I felled another two trees with the axe today and although I am still not happy with my skill the stumps were a bit less mangled than the ones I did last week. It is hard physical work and the second one took a certain amount of dogged determination to complete! Very satisfying though to see the pile of wood growing and the plot being cleared.
Lunch time was particularly interesting as Bruce came along and showed us Yakon and Oca, two root vegetables which he had grown in his forest garden. The Oca has to be cooked but Yakon can be eaten raw so he cut off some slices for us to try – deliciously sweet and crunchy. Apparently it does not soften on cooking so is excellent in stir-fries. I really appreciate Bruce’s generous sharing of his expertise in growing these more exotic vegetables and fruits and allowing us to taste them before deciding whether they warrant a space in our own gardens.
On Thursday we were working on our shavehorses again. My first task was to use the axe to shape the piece of Ash I had cleft last week into a square cross section. This had to be as straight as possible as ‘bananas’ take a lot of work on the lathe. I was fortunate in that the original piece of wood had been straight with straight grain (a straight piece may still have twisted grain so it is not until it is cleft that it is certain it will work well). Even so I was pleased with the result and once I had taken the corners off and tidied it up with the drawknife it went on the lathe well.
Lunch time was particularly interesting as Bruce came along and showed us Yakon and Oca, two root vegetables which he had grown in his forest garden. The Oca has to be cooked but Yakon can be eaten raw so he cut off some slices for us to try – deliciously sweet and crunchy. Apparently it does not soften on cooking so is excellent in stir-fries. I really appreciate Bruce’s generous sharing of his expertise in growing these more exotic vegetables and fruits and allowing us to taste them before deciding whether they warrant a space in our own gardens.
On Thursday we were working on our shavehorses again. My first task was to use the axe to shape the piece of Ash I had cleft last week into a square cross section. This had to be as straight as possible as ‘bananas’ take a lot of work on the lathe. I was fortunate in that the original piece of wood had been straight with straight grain (a straight piece may still have twisted grain so it is not until it is cleft that it is certain it will work well). Even so I was pleased with the result and once I had taken the corners off and tidied it up with the drawknife it went on the lathe well.
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| Barbara giving Penny a few pointers on the art of the polelathe |
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| The polelathe in action |
Whilst I waited for a polelathe to be free Martin helped me to shape the bottom of the vice legs for the foot rest and fit it. The carpentry I have been doing in my own workshop paid dividends and it went well. It really feels to be coming together now!
After lunch Nick and Martin showed us how to split a log into square sticks and hammer them through a jig to make tines for rakes. This was not a digression into hay rake making but because the same square sticks were what we needed to whittle pegs to secure the tenons in the vices. This was an activity we could get on with whenever we had a few minutes spare.
Then I was able to go on the lathe with Barbara showing me how to set it up and rough my pin to a cylinder. We are all finding that turning is addictive and we could very easily keep cutting until we end up with chopsticks or even toothpicks! I stopped just in time and Barbara showed me how to smooth the cylinder using a different chisel. The pin has a knob on the end so Nick demonstrated squaring off an end or section and turned a narrow bead. I will turn a ball in the remaining wood but the light was going rapidly so that will have to wait until next time.
I took the opportunity to return to the woods on Saturday and join the Festive Weaving Course led by Barbara. This was not part of the long course and the other 3 students on it were people I had not met before. We had great fun making wreathes, stars and chains and decorating them with greenery and other things which we had brought and shared. So that was three Christmas presents sorted!
After lunch Nick and Martin showed us how to split a log into square sticks and hammer them through a jig to make tines for rakes. This was not a digression into hay rake making but because the same square sticks were what we needed to whittle pegs to secure the tenons in the vices. This was an activity we could get on with whenever we had a few minutes spare.
Then I was able to go on the lathe with Barbara showing me how to set it up and rough my pin to a cylinder. We are all finding that turning is addictive and we could very easily keep cutting until we end up with chopsticks or even toothpicks! I stopped just in time and Barbara showed me how to smooth the cylinder using a different chisel. The pin has a knob on the end so Nick demonstrated squaring off an end or section and turned a narrow bead. I will turn a ball in the remaining wood but the light was going rapidly so that will have to wait until next time.
I took the opportunity to return to the woods on Saturday and join the Festive Weaving Course led by Barbara. This was not part of the long course and the other 3 students on it were people I had not met before. We had great fun making wreathes, stars and chains and decorating them with greenery and other things which we had brought and shared. So that was three Christmas presents sorted!
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| The results of a hard days weaving |
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