Woodturning Tuition in Hampshire

Professional woodturning tuition is a fun, safe and rewarding experience that leads many to a lifelong and fulfilling creative hobby.
Les Thorne and Martin Saban-Smith are experienced tutors, demonstrators and members of the Register of Professional Turners, offering a selection of learning opportunities for newcomers and experienced woodturners right here at the shop.
When you come to the workshop for your woodturning tuition or even to give it a try, you can be assured of a first-class day of skill-learning recommended by Axminster Tools in an informal atmosphere with energetic, knowledgeable and patient tutors.
Look over the courses available and book for the one that suits your needs or curiosity. Contact the workshop if you have any queries, and we’ll be happy to help.

Download Our Course Leaflet
Click the image to download a copy of our new turning course leaflet to peruse before booking.

Turning Course Gift Vouchers
Stuck on giving the woodturner in your life something special? Our tuition gift cards are perfect for the hard-to-buy-for wood spinner and valid for a full 12 months from the date of purchase. They can be used against our in-house tuition here at The Woodturning Shop (not valid for external tutors).
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Visiting Tutors
This Autumn at the workshop, we are hosting three well respected turners as they present very different lessons for our customers. If the course you are interested in is password protected, our mailing list members already have access to book. Please come back in a day or two to check again.
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Emma Cook: Resin Sphere TurningFrom: £180.00 inc VAT
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Colwin Way: German Smoker Two Day CourseFrom: £280.00 inc VAT
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Gary Rance: Threaded BoxesFrom: £180.00 inc VAT
Group Courses
Our group courses are a fun, informative and safe way to learn the craft of woodturning. Running regularly midweek and at weekends, the courses cater for beginners and experienced turners.
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Bowl Turning Experience DayFrom: £150.00 inc VAT
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Woodturning Experience DayFrom: £150.00 inc VAT
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Martin Saban-Smith Improvers Bowl Turning CourseFrom: £150.00 inc VAT
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Colouring and Finishing with MartinFrom: £150.00 inc VAT
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Beginners 2 Day Group CoursesFrom: £280.00 inc VAT
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Printable A6 Tuition Gift Cards£25.00 – £320.00
Beginners Woodturning Courses
If you are starting in woodturning, taking a one or two-day course will safely speed up your learning curve. With two Registered Professional Turners hosting our lessons, our students learn the proper techniques straight from the off.
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Beginners 2 Day Group CoursesFrom: £280.00 inc VAT
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Bowl Turning Experience DayFrom: £150.00 inc VAT
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Woodturning Experience DayFrom: £150.00 inc VAT
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1-1 Full Day Tuition£320.00 inc VAT
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Remote Tuition with Martin Saban-SmithFrom: £40.00 inc VAT
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Printable A6 Tuition Gift Cards£25.00 – £320.00
Advanced Courses
Thinking of taking the next steps in your woodturning life? Look no further as we are able to cater for the majority of more advanced techniques in both group and one-to-one courses.
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Martin Saban-Smith Improvers Bowl Turning CourseFrom: £150.00 inc VAT
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Colouring and Finishing with MartinFrom: £150.00 inc VAT
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Printable A6 Tuition Gift Cards£25.00 – £320.00
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Les Thorne 1-1 Pepper and Salt MillsFrom: £320.00 inc VAT
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Les Thorne 1-1 Improvers Natural Edge Bowls£320.00 inc VAT
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Les Thorne 1-1 Basic Course on Colouring and Texturing Bowls£320.00 inc VAT
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Les Thorne 1-1 Improvers Hollowed Forms£320.00 inc VAT
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Remote Tuition with Martin Saban-SmithFrom: £40.00 inc VAT
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1-1 Full Day Tuition£320.00 inc VAT
One to One Tuition
In our opinion, one-to-one tuition is simply the best way to receive the absolute best in tuition. Les and Martin can provide tuition on a huge range of turning disciplines.
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Printable A6 Tuition Gift Cards£25.00 – £320.00
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Les Thorne 1-1 Pepper and Salt MillsFrom: £320.00 inc VAT
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Les Thorne 1-1 Improvers Natural Edge Bowls£320.00 inc VAT
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Les Thorne 1-1 Basic Course on Colouring and Texturing Bowls£320.00 inc VAT
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Les Thorne 1-1 Improvers Hollowed Forms£320.00 inc VAT
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1-1 Full Day Tuition£320.00 inc VAT





















Presentation Lathe

The primary tuition room has an Axminster 2030 Trade lathe used as a demonstration machine and for one-to-one tuition. It is a beast of a machine and allows pieces to be turned up to 20″ over the bed and up to a whopping 39″ using the bed extension. It is used to demonstrate the techniques on the course and can also be used by one of the students.
Five Lathe Stations
There are five additional lathe stations that students use, featuring the popular Axminster 406 lathes as well as OneWay and Vicmarc machines.
Other Facilities
Each student has a complete set of woodturning tools and finishes to use on the day and access to a host of other tools for specialist courses.

Each student also receives a welcome pack containing their abrasives, a dust mask, a Les Thorne DVD, lathe stickers and further information.
The workshop also features extraction for each lathe, plus the air in the workshop is completely filtered up to 12 times an hour when sanding with a ceiling mounted Jet filtration system.
Food & Drink

Morning coffee and lunch are included in most of our course costs and they all begin at the Garden Centre’s popular Tree House Coffee Shop.
After a meet & greet, we will get started at the workshop before returning for lunch. There is a good menu with vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options.
The workshop has tea and coffee making facilities and bottles of water on-hand, too.
Quality Assurance

Axminster Tools recommend our woodturning tuition to their customers.
Every Woodturning Shop student will also receive a 5% discount for use in Axminster Tool shops at the end of their course.
Find Us
We are based to the rear of the newly refurbished Garthowen Garden Centre in Four Marks, Hampshire.
