A tale of two cities
INProfile sent Tom Rogers along to assess the highest and the oldest of routing courses !
Edinburgh
Telford College
Itook the high road to Edinburgh , home of our most northerly routing course , and to Telford College where promising router enthusiasts can find the course of their choice : Basic , Advanced or Tradesman .
I was booked on the one day advanced course along with five others all of whom had some routing experience or had attended the basic course .
As with all routing courses we started with a brief talk on the safety aspects before commencing with our project , a small occasional table .
The production of the table introduced the use of some of the more popular jigs available for the router :
■ CRT MK2 router table on which we were dovetailing , slotting and template profiling
■ Routerlathe for turning and fluting
■ Router carver for producing the decorative feature .
All the students were suitably impressed with the versatility of the equipment and quickly became proficient in using it .
The course is full hands-on from start to finish and the lecturers Gregor Allan and Keith Swann skillfully promoted the use of the equipment to encourage the students to work effectively and with pleasing confidence .
St . Albans
Oaklands College
One of the longest running routing courses in the UK is held at Oaklands College , St Albans , who boast excellent attendance throughout their nine year reign for the one day basic and two day advanced courses . This case study follows the one day basic course , custom designed for the absolute routing beginner .
A brief , concise introduction covering the functions of light and heavy duty routers was followed by a discussion on cutters and their uses , router safety and safe routing .
This course is as all beginners courses should be , concentrating on the basic use and functions of the router , gradually and effectively building up the confidence of the students in order that they can adopt certain techniques to suit their own particular tasks .
The last section of the day was taken up with the production of a bread board , incorporating some of the methods used previously during the day . This is an ideal course for those new to routing .
Course Details :
One day basic , advanced and tradesman courses , between them consolidating many routing techniques and including the use of many jigs and templates .
Course Prices : One Day All types ________ £ 70
Edinburgh ’ s Telford College Crewe Toll Edinburgh EH4 2NZ Tel : 0131 332 2491 ext . 7336
Course Details :
One day basic and two day advanced courses , primarily based on routers , cutters and techniques .
Course Prices : One Day Basic ____________ £ 95
Two Day Advanced ______ £ 175
Oaklands College St Peters Road St Albans Herts AL1 3RZ Tel : 01727 737213
30 INProfile Autumn 2000