production line etc, it was so good to actually spend time making something beautiful with your own hands you know? Steve is just brilliant. He not only patiently talks you through and shows you the process, but educates you on the tools, the history and the ethos of the craft as you go along, which we all found fascinating. I honestly felt like I'd been transported back to an older time when crafting things with your bare hands mattered...and now I have my oak and American black walnut clock hanging with extreme pride on the dining room wall! Book this experience now, because there is something earthy and wonderful about the time you will have doing this. You won't know quite why...but you will love it I promise. Well done Steve, I WILL be back.

P. B.

Excellent course. Steve is very well organised and the two days were really enjoyable and rewarding. The organisation was very good with emails and directions to the workshop. Steve is immensely knowledgable and with a small group we could pick up lots of his tips and advice. I would heartily recommend the course.

M. S.

Really enjoyed the weekend course making a cookery book stand. Very pleased with the result. Steve is very knowledgeable and the course was paced just about right. I have some experience of working with hand tools but even complete novices would be absolutely fine. Would definitely recommend

S. B.

Having just completed the two day beginners woodworking course, run by Steve Barlow, I can say that it was excellent. Steve organised the running of the course really well, with everything laid out so we could get cracking straight away. During the two days we had the opportunity to try many different woodworking practices, so I now feel competent and confident enough to have a go on my own. Steve's teaching manner was spot on - a good balance between challenging and patience.

T. C.

Recently returned from a great day with Steve in his workshop making the clock. As a total newcomer to wood working this was a great project which introduced me to a variety of processes and equipment. I was amazed that from two pieces of wood and five hours of effort I could come away with a beautiful finished clock that could grace any wall. Steve made it interesting and easy to follow and it was relaxing despite learning new processes. Very well organised and a nice location on the canalside . Will be looking to go to Steve's other courses over time and would definitely recommend.

T. M.

A very enjoyable experience guided by an excellent tutor in Steve. The course was well paced with plenty of time to develop woodworking skills, with a mix of hand tools and machinery, alongside being able to ask Steve a wide range of questions that he was more than happy to answer. I now have a lovely clock on top of my mantelpiece and new skills to go with it.

A. H.

Absolutely fantastic course - I did the 4 day beginner/intermediate small table course, which I highly recommend. The course is well designed, and paced perfectly over the 4 days to cover everything in detail. Steve is a great teacher - he enthusiastically answered all my questions, offered useful advice on tools to buy, how much to spend, where to buy wood, and even sharpened and set up my new hand plane! He also took pictures throughout the course which left me with some excellent action shots

S. H.

Just done the 2 day beginners course with Steve with the aim at learning new woodworking skills and filling in the missing knowledge within my own skills. This course was very beneficial and i left it with so much more confidence and know how. I am going to follow up this with the 3/4 day table making course later this year. The learning experience was very thorough and Steve was constantly on hand to help and assist.

D. F.

Great course learning to build my own work bench. Steve was very friendly & knowledgeable and offered great advice.

W. K.

Just spent a fantastic few days with Steve making a workbench. The course content was good for a beginner woodworker and the bench is well designed and really solid. Steve is a really approachable and encouraging teacher. His skill and patience not only allowed me to make a great bench but also helped my confidence to start some small projects of my own. A big thank you to Steve.

S. D.

I wanted to make some obelisks for my garden, and contacted Steve to ask if he could help. He kindly offered a one-to-one workshop - and I had a great day in the workshop as well. Having never done anything like this before, I was surprised how quickly Steve let me use the various bits of technical equipment. I'm super pleased with my 6-foot tall obelisks and will send a photo when the roses are growing through them. A great day!

A. C.

Steve is an excellent instructor, he knows so much and passes that knowledge on very well. Years in the carpentry trade have made him a perfectionist and he also passes on that level of perfection and if there is two things i take away from this course its patience and accuracy. I never thought i would make such a beautiful item as the oak table, but it came together and i have an item i can rightly be proud of. Thanks Steve.

R. Y.

Despite a few postponements due to the Covid pandemic, I attended the Make & Upholster course at Dovetail Woodworking June 28th and 29th 2021. Well worth the wait. The atmosphere was nice and relaxed. The course itself was well-paced achieving the various stages without feeling rushed and well within the time available. Steve and Katie are both very knowledgeable and experienced in their respective fields, so was reassuring to receive positive validation during the build process and indeed with the final product. Thoroughly enjoyed it and learned a considerable amount during the 2 days. Very pleased with the end result. Would recommend to anyone thinking of having a go. You can’t beat practical experience.

E. C.

Half day woodwork Course An excellent experience. Steve was very friendly and helped us produce a very nice piece of work, in this case, a small wall clock. I feel I learnt a great many things, which will be very useful on future woodwork projects. Thoroughly enjoyable.

A. M.

I can’t recommend the Dovetail courses highly enough. The workshop environment is peaceful and the building is historically interesting. Steve is a patient, good humoured and knowledgeable tutor while the courses he has designed are well structured, build logically from one stage to the next, and are timed perfectly to ensure that every student has the necessary time to work on each task and to go home with a finished product at the end of the course – all without any pressure. I’ll definitely be back for more in the future!

J. S.

A thoroughly enjoyable day. The 'taster' course is just that - a taster for working with wood with a finished product to take home. There is no technical data or knowledge of tools to be understood (unless you ask) - it is a day making a useful item out of wood. Steve takes you through the steps to produce the finished article in a clear and simple manner. I would recommend the day to anyone who wishes to find out if they could have an interest in working with wood as I am sure the answer would be 'yes' at the end of the course.

N. s.

This man is a genius! Seriously, I have always admired real furniture made from real wood and Steve taught me how to make my own in just two days. I am a complete novice, never having made anything before but in those two days, i learnt how to cut, joint, plane, glue and assemble the most beautiful potting bench which is way beyond anything i could have ever imagined i could make. Don't get me wrong, I am still very much a novice and wouldn't pretend to be anything else, but with Steve's expert guidance, I was able to produce a piece of furniture that looks totally beautiful and completely functional. Thank you Steve.

i. m.

A really enjoyable day with Steve at Dovetail Woodworking The course was very informative, relaxed and it was good to learn various woodworking skills to make an excellent clock. I’d recommend this course to anyone looking for great gift experience.

C. w.

Excellent taster day course, Steve is a brilliant teacher and explains everything really well, the environment in the workshop is welcoming and relaxing and I will definitely be going back again.

M. L.

A really enjoyable couple of days. Steve is knowledgeable and is very good at putting you at ease and providing instruction and guidance in a friendly and constructive manner. I would happily recommend to anyone.