![\"Me!\"](\"https:\/\/duncanswoodcraft.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/bio-pic-150x150.jpg\")
<\/p>\nHello, I’m Duncan. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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! <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
With each piece of furniture I made, my portfolio grew. In 2019 Duncan’s Woodcraft was born. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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’.<\/p>\n
My woodcrafting journey has only recently started. Each new project I undertake presents its own challenges requiring me to find my own solutions.<\/p>\n
One day maybe this Journeyman will become a Master?<\/p>\n
Duncan<\/p>\n
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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 … <\/p>\n