In these carpentry courses, you will have the opportunity to build, with your own hands and under the expert guidance of Robert Malý, a traditional Czech log house (roubenka) with dovetail corner joints, a Scandinavian-style log cabin with saddle-notched corner joints with overhangs (a higher-quality variant of Canadian log cabins), a carpenter’s bench featuring various types of all-wood joints, or a solid wood bed, all of which you will take home with you after the course (four-day courses). In addition, a variety of other projects are available. You will get hands-on experience with many traditional and non-traditional tools and learn a range of practical skills and theoretical knowledge that will enable you to build your own carpentry projects at home. You will learn traditional carpentry joints (mortise-and-tenon joints secured with oak pegs, dovetails, saddle notches used in log construction, half-lap joints, etc.), how to hand-plane and hew beams, and how to work confidently with tools such as the drawknife, adze, hand plane, carpenter’s broad axe, and various chisels, including how to sharpen your tools yourself. You will also gain in-depth knowledge about wood structure and properties, different types of timber constructions, traditional tools used in carpentry both in the past and today, as well as methods of woodworking and wood protection.
The courses are intended both for complete beginners and for more experienced participants, regardless of gender. The log-building course is more physically demanding and requires basic general manual dexterity, but no prior experience in working with wood is necessary.
The course fee always includes lunches.
During the courses, a small cabin is fully available at the venue (wood-burning stove, LPG camping stove, electric kettle, cookware, piano).
It is now also possible to use a small log-built sauna located directly on the course grounds.
Venue
The courses take place in Nová Ves near Brloh (Český Krumlov District), approximately 8 km from Křemže and about 25 km southwest of České Budějovice, within the Blanský les Protected Landscape Area. A map with the marked location can be found below.