bespoke hand made furniture & green woodworking
I have just finished another order of 100 pegs and was very pleased to receive this picture of the finished frame assembled near Okehampton from local Oak, milled on site by Jim White, White Wood Management.
It looks very nice and as a first framing project it is clearly a complete success.
Although I have been to a number of shows this summer, Kingsbridge was my first solo affair, with out the support of the likes of the fantastic National Trust team or Jim and Jack from White Wood Management.
I was overwhelmed by the response and very pleased with my stall which only just squeezed into the plot.
I managed to erect and dismantle the awning single handed, but getting the hanging sign up took some thought!
It wasnt always this quiet but it wasnt until the end of the day that I realised I needed some pictures, At least my lovely girls where there at this stage.
And it all packs away into a small trailer and CRV, until next time…
Matt And Damian came along for a one day course after having a go on the pole lathe at Fingle Forest Fair.
We started by selecting a small Ash tree from the near by woodland and after some amazing team work they not only felled the tree but piled the brash and cut it to length ready for the walk back to the work shop.
Tiiiimber (with some persuasion).
And now the work begins!
After braving the nettles and carrying the prize back to the work shop (well done Max, good effort)! They set about the creative element of the day.
Max was particularly pleased with the array of vintage tools for them to use and work soon got under way.
It all got a little bit quiet as they focused on the task of cleaving and shaping their projects.
After trying a variety of tools and techniques I am pleased to say that we had two very happy green wood workers. Max with his very realistic short sword and Damian with a handmade mallet for his father.
Thank you both for a great day and for your enthusiasm, cups of tea and for leaving me with some biscuits.
I thought I should share some lovely images from Saturdays event in Fingle meadow. It truely was a great family day and shows that green wood working is a brilliant activity for all ages. I will be making kiddie sized shaving horses and lathes over the next few days so come along and let your little ones be creative.
Over the next couple of weeks I will be carrying out some maintenance work in a woodland near Bradninch on behalf of the Duchy of Cornwall. It is a mixed broadleaf woodland with Oak, Ash, and plenty of Hazel, Alder, and Willow amongst a variety of other species. The job is to coppice (cut at ground level) the Alder, Hazel, and Willow along the rides opening them up and paving the way for future management. By widening the rides and piling the cut material in rows, known as windrows, the habitat value of the woodland will be greatly improved. The windrows provide shelter for mammals and allow the timber to natrurally decompose promoting fungi and insect activity. Coppicing also allows light to reach the woodland floor which will result in a flush of ground flora. The overall benefit is to create a wider range of habitats with in the woodland. We observed Fritillarys, Willow tits and Goldcrests moving along the newly opened areas on the third day of cutting.
There is, of course, a commercial benefit to this as well. The larger cut material can be sold as fire wood and the woodland is now accessible for selective removal of the mature trees which in turn will create open areas that will be replanted and in the interim will allow the ground flora to flurish.
From my point of view it is great to be back in the woods making a real difference and with permision, the Alder will make fantastic bodging wood for courses and demonstrations. The physical act of cutting dragging and stacking the wood is both exhausting and satisfying in its self, it requires a delightful combination of brute force and careful attention to detail inorder to produce the desired neat straight rows and clean cut coppice stumps. I hope to keep a close eye on this woodland, and after twenty or so years of neglect to be able to help it back into a healthy and productive state.
