“I’d always been put off power tools because I have no clue how to use them. This class was perfect for a complete novice and covered the basics well. We tried 6/7 tools - most useful for me were the drills and sander, but trying a range helped build confidence.
Richard is a patient teacher, very helpful and answered 1001 questions.”
“Was a great time- very informative and got to try so many things I've wanted to for a while! The teacher, Richard, was super helpful and used his experience to inform the barrage of questions that the class had very well. Definitely worth it. The only mildly annoying thing was that there was only one of the larger power tools and therefore everyone got one turn at those as someone was using them at all times, but that's understandable.”
“Exactly what I wanted out of a class like this. A detailed introduction to a variety of common power tools, with a nice mixture of demonstration, discussion and hands-on practice. The teacher, Richard, has a wealth of tips, tricks and knowledge, is open to questions, and is happy to adapt the class to what each person wants to learn. He was upfront about the errors he had made when running previous sessions of this class and instilled us with the ethos of learning from mistakes and how that applies to woodworking, which is an important mindset for beginners to adopt. Small class size so you get lots of attention. Tools are premium quality and the workshop is well organised, clean and about as dust-free as a woodworking shop can be. Health and safety was considered at all times. I am happy with my experience, feel much more confident with power tools, and will likely come back for another class in the future. I would highly recommend this if you have an interest in DIY but don't know where to start.”
“I really enjoyed the Power Tools course. I learned the theory behind drilling holes and had hands-on practice with different types of drills, plus I got lots of helpful recommendations on which tools, screws, and drill bits to use. We also learned to use the saw, router, and sander, which was a great experience. I’ll soon be putting my new drilling skills into good practice!
The session was nice and relaxed, and the venue was great, with parking spaces available.
Thank you very much to Richard and the team for such a useful and enjoyable session.”
“As someone with no experience with power tools I was looking for a beginner friendly class and Richard was perfect for it. Very knowledgeable, clear and was able to present the class in a way that beginners can easily digest.
Happy with my experience and will return for an intermediate class once I build up my skills.”
“I am writing to express my disappointment with the recent Power Tools Masterclass. While I appreciate the importance of health and safety in DIY projects, I felt that the extensive discussion on dust and dust management systems—approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes—took up an excessive amount of time.
My primary expectation for this workshop, as advertised on Class Bento, was hands-on experience with power tools such as cordless drills, circular saws, jigsaws, and sanders. However, I only had about 20 minutes with the drills and sanders. Consequently, I left the workshop feeling that I had not gained enough practical experience to confidently use these tools on my own.
In addition, the class could have been improved with better structure and preparation. It would have been helpful to have a handout outlining the day's agenda so participants knew what to expect and could follow along more easily. Moreover, having the power tools readily available at the start of the class, rather than scrambling to find enough for each participant, would have made better use of our time.
Considering the cost of the workshop, I felt that it did not provide the value I anticipated. The actual content and hands-on experience did not align with the description in the advertisement. I believe that providing a clear outline and ensuring more hands-on practice would significantly enhance the workshop experience.
Thank you for considering my feedback.”
“It was great to learn about different tools and to use them. I think we went into a bit too much details and there was a lot of listening, but would have been great to more time spent practicing using the drills and the saw, a bit less time using the sander at the start. It felt a bit frustrating listening to the teacher for sometimes more than an hour before being able to practice and I think the essential information could have been summed up. It felt a bit like we were short on time at the end to practice using the tools as we spent long periods of time listening. I would also suggest providing people with a notepad to write down important info (or even a small booklet), or remind people to take a notepad. Overall I learnt a lot and the class has increased my confidence in using power tools, but it would have been beneficial to have more practice and less teacher talk . Richard is a great guy and the atmosphere was really lovely !”
“Richard was so passionate, knowledgeable and ran such an interesting session. Highly recommend for anyone looking to learn about DIY and gain confidence in using power tools.
Being able to ask lots of questions and discuss theory + getting hands-on practice was super useful and fun. Thanks Richard!”
