watersidewoodcarvers – carving made fun

About Us

Carving workshops take place at Noadswood School

Alternate Thursdays 6.30-8.30pm in the woodwork room.

See events page for all dates.

Please note that our Contact page is not currently passing on messages. For enquiries please phone the chairman on 02380 845787.

Waterside Woodcarvers takes its name from the area where the New Forest meets the western edge of Southampton Water. It was formed in 1983 and has about 40 members ranging from complete beginners to highly skilled carvers.

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Cups of tea

Tons of wood chips

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Carvings in progress

What we do

We carve fortnightly on Thursday evenings, 6.30pm-8.30pm at Noadswood School including during school holidays. We use their workshop and provide all the necessary tools to get started.

Quarterly social meetings are also held, at St Andrews Church Hall, Dibden Purlieu – on Friday evenings or Saturday afternoons. These give an opportunity for members to get together socially with visiting speakers, demonstrations and other activities. These events regularly have a sales table of tools, timber and books. See calendar for details.

The club holds exhibitions of its members’ work and ‘carve-ins’ where everyone is welcome to come along and see carvers in action and find out more about the club.

Portfolio

Here are some recent activities and projects our group have been working on

Membership

Open to anyone 16 years and over:

Beginners are welcome.

As the space for workshops at Noadswood School is limited, the committee has decided to limit the number of members who wish to take part in those workshops, so there may be a waiting list. There is no limit to the number of members who wish to join and take part in other club activities.

Waterside Woodcarvers membership: £10 per year, payable in January. After 1st September £5 to 31st Dec and thereafter £10 per year.

Visitors to social events £2 per event.

Carving workshops at Noadswood school: From 1 Jan 2025 fees per quarter year £15.

Details of members are stored safely and will only be used in the administration of the club. They will not be shared with any third party or other organisation.

Apr to June 2025
£15

July to Sept 2025
£15

Oct to Dec 2025
£15

Beginners

There’s no need to buy lots of expensive tools. We encourage you to use the club tools until you are sure you want to continue woodcarving and by then will have a better idea of what tools suit you and your budget.

When you start you are given everything you need to start a simple first carving. With lots of advice, support and encouragement from our more experienced members you will soon learn the basic skills.

Bit and Pieces

On Thursday evenings, there are opportunities to buy items such as abrasives and small tools, to browse books and magazines for inspiration and discuss your ideas over a cuppa.

Abranet 70mm x 125mm abrasive sheet 80 grit, 180 grit, 320 grit: all 55p each
Safety gloves – you only need one!
Taxidermist’s black glass eyes – 2mm 3mm 4mm = £1.00 pair, 5mm 6mm = £1.20 pair

There is an annual club trophy, awarded by members to a carving of any type or wood. In addition there is a fun ‘wood block challenge’ where members start with identical blocks of wood and carve something of their choice based on an agreed theme.

Events

View all of our events on our easy to use calender

View Our Events

Weblog

After several years of regular workshops at Applemore College, we have moved to Noadswood School, using their woodwork room. Carving workshops are now from 6.30pm to 8.30pm every fortnight, including during school holidays. See the event calendar for dates. Beginners always very welcome. There is usually a break about 7.30pm for tea or coffee and a biscuit. The quarterly fee covers the cost of hiring the room. Additional socials and outings are organised from time to time.

This is a very friendly and supportive group, run by a small committee. Loads of help and advice if you need it. Magazines to borrow if you are looking for inspiration -or just walk around the workshop and see what others are working on.

If you are wondering about having a go at carving, come and visit us at a workshop to find out more about the club.

Current committee members:

Chair: Di Smith
Treasurer: Malcolm Collins
Secretary: Andy McCaffrey
Maggie Port
Paul Humphriss

Chairmen:

Oct 1983 J. Edinborough (Acting)

Sep 1986 C. W. Kocher

Feb 1989 P. Reynolds

Feb 1991 P. Humphriss

Feb 1994 R. Colebrook

Feb 1998 C. Wicks (Acting)

Feb 2000 C. Wicks

Feb 2001 R. Colebrook

Feb 2010 R. Elliott

Sep 2020 D. Smith

Take a look at our quarterly newsletter here

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