Hello, I’m Duncan. 
My woodworking journey began following the birth of my Son back in 2002. Using limited power tools and hand tools I made a wooden train for my new Son. With those same basic tools I made wooden toys for my nephews and also gifts for family and friends.
I progressed to making more toys and gifts to sell at local Christmas markets, usually from free or recycled wood, for example pallets. At this stage I was still just a relatively good DIY woodworker.
But in 2017 I was given the opportunity to develop by basic woodworking skills. I enrolled at Chichester College to study furniture making. It was then that I learnt how little I knew of hand woodworking skills!
In first year I learnt the basics of hand furniture making, measuring, marking out and how to make a variety of furniture joints. I designed and built my first ever piece of furniture, a coffee table. It still takes pride of place in my conservatory.
The bug had bitten and I returned to take a second year. This course taught the use of woodworking machinery to make furniture, ultimately aimed at a career in furniture production. I made further pieces of furniture, a shoe storage unit, a set of 6 oak dining chairs and a dining table to go with it.
With each piece of furniture I made, my portfolio grew. In 2019 Duncan’s Woodcraft was born.
I continued the following year by volunteering at the college, helping out with the classes. During the start of this year I made another dining tables and 4 chairs. Unfortunately in 2020 Covid struck, and my time at college came to an end.
But this didn’t stop the furniture making. I made further pieces for our home, and eventually secured a paid commission from a friend to make a coffee table. This led on to a TV unit and a storage cupboard.
With plenty of time in lockdown, I put my new found skills to good use. I continued making small gift items – for example clocks, jewellery boxes, vanity mirrors and serving platters. These items I usually sell at local craft fairs.
I prefer to source timber for my projects locally favouring small local sawmills. I like to make speculative furniture pieces, sometimes based on a choice piece or board that I find.
I am always conscious of the value of my raw materials. Many of the gift items I produce are to use up offcuts from larger projects, sometimes making just one or two pieces to get the most from the ‘leftovers’.
My woodcrafting journey has only recently started. Each new project I undertake presents its own challenges requiring me to find my own solutions.
One day maybe this Journeyman will become a Master?
Duncan