“I first met Christopher a couple of years ago as a rather nervous but inquisitive woodworking novice. My paternal grandfather, who I never met, had been a master craftsman; I had inherited some of his tools and had no idea how to hold, let alone use, them. I called Christopher for help.
Christopher immediately put me at ease through his unbounded passion for his craft, his extraordinary skill and experience and his infectious humour. Here I am now having completed, I reckon, over 20 woodworking projects in the Woodhall Barns workshop.
Together, we have designed and made a plethora of wood “objets d'art” (from American ash, cherry, teak, oak, pine and sequoia) ranging from practical furniture for my garden (bench, table, pergola and cold frame), for my home (bookshelves, tables, shoe racks and exquisite oak pens) and even our dogs now have a new bespoke bed (which they don't wish to leave!).
Christopher has guided me throughout with unstinting patience, taught me how to plan, design, build and finish a project from scratch, given me the confidence to use both hand tools and (at first, daunting) machinery and shown me that it is completely natural to make mistakes (and for which he has always found a workable solution, somehow). We have laughed throughout and, of course, put the world to right!
I commend Christopher as an outstanding teacher to any and all woodworkers. You are guaranteed to learn something new and produce a creative piece of which you will be proud; I certainly am.”
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I have completed several courses with Christopher at the Woodhall Workshop over the last few years and have learnt a great deal as well as enjoying myself enormously.
Christopher brings huge experience and knowledge of his craft and conveys this in a confident, relaxed manner, and with a good degree of humour. I liked the fact that much of the course is conducted as a conversation rather than a lecture, bringing in questions and problems from all course participants. The majority of the time was very practical, and we got our hands onto tools, machines and wood almost straight away.
The test of a skilled craftsman is often demonstrated in putting things right when something has gone wrong and Christopher is a master at this. He is unflappable and very creative in coming up with solutions and work arounds.
In addition to learning on the courses I have continued to use Christopher as a sounding board and adviser as I have embarked on my own projects and needed some advice or just wanted to talk through how I planned to approach something.
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Peter Bowman ..... a very happy and satisfied woodworker.
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I had a phenomenally instructive 1-2-1 woodworking session with Christopher Hall. I learnt all my basic woodworking skills at school but the wood working tools and techniques have moved on since 1970. So, just before my retirement Christopher gave me a refresher that covered Kreg jointing, biscuit jointing, routers, mitre saws, table saws, modern glues, tool sharpening and at least a thousand other tips during the time.
With the knowledge gained from Christopher I now have a Jacobean oak dining table, an ash medieval door, oak shelves, a hexagonal oak framed building plus much more. Since the 1-2-1 he has always been happy to help me with thoughts and advice from his extensive experience when I get stuck or need to purchase a tool upgrade.
Best investment I have ever made. Thank you for being so very thoughtful to meet my needs.
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