DIY Workshop: Power Tools Masterclass

Recent reviews of DIY Workshop: Power Tools Masterclass

• 5/5 from Lily Ann Coleman, attended Sep 2026: Excellent class. Hands on experience. Lovely man and all the women in the class agreed we felt completely comfiorable and at ease.
• 5/5 from Maggie, attended Jun 2026: Excellent, truly informative class led by a lovely teacher - couldn't recommend more highly!
• 5/5 from Jane Purkiss, attended May 2026: Fantastic workshop especially if you haven’t invested in power tools yet Richard has great knowledge and an effortless manner in teaching, so easy to understand and lots of opportunity to try the tools yourself The four hours flew by and I have no hesitation in highly recommending this course. Don’t dither just book asap you will not regret it
• 4/5 from Anonymised ClassBento customer, attended May 2026: Such a great class to learn the basics of power tools - health and safety, tips and tricks, tutorials and got hands-on with the tools. Would have been good to know to bring lunch, and we stood the 4 hours (as expected) so be mindful. Overall, fab teacher who answered all our questions - will be back for another class
• 5/5 from Eleanor Edwards, attended Mar 2026: The class was very beneficial at helping me understand the basics of using power tools. I now know how how to use a drill and put in screws and had a go at using saws. I am often asked to use power tools at work and it's useful at home as well. I would recommend this course.
• 4/5 from Deanna Faria, attended Feb 2026: Richard was a good teacher and explained everything well with good demonstrations. He gave us time to explore the tools ourselves and was at hand to give one to one support and advice. We used many different power tools. Some were probably more for experts rather than my level of DIY but it was good to know what tools are and what they’re used for. I learned some valuable skills which will be extremely useful in future projects of mine. The course was good value for money.
• 5/5 from Anmolia Chan, attended Dec 2025: A great class Thanks so much The instructor was knowledgeable and easy to work with Would definitely take one of the other classes they offer
• 5/5 from Aran Gray, attended Oct 2025: Really enjoyed the class - felt a lot more confident about using tools and finally learnt how to use my drill/driver properly
• 5/5 from Yvonne Solomon, attended Jun 2025: 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.
• 5/5 from Mrigank Mohan, attended Jun 2025: 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.
• 5/5 from George Looker, attended May 2025: 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.
• 5/5 from Lea Solman, attended Apr 2025: 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.
• 5/5 from Rashaan Campbell, attended Apr 2025: 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.
• 4/5 from Anonymised ClassBento customer, attended Mar 2025: I really enjoyed the workshop, it had a really wholesome inclusive vibe and I had a really fun day. However I found the pictures and course description a bit misleading.... I thought I would use more than two power tools... I really wished the day had been a bit more structured, my goal of the day was to learn how to use a saw (which is the description) and was the main reason I signed up! Despite this I had a super fun time and I would definitely do a different Rivershop course! Richard is very patient teacher and answerer of all questions, I just wanted more power tools!!!
• 2/5 from Anna Rotar, attended Mar 2025: 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 ClassBento, 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.
• 5/5 from Rina Amin, attended Feb 2025: A great introduction to power tools. I learned absolutely loads. The course went at a good pace and loved that it was practical so you learned by doing.
• 5/5 from Haengeun Chi, attended Jan 2025: 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!
• 5/5 from Ann Neath, attended Jan 2025: Really enjoyed the course. Thought Richard was an excellent and patient teacher. Particularly learning about sanding and drilling. Suggestions as course develops - would be good to have some specific exercises to complete eg connect three pieces of wood with screws. Would also be good to have some takeaway written materials
• 5/5 from Edward Bateman, attended Jan 2025: Brilliant course. I’ve done a bit of diy, and I learnt lots on this course. Everything from the gears for the drill, to width/length of wall plugs and the drill bit to use. Everyone asked questions, from those with experience to those that had never tried it before. Having a go drilling into the masonry block on the SDS drill was so useful to see the difference vs a normal drill. It was also a good opportunity to make mistake, apply what we had been told and learn! I also enjoyed using the jigsaw and trying to use it upside down - which was much more precise than using it facing down. There was much more in the course that I haven’t mentioned.
• 4/5 from Myriam Nouichef, attended Jan 2025: 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!
• 5/5 from Harry, attended Apr 2024: The tabletop workshop with Richard was a lot of fun, learnt some valuable skills, and gained a lot of confidence with woodworking techniques and handling machinery and equipment. Richard was really informative, took his time with us, and made us feel comfortable whilst giving us plenty of time to get to grips with the tools. Really good space, and proper happy with my final piece. No doubt I will be back for another course!
• 5/5 from Seema Chopra, attended Mar 2024: I bought the introduction to table top making course as a gift for my partners birthday. Dan was really informative, thorough, knowledgeable and funny! The venue was fantastic, a lovely studio set on the Thames, with lots of light and really tidy and inspiring. The equipment was in good condition and we had access to so many tools. We mainly used the router, sander and circular saw. We were taught how to use the power tools safely. We created a beautiful table top each. We could use it as a stool, table or whatever we like. We were encouraged to finish the table tops to a professional standard and even got to coat it with a beautifully scented natural oil and colour pigment. It was fantastic value and we would love to book in again. We would feel comfortable working with Dan on future projects. Thanks
• 5/5 from Emily, attended Jan 2024: Thoroughly enjoyed taking this class. I will definitely book another class at The Riverside Studio
• 5/5 from Siyu, attended Dec 2023: I loved this class! I signed up to learn a bit more about woodworking and it was a great experience! The teach was friendly and very helpful, they gave us everything we needed to do a small table top (and they will deliver it to our house for free!). I very much recommend it!
• 5/5 from Benji Stiles, attended Nov 2023: 10/10 Would recommend this. Really good course i learned a huge amount and the staff are really helpful going out of their way to give extra input. Great idea for a day out and to brush up on your knowledge for all experience levels.
• 5/5 from Alberto, attended Nov 2023: Excellent introductory class. Good explanations about types of wood, prep work, tools, oils. Overview of all the equipment and professional tools available in the workshop. In about 4 hours you will be very satisfied in having built an amazing, professionally looking, finished table top.
• 5/5 from Joby Reeves, attended Nov 2023: Thoroughly enjoyed this class! The teaching was informative, and the tools/materials available worked perfectly. It was great having access to some of the high-end power tools and nice to have a finished piece to take home. Would definitely recommend to anyone interested in sharpening their carpeting skills.
• 5/5 from Ibrahim, attended Oct 2023: I had a great experience making a small wooden top with Dan. He taught some essential skills necessary to make your own wooden pieces, and how to shape corners and edges. Very good stuff.