Category: Uncategorized

I met Ian Swain at Bentley woodfair this year and had some great chats with him. Ian was selling tools with a colleague. I bought an Elwell 4-pound carpenters axe with Elwell branded into the handle.  I would like to use this axe, but because of it`s more or less unused condition, it is a collectors piece.The original paper label is still glued to the handle and a sticker on the axe head, all in very good condition, and for a very good price. I also bought a Belgium Coticle stone and some other tools.

Anyway – what I was really interested in was the solution to a common problem faced by people who work with young children, that is: drilling holes safely. Young children find it difficult and often impossible to use bit and brace or egg-whisk type drills. So Ian got some file handles and good quality engineers’ drill bits and glued both together. Below is a video of how easily it works.

Ian sells these at http://www.theluddite.com/forestschoolequipment.html

Salmon sculpture

Two months ago I was asked by Eden Design to design and carve a sculpture for Stoke Gabriel Community Orchard. Two months is just not long enough and it certainly put me under a lot of strain, but it was reasonably paid, and local.
Any business will have an order book and sometimes I have been booked up for months ahead, so a two month lead time is often not enough. I have another deadline next week, and have taken far too long to supply some smaller orders than is polite. I do not agree with  Douglas Adams: ‘I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.’ it disturbs me deeply if I miss them.

Anyway this had to be a last minute project that took over two weeks to make and I was uncertain whether I was going to complete in time. Luckily after the first week, I knew it would be completed and would look good, so the strain receded a bit.

I should have bought a carving bar for my chainsaw, something that has been on my list of tools to buy for sometime. A chain saw was not much used in this, and most work was undertaken with axe, carving adze, gouges and three long handled hook knives – the same ones that I finished Nicola`s box with. These knives are fantastic carving tools but I really also needed a long handled knife as well.

The first time I saw the sculpture as it should be was today at the opening of the new play park. I do not have the means to hoist the sculpture upright in my workshop to see it as it would be when erected in place, so it was with great relief to see that it looked even better in situ. I was also used to looking at it close up all the time, and not being able to get any perspective on it. 

Although the work was co-ordinated by Eden Design, a lot of community input went into it as well, especially with some of the fund raising. The play park was opened by the oldest resident of Stoke Gabriel who was born and still lives in the house opposite. The children rushed in as soon as they could and played with the joy and intensity that only children can.

My very talented friend Isabel, one of the other artists involved,
 made this large apple sculpture

For your education and entertainment, from the British Pathe archive.

THE CHARCOAL BURNERS – A JAPANESE SIDELIGHT

WALKING STICKS

THE ASH GROVE

BASKET MEN OF SUSSEX

I ran a course at the weekend, making a small 2 brick gas forge and tools. I like a brick forge as it is easily set up and is ready to use within a minute of lighting the gas torch. I am no blacksmith but have made my own tools on and off for over 15 years, often using coke or charcoal. The other advantage of using a gas forge is that it can be set up inside, and very little space is needed.

Before students are allowed to use tool steel they have to practise drawing out a square taper from a 6 inch nail and bending it into a spiral. After this exercise the first tool made was a spoon knife with a gentle curve, the edge was ground into the steel using a bench grinder and belt sander. Once ground it was heated and shaped with the necessary heat treatments to harden and temper it. At the end of day 1 everyone had made their own forge and a hook knife with a handle. Day two consisted of sharpening the knives and making a small carving knife.

I will be running this course again next year, but if you want to make a gas forge then I can send refractory bricks through the post. They are not that heavy and very easy to carve out. I use propane torches from a large gas cylinder, but it is possible to use a cheap all-in-one gas torch with throw away cylinders, they are a bit slower to use, but just make the inside of the forge smaller. MAP gas torches are a lot better but the cartridges are a lot more expensive.

I finished the other willow box (the one which I made too small) with a pure beeswax finish; melting the beeswax until liquid and painting it on the inside which had been warmed with a heat gun. The wax sets quickly and the hot air gun was then used to melt it into the wood. The outside of the box was then waxed and any remaining liquid wax rubbed off; the box was then buffed.
I use the same technique with shrink pots and drinking cups, but if the cups fit into the my wax pot I just leave them to soak, turning them around occasionally.

I like this technique as the wax is soaked into the wood and does not just sit on the surface. Wax inside the shrink pots means that they are food safe and do not smell. Use Danish oil and the smell of the oil takes months to disappear. With my green woodwork items I am wanting to use natural finishes that can be made at home, it is a big subject and I do not have much time to research it at the moment, any recipes are gratefully received.

Bread Box

I was asked a while ago to make a box to store bread in. I gave a minimum quote and said I would cleave wood and nail it together. Not any old nails you understand, but nails made from pure natural iron drizzled with the sweat of the blacksmiths. I had a huge lump of rippled willow, which unfortunatly would not cleave very well. I sawed the wood out on my bandsaw and stickered it with weights on to dry out over the weekend. Because the wood was not quite quarter sawn and it wanted to move a bit from internal stresses. I thought it would be best to dovetail it. I have never made a nail in my life and I thought the young lady concerned would not appreciate my sweat drizzled over the nails.
I needed the dovetail practise as I have some apple wood boxes to make later in the year. Believe it or not, I have managed never to make dovetails in my life before.

I also wanted to use my trade mark wooden hinges. Not wanting to rely on glue to hold them onto box and lid I made them dovetailed. The wood for the hinges is English walnut. I did use a bit of glue but, this box can be made with no adhesives at all, just a couple of small dowels through each hinge to stop them sliding out.

 Knowing my client prefers a natural finish, I got one of my long handled open sweep hook knives and starting in one corner, went over each side of the box. This was remarkably quick and gives a beautiful textured and tactile finish.
Willow is a lovely wood to use and I highly recommend giving it a go. The hook knife finish also works just as well on other woods, you may have to spend slightly longer on it though.

I was really please with the box, and wanted to make a longer one for our kitchen, but somehow I got the measurements wrong and made the first box 2 cm to small, so no wood left over. The old adage of measure twice and cut once is very true, but does not take into account misreading the measurements in the first place.

I made this a while ago from London plane burr, a lovely wood to work with, and a very small tight grained burr. I do not usually sand these cups preferring the tooled finish, the wood being highly figured, sanding would only enhance it. The inside is left with a tooled finish.

I have Kuksas for sale, just contact me for details or have a look on my web site, which at the time of publishing is the old site, without kuksas on. New site within the next couple of weeks.

These cups are made with a bandsaw, to cut the blank, axes, chisels and knives both straight and hooked. The finished cup is soaked in a pot of melted raw beeswax, and is perfect for any cold drinks including spirits.

The winner of the Christmas give away is number 2.
There were 7 of you who left a comment. I assigned you each a number, in the order you left your comment, and let the random number generator choose the winner.

So Mr Allery, if you like to drop me your address, I will send these cards of to you.

A big thank you to you all who read and comment on my blog. I will be having more of these give aways in the future, next time it will be something I have made out of green wood.

Christmas give away

I now have the cards from the printers, so the draw will happen at the end of the week. For those of you who have not read my last blog entry, I am giving away a set of 19 greeting cards. For a chance to win these cards just leave a comment on this, or my last blog entry.

I am having a Christmas exhibition in Totnes, Devon next week as well, so do drop in and say Hi. Click on the poster to make it readable.

New cards, and another print run.

I am having a reprint of some of my greeting cards, and another 4 new ones.

I will be randomly selecting a person who leaves a comment on this blog, and as a Christmas gift will be giving them a full set of of cards.

This will be done on the 13th of December. If you live in this country or Europe, you will get them before Christmas. Other parts of the world often can take longer.
I have had the proofs from the printer and should receive the cards within a couple of weeks. If you would like to buy a pack of all 19 cards you are welcome to purchase them at a special price of £15, which includes postage. I normally sell them for £1.50 each or £28.50 excluding postage.

Oak tree; Sussex.

Arum Lilies; Landhydrock, Cornwall.

Beech tree; Dartmoor.Alder buckthorn; Spitchwick, Dartmoor.

Walnut; Bovey Tracey, Dartmoor.

Tulip Tree; Saltram, Devon

Cairn; Rocky Valley, Cornwall.

Oak tree; Wistmans Wood, Dartmoor.

Oak tree; Wistmans Wood, Dartmoor.

Oak tree; Dewerstone, Dartmoor.

Oak tree; Cisbury Hill Fort, Sussex.

Alder buckthorn; Spitchwick, Dartmoor.

I sell these cards wholesale; the minimum order is £25, postage is £6, flat rate. If your are interested in selling them please contact me for the wholesale price.