Message from Chris Tribe - Please read

 Following the relaxation of covid 19 restrictions I am restarting my courses beginning with the July 24-27th beginners course.

The following measures will be taken to ensure student health and safety:

Re-organisation of workshop to ensure 1 metre social distancing can be maintained.

Provision of sterilisation spray to clean tools and surfaces.

Requirement to wear face masks when in close proximity.

Let’s get back to woodwork!

From April 2020 I will be  semi-retired and no longer offering my full suite of courses.

HOWEVER, I very much want to continue to encourage those who are new to woodworking so GOOD NEWS…

My popular 4 day beginners woodwork course will continue monthly until March 2021.

Unfortunately all courses are now fully booked and there is a waiting list of over thirty.

However there are alternatives:

  • You could watch some of my FREE ONLINE WOODWORK INSTRUCTION VIDEOS. Not an online woodwork course as such but they cover many of the topics that are featured on my courses and are arranged into categories and a logical sequence for you. To access them click here or click the videos tab at the top of the page.

OR

  • Nick Thompson, who is taking over my workshop when I retire, has started teaching short courses with a view to eventually offering a wider suite of courses. The courses he has taught so far have been very well received, I have been impressed by some of the work coming from them (it takes a lot to impress me!). I would recommend that you take a look at what Nick is offering by going to www.wharfedaleworkshop.co.uk . I am sure Nick would be pleased to discuss options if you find the Wharfedale Workshop interesting.
COURSES
BEGINNERS WOODWORK 4 DAY COURSE IN YORKSHIRE
FREE ONLINE VIDEO INSTRUCTION
woodwork courses - rated 5 star
COURSES
beginners woodwork course Chris gives instruction to students
Beginners Woodwork 4 Day Course in Yorkshire
online woodwork course videos
FREE ONLINE VIDEO INSTRUCTION
“For me to have come on the course with no skills at all and to have left with that beautiful table still astounds me”

Chris Tribe Woodworking & Furniture Making Courses

Welcome to my website. After thirty years of furniture making and teaching I am starting to think about hanging up my tools. To this end I am now offering a much reduced course program. I particularly enjoy introducing newcomers to the joy of woodwork so I will concentrate on teaching my beginners four day woodwork course.

For many years I have been filming instructional videos to post on Youtube, gaining over 13,000 subscribers and over 2m views. I think they are a useful resource, especially for new woodworkers. So the  courses I am no longer  teaching remain on the website but with links to relevant videos which I think may be helpful. There is also a new video page entitled Free Online Woodwork Instruction where I have organised the videos into categories.

The 4 day beginners woodwork courses all take place at my well- equipped workshop in the Cornmill near the centre of Ilkley.  The workshop is adjacent to Ilkley railway station and there are plenty of accommodation and ‘eating out’ options for those from afar – I regularly have students from as far away as Kent and Scotland and also from abroad, recently from Singapore and The Netherlands.

The course tend to get booked up well in advance, so please don’t leave it until the last minute. If you would like more details or advice, just get in touch and I will be happy to advise you. 

> Browse and Book a Furniture Making or Woodwork Course

> What’s it like on a Chris Tribe Woodwork Course?

Complete Woodworking By Chris Tribe

Looking for my Complete Woodworking Book resources? – click here

“I thoroughly enjoyed the course and as an introduction to what I now know will be a very rewarding hobby it was perfect.”
woodwork and furniture making course in action

Beginners Furniture Making & Woodworking

If you’re new to woodwork, why not join me and three other students to embark on a journey into furniture making  on my four day beginners course. The first day is devoted entirely to hand working, we flatten and dimension a rough sawn board with a hand plane and go on to cut a mortice and tenon joint.  Hopefully you will have been so impressed at how sharp the workshop tools are and how much easier woowork can be if the tools are sharp that you will want to know a bit more about sharpening. So the second day concentrates on sharpening and maintenance of chisels and planes. In the last two days you will put your new furniture making skills to use to make an oak table, using both hand and power tool techniques.

Similar topics were covered in my two day weekend courses  tool sharpening and maintenance weekend and basic jointing weekend.

furniture making course tuition
“The 4 day beginner furniture course was an amazing experience”

Experienced & Advanced Furniture Making & Woodworking

My improvers or advanced courses were designed for those who wanted to go beyond the basic woodworking skills . The most popular being make your own workbench and router skills

The veneering and laminating and chair making courses were for those wanting an extreme woodworking challenge.

“I used my shooting board this morning and when I measured the resulting surface, it was dead on square…  this was a skill you taught me.
Since spending a couple of days under your watchful eye my tools are usually razor sharp, my joints much more carefully marked out and the resultant work much better than I was used to turning out.”
furniture making instruction
“I thoroughly enjoyed the two days and have come away enthused and encouraged that I can produce better work. Thank you for your time and patience.”

Supporting our adopted charity

The poverty ridden slums of Kampala in Uganda is the location for a carpentry training centre for young people trying to survive there. The centre is run by Kids Club Kampala, a charity that I am proud to support.

Learn more here

Carpentry students in Kampala Uganda