Pictured from left to right are winners Laci Trotter and Jeshua Doherty from Burton and South Derbyshire College with their cheese and wine themed competition entry. Credit should also be given to Brandon Salmon who was the third member of the winning team but who was away on the day the photograph was taken.
IN A BID to bring its woodcare products to the masses, Liberon has challenged three sets of college students to create different food-facing projects, each using Liberon Pure Tung Oil with which to finish their pieces.
When finishing items that are going to come into contact with food such as chopping boards, salad bowls and wooden kitchen work surfaces a premium, natural Tung oil with no additives is the right choice in order to seal and preserve the wood. Liberon’s Pure Tung Oil is hardwearing and provides a long-lasting matt finish. It can also be used externally on oak to help prevent black spots.
Burton and South Derbyshire College
This is the fourth year that Burton and South Derbyshire College has taken part in the initiative, which aims to teach students about the specialist woodcare options available to them, while asking them to be applied on imaginative items they have made. This year, Liberon called on learners on the college’s Level 2 Diploma in Bench Joinery course to take part.
Teams of students were given approximately eight teaching hours in total to complete the project. The winning team came up with the idea of producing a cheese and wine themed food platter, featuring a vertical section styled to look like a mouse’s face. A horizontal section provided space for cheeses and other ‘nibbles’ while the back of the vertical mouse-shaped element offered areas for housing wine bottles and glasses. The project saw the team working with Red and White Deal, Poplar, Douglas Fir and a small amount of Oak.
Richard Bradley, UK head of marketing with the competition sponsors, Liberon, says: “The students did exceptionally well this year. While the winning design is fabulous, I also congratulate the other teams in the work they did too. Good luck to all the students on the course in their future carpentry and joinery careers.”
Course leader, Ian Vanes-Jones, added: “All the students did very well in this year’s Liberon competition. We asked the students to design, build and finish a project to a tight schedule, and they have succeeded admirably. The whole initiative showed off their skills on our new CNC machine and how well they can handle the lathe. I’m a fan of Liberon’s Pure Tung Oil, which is just right for food-facing items, and this competition has highlighted the great effects the oil can achieve. All in all, this is a skills test of which the students and the college can be proud.”
The entries were judged by staff at the college who agreed that the standard of work was high and that making a choice had not been an easy decision. The three members of the winning team each won a £25 Amazon voucher provided by Liberon.
The competition winner at Newark College, Katie Reading (middle) with 2nd place winner Julian Davis (left) and 3rd place winner Harry Newton (right).
Newark College
Students at Newark College took part for the second year running in Liberon’s competition to test their carpentry and joinery skills. This year, learners on the college’s Furniture Making course designed, made and finished a food bowls, finished using Liberon Pure Tung Oil. The competition resulted in one winning student plus second and third place winners.
Richard Bradley, UK head of marketing at the competition sponsors, Liberon, says: “It’s great to see what the students have come up with. Clearly, they have taken great trouble over their designs, and I’d like to congratulate the winners and wish the other students all the very best in their future careers.”
Course leader, Richard Preece, added: “The students produced some excellent bowl designs. They were each given Beech with which to work as this timber is naturally anti-bacterial. The project has been a good means of testing the students’ bowl-turning skills on the lathe, plus shaping abilities using the requisite hand tools. In addition, the competition looked at the students’ wood finishing techniques using Liberon’s products.”
The entries were judged by staff at Newark College, and the winner, runner-up and second runner-up each won a £25 Amazon voucher provided by Liberon. The bowl produced by Katie Reading, the competition winner, featured a beautiful, raised pattern on its outside rim, and was finished to a very high standard.
From left to right from Walsall College are Brody Garmston, winner Hayley Pitcher and Sulieman Rafi.
Walsall College
Students at Walsall College’s Level 2 Bench Joinery course also took part this year. Course leader, Charles Jones, came up with the idea of asking students to create food chopping boards.
Students were given free rein to come up with a design, mostly using hand tools and working with rough-sawn Oak. They also had access to new equipment recently purchased by the college, including a band saw, CNC router and planer thicknesser. The latter is used to machine timber down to accurate, consistent thicknesses.
The winning design by Hayley Pitcher featured two parallel stripes of contrasting wood tone and was judged to have beautifully rounded corners and an excellent level of finishing. Two runner-up designs were also agreed by judges, which belonged to students Sulieman Rafi and Brody Garmston.
Richard Bradley, UK head of marketing with the competition sponsors, Liberon, says: “Congratulations to Hayley and the two runner-up students. The chopping board designs showcase perfectly the great effects that can be achieved using our Pure Tung Oil. I wish the students well in their future careers.”
Course leader, Charles Jones, added: “This competition has not only tested the students’ ability to set out accurately, but also to come up with creative designs. In addition, it’s been a great initiative to stretch their skills in using hand tools and push them into trying new equipment and processes. Using jigsaws, for example, and applying chamfers all add up to a good learning experience.”
The entries were judged by staff at the college, and the winner and two runner-ups each won a £25 Amazon voucher provided by Liberon.
See page 8 & 9 of our June/July 2025 issue on our Back Issues page.
