Kangan Batman Students Succeed at Furnishing Industry Training Awards
9 August 2006
Two Kangan Batman TAFE furnishing students have achieved success at the Furnishing Industry Association of Australia Training Awards on 25th July.
Castlemaine-resident Robert Spencer won the Best Certificate III in Furniture Finishing Apprentice Award while Shannon Richardson was a finalist in the Best Certificate III in Cabinet Making Apprentice category.
Both apprentices studied at the Broadmeadow campus, and were required to produce a piece of work and submit it to the judging panel.
Robert's winning work was on an English oak cabinet, dating from 1900, which had been donated to Kangan Batman TAFE after the owner was no longer able to keep it. Robert dismantled, stripped and sanded the antique and then spent over 60 hours French polishing it. It now sits in Kangan Batman TAFE's Council Room, at Broadmeadows.
Introduced in France in the 18th century, French polishing involves the application of shellac polish with a pad or rubber. The constant rubbing of the work results in a film compacted into the grain, giving a depth of beauty in the timber that cannot be obtained by any other finish.
The cabinet was the biggest piece the former labourer had worked on and Robert said it was quite a 'scary' task.
Shannon's talents were recognised when his serpentine fronted crystal cabinet got him to the finalists stage in the cabinet making apprentice category.
According to teacher Brett MacDonald, Shannon's 'will to achieve [and] eye for detail' immediately set him apart from the rest.
Shannon 'fully applied himself to completing his apprenticeship before the scheduled time, using his last project [the serpentine cabinet] to broaden his skills and knowledge in the construction of jigs and patterns.'
Kangan Batman TAFE offers a range of certificates in furniture and upholstery and is only one of two TAFE institutes which delivers French polishing courses, from a short course to a Certificate III qualification.
