I first met Steve Prescott when he was working for a large international telecoms company. He couldn’t wait to leave them and started life as a furniture maker and join our woodworking school. when he started his course with us he was always in a hurry not wanting to be held up by the delivery of hand tools you bought everything ahead of time. this urgency, focus gave Steve and the ability to produce an inordinate amount of high-quality challenging pieces of furniture in 50 short weeks. I’ll as I wouldn’t say that Steve didn’t know one end of a chisel from another but his skills were fairly basic. What enabled him to achieve so much with sheer hard work focus and determination. in the first four months the waltz himself he waltzed his way through our projects and modules including making himself a very fine cabinetmaker’s bench. He then decided to make a chair, we are good at chairs here, normally I suggest that students make a relatively simple chair. But Steve wanted to make a rocking chair with a stool both of which would rock.
The second piece true to form was to become a terrifically ambitous and successful first Cabinet. Made in Birds Eye Maple veneer is on solid Maple and Sycamore with the contrasting Zebrano carcass sides and doors. This piece was made as a wedding gift and the names of the lucky recipients in laser engraved onto the Cabinet.
Finally Steve made and extending dining table not a simple extending dining table at an English pattern extender with a wooden threaded mechanism. this enables Steve to put a handmade wooden handle on the end frame of the table and wind it out fitting it with two extending leaves which are stored separately.
Having started a young family Steve now needed to consider what he was doing after the course. he wanted to open his own workshop somewhere just north of Bristol where his partner lived. this is accomplished by good luck. A contact of mine who edits woodworking magazine runs a small workshop he was looking for someone to share that workshop and assist with the publication of the magazine. Just so happens that is situated just north of Bristol……. and fortune does favour the brave. now you will see Steve and a regular basis looking goofy in the pages of British Woodworking. Well done Steve.
