Driftwood

A little whittler! From Scotland to Aus via New Zealand

2010-11-19T18:27:00.000-08:00

Recently I shared a delicious pheasant curry with a guru of Traditional Woodland Crafts in Scotland, Kenny Grieve. Whilst the curry, the many pints of accompanying Guinness and excellent chat were fantastic, the real highlight of the evening was a piece of steel given to me by Kenny. Not just any piece of steel though, this piece was from Sweden where it hand been hand forged into a whittling knife. Although lacking a handle and showing a few signs of neglect I carefully wrapped the knife in an old shirt and putted it to the bottom of my bag (out of customs sight hopefully).

The neglected whittler.
Well after a few nervous moments near a certain airport I gladly retrieved the knife from my bag at The Centre for Fine Woodworking in Nelson, New Zealand. The perfect place to clean up the knife and add a handle. I cleaned the knife of rust with a 1000 grit water-stone and then proceeded to sharpen the knife with a 6000 and 10000 grit stones. With the knife ready to whittle all that was needed was a handle and being that I was now in New Zealand I decided something home grown was required. My ever generous friend and tutor at The Centre John Shaw responded to the request magnificently with a piece of quilted Red Beech. Cheers Kenny and John.

The finished Whittling Knife.

Bodging on the Borders - Green woodwork in Scotland

2010-11-15T17:20:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while I seem to come across an experience which is so wonderfully rich with creativity and passionate others that I just know it will stay with me forever. Well on a recent visit to The Scottish Borders and in-particular the area around Jedburgh I had one of these experiences and it was thanks largely to a terrific individual named Eoin Cox.

"Eoin a native of Fife has been involved in communities, landscapes and heritage for more than 30 years. A chance meeting with the late Tim Stead, sculptor and furniture maker, saw them form a nucleus of local Borders people into what became the first community woodland buyout in Britain in 1985." -www.eoincox.com

After first meeting Eoin at his gallery business buyDesign Gallery near Jedburgh, I spent five days with him around the Scottish Borders drinking his beer, eating his haggis and more importantly learning the art of bodging. The ART of bodging? You might ask. Well as I have since learnt the word bodging is used to describe the craft of green woodworking. A craft I have found to not only require the same patience and care required for working with seasoned timber but a method which also provides immense satisfaction.

With only a few hand tools, a shaving horse and a log of Scottish Ash, which only weeks before had been part of a living Ash Tree, Eoin taught me how to make a stool using the same traditional techniques which have been used for hundreds of years.

Using a splitting axe and mallet the Ash log was split into eight billets.

Then using a draw knife on the shaving horse each billet was shaved into a cylindrical leg.

Then the bottom third of each leg was shaved into a taper.

The three finished legs.

Cutting the holes for the legs with an auger bit. The back legs hole were cut at an angle of 25 degrees and the hole for the front leg at an angle of 15 degrees.

Wedges made of Elm were then fitted and trimmed with a flush trim Japanese Pull Saw.

The semi-finished stool and tools use throughout the process.

Dissected Oak - TREE by Tania Kovats

2010-09-15T05:01:00.000-07:00

In a small gallery in The Museum of Natural History in London is a piece of artwork every 'tree lover' should see. The piece entitled TREE was commissioned by The Museum to mark 200 years since the birth of naturalist Charles Darwin and 150 years since he published On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.

The piece by artist Tania Kovats was crafted from a 200 year old Oak Tree chosen from the managed forests of Longleat Estate in Wiltshire. After being logged the magnificent tree was then reorganized in the form of 1mm veneers on the ceiling of the gallery.

Woodwork - Swiss Style

2010-08-02T07:54:00.000-07:00

In recent times my travels have taken me through the wonderfully peaceful country of Switzerland, where the sound of cow bells reign almost as supremely as The Alps. Without looking particularly hard I found some inspiring woodwork around almost every corner.

Workshop of Alfred & Hans Stahli, two brothers who were prominent woodcarvers in Brienz in the early 20th Century.

Souvenir makers workshop in Engelberg.

Bargain: fully equipped workshop for only 74 francs.

A Carpenter's tool board at Gimmelwald, Swiss Alps.

A local craftsman carving into Field Maple Acer campestre, at Ballenburg Open Air Museum.

Carved work on display at Ballenburg Open Air Museum.

Dovetails large.

Dovetails medium.

Dovetails small.

Interesting detail.

Through Mortise Tenon with Wedge.

Finger jointed walls.

A Wonderful Tool

2010-06-13T01:17:00.000-07:00

Some weeks ago I had the pleasure of spending some time with a fantastic Harp Maker by the name of Andy Rigby. He introduced me to the slightly bizarre yet brilliantly handmade tool below which I am told is a Violin Makers Caliper. Andy explained it was given to him by a instrument maker friend who uses the tool when measuring parts for Violins. The Caliper works on some sought of weight and pulley system so when timber or anything requiring to be measured is situated between the brass thimbles it gives a reading on the display on the opposite side of the Caliper. A tool I had not encountered until recently, it is one I am sure any woodworker could find a use for.

Thongs/Jandals/Flip-flops....whatever as long as there wooden

2010-06-06T01:55:00.000-07:00

Whilst creator of the kickass footwear pictured below Stephen Oram swears they are wearable, he wouldn't recommend it. Carved from off-cuts of Hoop Pine the Thongs (called this as I am writing from Australia) are just another example of the eccentricity which make woodworkers such interesting people.

Another example of Stephen's ingenuity is this Bandsaw which he has fitted with a window so the mechanics on the inside can be observed whilst in use. Maybe a possible safety concern though.

Full Steam Ahead - A visit to the Timber Benders

2010-05-01T21:28:00.000-07:00

Recently I had the privilege of visiting a remarkable man bending timber in remarkable ways.

The man I am referring to is Don O'Connor a shearer by trade (amongst other things, such as Tepee building) who has in recent years been trying his hand at the ancient craft of timber bending. Tucked away in an old warehouse in the country town of Creswick in Central Victoria (Australia) you will find Don, his partner Sue and some amazing timber bending machines. Coupled with the steam produced from a boiler which Don stokes up every morning, these machines are capable of bending timber on a massive scale.

As Don explains these machines of which there is seven, each for a different type of bend, are just a shadow of their former selves as the products which they would have once produced are now obsolete. Brought over from Denmark in the early 1800s, they were once part of thriving timber bending workshop in Melbourne but have been in and out of action since the end of the first world war.

Does this mean the machines are now also obsolete? Absolutely not, the way Don sees it "they should be in a Museum somewhere", and there in-lies the reason why Don took on the responsibility of keeping these machines in use.

Its amazing to see the way Don works with these machines, he is a man who works on feel more than technique. "Watch this Lach", he says as he bends a 3m length of 1 inch Tasmanian Blackwood into a circular window frame.

Staggering over pieces of curved, twisted and bent timber it was hard not to think of the endless possibilities which these machines provide for woodworkers, architects and designers alike. Hopefully one day soon the capabilities of these wonderful machines can be utilized like they once were.

Let the Crafting begin

2010-05-01T21:12:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to this the inaugural post for the Driftwood blog. Stay tuned to this site for regular murmurings from inside the woodworking world.

- Lachlan Park