The Treen

Robert Turner reminded me the other day about the Mekon in Dan Dare. He is the leader of The Treen - or perhaps he just collects old wooden artefacts ?

We're going up to Norwich tomorrow to demonstrate at the Royal Norfolk Show on Wednesday and Thursday. It'll be good to meet up with all the other crafters.

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Sunday News

Was able to use the Superjaws for the first time today to glue and clamp the shavehorse body back together. I decided that repair is more in the spirit than making new - screwed and glued a piece of maple across the split. I'm sure it will hold together for years to come . . .



Made a pair of spoon earrings from Silver Birch - they look like tiny, chunky, Medieval ladles. I've found a way to make a lot of blanks quite quickly which I'll post about soon.



A wren has built a nest in my workshed just above the lathe - it's been there for several months and we thought it was abandoned. Now you can hear the babies cheeping when the adults come in with food.


I knew there were a lot of wrens around here as you often hear their shrill song but they seem quite secretive - you hardly ever see one. These are quite bold and seem unconcerned at us being there.

By Axe, Drawknife & Chisel

This is Robert Turner who has been here on a course today and has lived up to his name.


He made a spurtle, but an English one with an acorn on the end, as he is a big porridge fan and a lemon reamer. Both were from the Birch I borrowed from Epping Forest recently.

Spinning top query

I recently had this email message from Owen Churchill regarding the Spinning Tops post on June 3 . . .

"hi robin
i enjoyed scrolling through your blog the other day. i'm a young and naive woodturner doing a pole-lathe demo/stall at our village festival this weekend, and am short of ideas other than spinning tops, eggs and mushrooms, since most of my turning is seasoned faceplate stuff on the electric lathe. i was interested by your design of spinning tops, does the top have a hole through the stem for the string or does it work by just wrapping the thread over itself?
any other small project ideas or tips on the tops so to speak would be really greatHi Owen

My answer
Why not get a Google identity and leave a comment on the blog ? - I'm interested in getting some discussion going.
The top does have a hole through the stem but you could probably wrap it back on itself when you "load" it.

P.S. It's not my design of top - probably Victorian and there will be a "how to make one" article in the next Bodgers Gazette.

Spotify

I was just wondering if everyone has heard of Spotify yet ?

It's an online music site where you can play the whole tune of a very big library of tunes. NOT like iTunes where you can only play 30 seconds of a track. It's an application which you have to download - no big deal . . .

The Downside is that you have to listen to madverts every so often.
Also there is no Beatles, Led Zep or Floyd for you old hippies. The Stones are all there . . . and Bowie . . .

Give it a go.

@

A New Tool

!

This is my first purchase from eBay I mentioned recently.


A chunky, foot operated vice. A well designed, modern work horse. Very robust and portable, useful for spooncarving demos and any number of other things. I'll have to make some wood and leather jaws. It has a massive clamping force worked by an ingenious system of lock and levers.

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Melford Hall

A young Medieval re-enactor learning a bit about working wood. I was cutting the point on an acorn which I formed on the end of a spurtle (the English version - the Scots have a thistle). He was very interested and asked me a non-stop stream of questions.

My Shop at the show

I made this table/stool/bench/sawhorse about 15 years ago before I had a shavehorse. It still gets a lot of use, the legs fall off when it's hot and dry, the crack's been there since day 1 and it's out in all weathers. Mike Abbott told me off for making stooltops from Sweet Chestnut but this one's obviously a survivor . . .



Unlike the shavehorse . . .

It wasn't that old, maybe 5/6 years and made from fairly quick grown Scots Pine from a local estate.

I thought this plank of Italian Black Poplar could make a possible repacement for the shavehorse body - not sure about the position of that knot though . . .


Oh yes - I bought my first ever item from eBay today, it got quite exciting toward the end !
(more soon)

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