MAKE A KNIFE BLOCK

Learn to shape, rout, and finish solid wood — and leave with a piece that earns its place on any kitchen counter.

Over a full day you'll make a wall-mounted knife block in solid walnut or oak: a 325mm bar with a rounded cross-section, flat on the front where ten magnets hold your knives flush to the surface, and flat on the back where a sliding dovetail joint locks it invisibly to the wall. No slots, no clutter, no visible fixings — just knives on wood, held by magnets, made by you.

The form is deceptively simple. Getting there involves precision drilling, router work with a jig, a glued capping piece that seals the magnets inside the block, and an afternoon of hand-shaping — rasps, disc sander, and hand plane — that brings the rounded profile and hemispherical ends to a surface worth oiling. You'll choose your timber on the day: walnut for a darker, finer-grained result; oak for something more open and characterful.

Across the day you'll learn to:

• Choose and read timber: understanding how walnut and oak differ in grain, density, and working character — and what that means for the tools you'll use

• Drill a precision magnet cavity: using a drill press with a depth stop and verifying each recess with calipers — the tolerance that determines whether the magnets sit flush or proud

• Cut a sliding dovetail channel with a router: working with a jig and two bits in sequence — bulk removal first, then the dovetail profile — a joint that holds the block to the wall securely and invisibly

• Glue and trim a capping piece: sealing the magnets inside the block over lunch, then flush-trimming the cap with a router for a seamless face

• Fit a dovetail batten with a hand plane: planing a small component to final fit using a plane inverted in the vise — a technique that gives control a power tool cannot

• Shape a rounded profile by hand: marking with a compass, removing bulk with a disc sander, and refining hemispherical ends with rasps and sandpaper to a line

• Refine flat faces with a hand plane: a final pass to bring the magnet face to the correct depth and remove any marks from the session

• Finish in hard wax oil: two coats by hand, leaving the grain of walnut or oak open and the surface ready for the kitchen

The wall-mounting batten goes home with the block — you'll fit it yourself, and the instructions are straightforward. The knife block itself is made entirely in the session: drilled, routed, assembled, shaped, and finished.

Brandon Harrison is a fine furniture designer-maker with an international formation — trained at Sturt Craft Centre in Australia and Yacademy in Italy — and a practice built around heirloom-quality work where the construction is part of the design. Steam bending, wedged tenons, and exposed joinery run through his own exhibited work, recognised at Craft + Design Canberra, Vivid Furniture Design Melbourne, and Wood Review's Student Maker of the Year. He brings the same depth of thinking to the workshop.

All timber, tools, and finishing materials are included. Come in clothes you can work in and closed-toe shoes — no open-toed footwear in the workshop.

Please note we cannot accommodate pets or children who are not registered for the course.