Idle Hands Workshop Canberra

Heidi just finished this awesome quirky stool - all recycled timbers - so cool!

Look at these beauties! We had a question - could a beginner make a star trivet? The answer is below - lovely tight joints, beautifully finished off - well done Adrienne!

Mary finished this beautifully carved bar stool.

Frances replaced a broken leg on her coffee table - including selecting and shaping the timber, making all the mortise and tenon joints, and finishing it off to match the existing colour. I bet you can’t tell which one leg was the replacement!

Some more lovely projects finished! Well done Shirali, Adrienne, Prachi, Claire and James!

Are you interested in learning woodworking? Are you not sure where to start? Do you live in or near Canberra? If yes then come to Idle Hands Workshop!!

We have one spot left in our Wednesday woodworking class - beginners welcome.

Everything you need will be supplied. You’ll learn some basic skills and work on a few set projects to get you going. The focus will be on using hand tools.

When - Wednesdays 6-9pm
Cost - $800 for 10 classes
Where - Downer, ACT

Contact Kelly at 0467 069 312 or [email protected]

It’s been a busy few months at the workshop - some very cool projects finished…..well done everyone!

ACT Woodcraft Guild Annual Exhibition and Sale - 3-6 October 2025 After you visit the @anbgalive Banksia Garden, with its 70 types of banksias from around Australia, drop into the Banksia Centre and check out the gorgeous handmade woodcrafts made using banksia wood and banksia nuts. On Saturday 4 October, there will be wood turning demonstrations across the day, showing how banksia nuts can be made into vases, scent pods and more!

Have you ever wanted to try woodworking? Some spaces have opened up for beginner woodworkers on Monday and Wednesday nights. Classes are from 6-9pm, everything is provided. $700 for 10 sessions.

The workshop is in Downer, ACT.

Below are some examples of the amazing students and some amazing pieces they have made after completing the beginners class.

Please contact Kelly on 0467 069 312

Although we think of it as belonging to an older way of working wood, the round mallet is a technological marvel. The wooden mallet does minimal damage to your chisels on impact, and the damage you do to the mallet is spread over such a broad surface that the mallet itself seems indestructible. The light weight insures that your muscles don’t tire and gives you superb control over how deep the chisel cuts. And because you can use the entire circumference of the wooden cylinder as a striking surface, you don’t have to worry about the orientation of the mallet when you strike. But there is one more advantage to this design that has faded into history as more and more of the woodworking we once did with hand tools is now accomplished with electric power. If you spend hours each day gripping a mallet, you are in danger of developing carpal tunnel, tendonitis, tennis elbow, nerve compression, and numbness in your arm, hand, and fingers. The round design helps to avoid all of that. Simply relax you grip on the upstroke, just enough that the mallet begins to spin, and grip it again on the downstroke just before you make contact with the chisel. This small movement momentarily relaxes the muscles and tendons, forestalling the physical damage that a tight grip and repetitive motion might otherwise do. And the round striking surface insures the mallet will always be properly positioned for a strike no matter how far it may roll when you relax your grip. To see all of our videos and SUBSCRIBE for more, see: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk480B1pofOjThMfkBjhDpQ . And please visit the WORKSHOP COMPANION GENERAL STORE where we offer a wide selection of Nick's BOOKS and PROJECT PLANS in digital format: https://workshopcompanionstore.com/

Have you ever wanted to try old school hand tool woodworking?

Term 2 - Beginner woodworking classes start end of April 2025!

Monday 28th April - We have a brand new beginners class, with the class size kept tiny at only four people.

Plus Saturday 3rd May - we have two beginner spots available for our Saturday morning class.

Get in touch asap to secure your spot!

Call/text Kelly on 0467 069 312

Or email [email protected]

Some more great projects completed - a beautiful dovetail picture frame by Shirali, and a phone stand and trivet by Heidi and Damien!

If you’re interested in joining one of our beginner classes, we currently have some spaces available. Please contact us on Messenger or call Kelly on 0467 069 312.

Have a look at this clever range of projects that Litza, Indi and Tarn created during the holidays!