Greenwood Crafts E-Book

Edward Mills

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 343

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

Britain has a long and rich tradition of woodcrafts and what, since about the 1970s, have been called the 'greenwood crafts'. Greenwood crafts focus on using wood that contains sap and that is easy to work with simple hand tools to produce beautiful and useful products.Discusses all you need to know to get started, including tools, workshops, sourcing wood, making some of your own devices and the characteristics of the various woods. Covers a wide variety of turned and carved items for the house and garden, including kitchen treen and sports equipment. Examines a wide range of greenwood chairs, describes how they are made and highlights the talent and creativity of a number of expert craftspeople in the field. Examines a number of basket-making techniques involving a range of raw materials, form willow to oak via hazel and other hedgerow plants. Considers a range of items for the garden and for agricultural use such as rustic furniture, wood store, shakes, shelters, fences and basic timber framing. Explores the future of greenwood working, takes a look at some of the new ideas emerging from the sector and includes handy hints on running a greenwood business. Few books have been published on the greenwood crafts and this present volume will be welcomed by all those with an interest in country crafts, trees, woodland, woodworking and all matters rural. Superbly illustrated with 380 colour photographs and clear step-by step instructions.

Leseprobe

GREENWOOD CRAFTS

A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE

Edward Mills and Rebecca Oaks Foreword by Mike Abbott

First published in 2012 by The Crowood Press Ltd Ramsbury, Marlborough Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2014

© Edward Mills and Rebecca Oaks 2012

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication DataA catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 84797 725 0

All photographs are by Edward Mills and Rebecca Oaks, except where indicated. All diagrams are by Rebecca Oaks.

DisclaimerChainsaws. lathes and many other tools used in greenwood crafts, coppicing and the coppice trades are potentially dangerous. All chain saws and other tools and equipment used in greenwood crafts and in coppicing work should be used in strict accordance with both current health and safety regulations and the manufacturer’s instructions. The authors and the publisher do not accept any responsibility in any manner whatsoever for any error or omission, or any loss, damage, injury, adverse outcome, or liability of any kind incurred as a result of the use of the information contained in this book, or reliance upon it. If in doubt about any aspect of the greenwood crafts or coppicing, readers are advised to seek professional advice.

Contents

Acknowledgements

Dedication

Foreword by Mike Abbott

Chapter 1   An Introduction to Greenwood

Chapter 2   The Greenwood Workshop

Chapter 3   Treen and Turning

Chapter 4   Greenwood Chairs

Chapter 5   Greenwood Baskets

Chapter 6   Garden Structures

Chapter 7   Building with Greenwood

Chapter 8   Agricultural Items

Chapter 9   The Future for Greenwood Crafts

Appendix   Personal Budget and Profit Plan Templates

Glossary

Bibliography

Further Information

Index

Acknowledgements

EJM

I offer my thanks to the numerous people who have helped with advice, comments and images, and for taking the time to host visits and explain their craft in detail, including Alan Waters, Charlie Whinney, Edward Acland, Ian Taylor, James Mitchell, Jerry Hawe, John Sinclair, Jonathan Ridgeon, Mark Allery, Maurice Pyle, Michael Somers, Owen Jones, Robin and Chris Tuppen, Roger Day, Sean Hellman, Stan, Steve Tomlin, Toni Brannon, Tony Morgan and the staff at Gray Nicolls. I would like to thank colleagues at Cumbria Woodlands for their support while I wasn’t in the office, and especially my family for being patient while I have been tucked away in my study hogging the computer. I owe a debt of gratitude for the inspiration of all the greenwood workers who have amazed me with their skill, knowledge, patience and creativity.

RO

I would like to thank all our very many colleagues that have generously given their time to make this book possible. In particular our colleagues in the Coppice Association North West and the Bill Hogarth MBE Memorial Apprenticeship Trust, namely, Sam Ansell, Mike Carswell, Brian Crawley, Kath and Tony Morgan, Twiggy, Lorna Singleton, Sue Swatridge, Lesley Edkins, Matt Turley, Vicky Naylor. Thanks to the many contributors who were very obliging in giving us their time; Robin Wood, Lawrence Neal, Dave Jackson, Gudrun Leitz, Mike Abbott, Isis Rowan, Phil Bradley, Gerwyn Lewis, Joe Hogan, Elizabeth Cadd, Sheila Wynter. My family, especially my mother who has been an inspiration to me, my sister Catherine who put me up when I was out on field trips, my partner Amanda for her endless support. Thanks to Edward for being such an easygoing collaborator. Thanks to our proofreaders Helen Shacklady, Lynne Alexander and Sandy Donnelly.

We should also like to thank the publisher, The Crowood Press, for their advice and support.

Dedication

It has been two short years since we dedicated our last book Coppicing and Coppice Crafts to the memory of the great craftsman Colin Simpson, who would have been willing and able to add so much depth of knowledge to the subject of greenwood crafts. It is with sadness that now we honour the memory of yet more of the greats of the woodland scene in Cumbria. Alan Shepley who worked tirelessly to raise awareness of woods and woodlands, Stella Kenyon who helped keep swill baskets going in the region, Bill Airey, perhaps the very last of the old coppicemen of the Lake District, Rupert Hoskinson who had only just begun to find his niche and Arthur Barker who championed the pole lathe, long before others had rediscovered the pleasure it can bring. We can only aspire to match them in their skills and enthusiasm for all things woody and hope that by remembering them their work lives on.

Foreword

I was fortunate to grow up next to a woodland and like many children in the 1950s, I spent my childhood carving sticks, building dens and generally playing about with bits of wood. I had no idea at the time that by taking these activities just a little further I would have been able to create a range of items such as spoons, bowls or even chairs. Not until I reached the age of twenty-six, did I fall upon Herbert Edlin’s book Woodland Crafts in Britain, which documented a wide range of crafts before they died out forever. It was like having grown up believing that all fruit and vegetables came from the supermarket, and then being presented with a book about organic gardening.

After a dozen years practising these skills, I was given the opportunity to write my own book on the subject, this time as a practical handbook of techniques for the present day. It was never intended to be a manual for professional furniture production any more than a book on vegetable gardening is aimed at professional market gardeners. I just wanted to help people to experience the fulfillment that can come from working with green wood using simple hand tools.

Over two decades later, Greenwood Crafts now comes as a welcome addition to the remarkably small number of books on the subject. Throughout the following pages, it describes numerous examples of people successfully earning a living in a wide range of green woodwork skills. I hope it will go on to inspire a new generation to experience the delights of green woodwork either as a fulfilling hobby or indeed as a viable career.

Mike Abbott, Greenwood Cottage, Herefordshire, March 2012

Chapter 1

An Introduction to Greenwood

We have such a rich tradition of crafts in Britain and of woodcrafts in particular. There was a time when every village or hamlet had a carpenter or woodworker who could make any basic furniture needed in their locality. Moreover the home production of household wooden items was so taken for granted that it hardly even merits a mention in historical documents.

Consider for a moment the extent of skill and creativity that this mass production of every-day objects represents. The universality of wooden items should not lead us to devalue the widespread ability in the past to make something useful from a piece of wood, and it is this collective memory of an almost lost facility that draws us to take knife to wood and start whittling.

There is no doubt that the disaster of the 1914–18 war hastened the de-skilling of Britain’s working population. The loss of a generation of young men broke the continuity of skills and the supply chain of materials. Robin Wood, a talented craftsman who set up the Heritage Crafts Association, laments the loss of the terminology with which a furniture maker would discuss his timber requirements with the forester. This vocabulary describing the different states of seasoning of wood may have rivalled the famed variety of Icelandic words for snow.

Fig. 1.1 Whittling spoons.

Fig. 1.2 Mike Abbott instructs a group of students.

From the 1920s onwards a new tier of timber merchants arose, causing the separation of the primary source, the forest, from the woodworker. Wood in its raw state became devalued, whereas seasoned wood processed into planks or blanks, could command high prices. Never again would the two extremes meet until the birth of what became known as the ‘greenwood movement’ in the 1970s.

Where did it all begin? Herbert Edlin in his fabulous book Woodland Crafts in Britain (Edlin, 1949) created a truly ‘comprehensive guide’ to all the many fast-disappearing woodland trades. He did not, however, refer to ‘greenwood crafts’; this term most likely emerged from America in the 1970s. Mike Abbott, one of Britain’s best known contemporary exponents of greenwood crafts, cites John Alexander (now known as Jennie Alexander) as an early influence on the emerging greenwood movement with her book Make a Chair from a Tree: An Introduction to Working Green Wood (1978), also Drew Langsner and his book Country Woodcraft (Roedale Press, US 1978). The Greenwood Trust was set up in 1984 by the enlightened board of Telford Development Corporation, with Gerwyn Lewis as the first manager.

Meanwhile, up in Cumbria, Bill Lloyd, Michael Gee and Tom Clare set up the ‘New Woodsmanship Trust’ in 1984 and launched it officially at the very first Weekend in the Woods in 1986, which attracted more than 2,000 people to Brantwood on the shores of Coniston Water. Mike Abbott began his Living Wood Training courses in 1986 and many of the more experienced contributors to this book can trace their journey back to a Mike Abbott course.

In 1989 Mike Abbot published his first book Green Woodwork, which was hugely influential in stimulating an interested audience for the new/old crafts. Mike caught the zeitgeist and made woodcrafts accessible to a much wider audience, especially those who wanted the satisfaction of making something functional and beautiful with their own hands. Many people attending a greenwood course never made more than one chair. But some people became so inspired they set up their own workshops in garages and back rooms. In response to this burgeoning interest, in 1990 The Association of Polelathe Turners (APT) was formed. The APT and their annual Bodgers Ball has gone from strength to strength with over 700 members currently, its success reflecting the continuing and growing interest in greenwood crafts.

Fig. 1.3 The last bodger, Owen Dean, in his workshop.

By contrast, coming from an earlier tradition of production furniture making, greenwood bowl and spoon maker Robin Wood is not at ease with the amateur nature of some new generation greenwood workers. His role models are the time served apprentices of old, whose skill and knowledge were imprinted in their muscle memory, making a tough job seem effortless. Productivity was key to these craftspeople and mass production can be seen in the stacks of products towering behind them in old photos. This industrial-scale production of wood-based crafts has largely disappeared, the chestnut cleavers of Kent and East Sussex being the exception to this trend. In the past a single product was made in staggering quantities by craftsmen such as the famed bodgers of the Chiltern beech woods, north of London, who turned out chair legs by the thousand until the 1940s. Indeed the term bodger originated from the Chiltern region and was specific to a fairly limited group of workers that produced beech chair legs that were carted off to be assembled in chair works in the local market town of High Wycombe.

It would seem that Robin Wood is not alone in his concerns about the loss of commercially productive skills. A recent survey of pole lathe turners canvassed as part of Professor Ted Collin’s report Crafts in the British Countryside (Collins, 2004) found that 60 per cent expressed concern about ‘hobbyists’ threatening their profession. It is certainly true that there has always been anger caused by those who ‘go on a course one week and set up to teach it the next’. However, there is quite a difference between the many people who take up greenwood working for pleasure and recreation and those who are trying to make a living. When an industry is as threatened with extinction as woodland crafts undoubtedly has been, our focus should be on raising everyone’s skill level, rather than knocking down those that do not make the grade.

The Collins’ report also highlights the anxiety the pole lathe turners felt about competition from imports. Of the twenty-five people who responded to a survey, fourteen cited this as the greatest threat to the future of the industry. One might imagine that in the eight years since the report was published little has happened to allay those fears. However the rise of the anti-globalization movement and the apparent enthusiasm shown by the public for supporting local produce must cheer all but the most pessimistic of greenwood workers. There was a time in the 1990s when it seemed that interest in wood and woodcrafts was perhaps a passing phase, with a lively counter culture of garden designers promoting glass and steel who threatened to oust the tree huggers from their rustic perches. It was not to be however, and although the two contrasting styles are often found side by side, it would seem that beautiful, tactile, versatile wood will always have the fondest place in the nation’s collective heart.

Sourcing wood

Finding the right wood for your greenwood project can be a problem. It is not as if you can go down to the local DIY shop and pick up a fresh ash log for cleaving. You may have a tree come down in your garden or neighbourhood but then you are obliged to find a project to match the wood available. However, if you have a well-developed plan to make something specific or a business proposal with a requirement for a steady supply of materials, then you are going to have to seek out a reliable supply of green wood. This can be obtained in two ways:

Fig. 1.4 Bench created and carved by Georgia Wright in Whitstable.

• Buy from someone who is already felling trees and has timber to spare.

• Cut your own with the landowner’s permission.

It may be quite possible for you to cut your own raw materials, but this will depend on whether you wish to spend time doing this as part of your hobby or business, or whether the creative aspect is more important. In reality, if you are just beginning, the supply of raw materials you are likely to require will be quite small and so sourcing them from others is a good option. If the type of things you plan to do adds a lot of value and uses small amounts of wood, buying in your material will remain the best way of getting what you need. The wood might cost a bit more but you will be able to specify the material you need and simply take a delivery, saving a lot of time negotiating with a woodland owner, and you can return materials that don’t meet your specification; you will also potentially save the time and expenses of buying and operating a chainsaw.

Buying in timber

There are many sources of timber available. Anyone felling trees, unless they are selling it on a commercial scale (a 25-tonne timber wagon at a time) or unless they have their own customers for firewood (which will mean that they never have a surplus), will be happy to part with some timber, often for small amounts of money. The important thing is that you shouldn’t expect to acquire wood for nothing. The trees have often been growing for many years, and woodland owners may have had expenditure related to their upkeep, such as fencing, deer and squirrel control, control of invasive species, insurance, certification and other paperwork associated with owning land. Therefore, it is only right that some of this expenditure is reimbursed through timber sales, whether a lorry-load at a time or for a handful of walking stick blanks.

TIMBER SOURCES

Tree surgeons Landscape gardeners Wildlife organizations Conservation volunteer groups Farmers Woodland owners Coppice workers Forestry contractors Firewood suppliers

Fig. 1.5 Using a chainsaw, with all the correct personal protection: helmet, gloves, trousers and boots.

Fig. 1.6 It is worth searching out your local coppice merchant.

Fig. 1.7 A mix of firewood and charcoal or lots of potential greenwood projects.

The market for small quantities of timber is set to be buoyant for some time to come. As householders try to stem their rising fuel costs, be it oil, gas, coal or electricity, they are supplementing their heating with wood burning stoves. Consequently more and more people are supplying firewood to meet the growing demand. One would hope that the timber they have for sale is seasoned and as such is mainly past its peak for turning into greenwood craft products; however they may have bought it in green (or felled it themselves) which is why we suggest firewood suppliers as a source of timber. We have yet to meet anyone involved in tree felling who would not prefer to see trees turned into some fabulous and useful article instead of into the inevitable wood smoke, even though keeping warm is an essential human requirement.

If you have exhausted the possibilities offered in your location of following the distant sound of chainsaws and making a deal with the timber fellers directly then you may have more joy with some of the sources suggested. Sometimes you can obtain wood from a local tree surgeon – this can be an interesting source of different and sometimes unusual woods, even if occasionally they may be odd shapes and sizes.

There may be no one from whom to purchase sorted raw materials in your area. In much of the UK, the days of the coppice merchant who could supply any number of a variety of raw materials are long gone. In this case, the only option might be to cut your own wood.

Cutting your own wood

So, how do you find the wood you need? The best way is to approach woodland owners or their agents and advisers; there are still some estate foresters and they are probably going to be the most receptive to such an approach, along with county wildlife trusts, conservation groups and the occasional local authority. Some woodland owners or foresters will be happy for you to cut your own supplies with a written contract and a map to work from.

If you decide to cut your own wood, this may well involve some coppicing (Oaks & Mills, 2010). If you need small dimension materials, such as hazel, which is cut on a relatively short rotation, then it is worthwhile developing good relations with the woodland owner to improve the chances of being able to cut again when it is ready. It can help to offer to assist with things such as protection of the coppice regrowth against damage by deer; on larger estates, this is sometimes seen as expensive micro-management, but for your security of supply it could be invaluable. This help could include protection against browsing using temporary fencing, dead-hedging, or placement of chemical or natural deterrents; all this has to be weighed up against the possible conflicting needs of a game shoot or other woodland enterprises.

THE ADVANTAGES OF CUTTING YOUR OWN WOOD

• You have control over what you cut, and can sort materials as you go for different products.

• You can make sure you get the best quality materials for your needs.

• You can source the raw materials when you need them.

• You might identify other materials during cutting that could be sold on to other craft workers.

• You may come across materials that inspire you to experiment or make something new.

• You can cut out the intermediaries, so the wood may be cheaper.

Fig. 1.8 Hazel coppice six years old.

It may be possible to obtain a grant from the Forestry Commission for help cutting neglected coppice and protecting the regrowth, and an offer of help to the woodland owner with such paperwork may be all that is needed to secure good regrowth, some financial resources, and some quality materials to cut the next time around.

Fig. 1.9 Wood and its uses.

This type of bartering might help you clinch the purchase of some wood, but the offer of cash is usually more important. So, how much should you offer for the materials you need? In most parts of the country buying acres of coppice at auctions in the local pub has now disappeared. Auctions of firewood are now much more common, but this is no good to the green woodworker. The individual local deal is by far the best way forward. You might have to buy wood by the tonne, by the hoppus foot, cubic foot, by the stick, by the bundle or by the load, standing or measured felled. It all depends on what you are buying and how much of it there is.

Cutting wood is normally a winter job. This adds to the amount of planning you need to do. On many estates, the game enterprise is the most important. This can mean that cutting wood won’t be allowed until the end of January, but you would normally be expected to be out of the woods by the end of March; this is all to do with avoiding disturbance of pheasants and other game. The implication is that if this is your only supply of wood, you may need to cut and extract a whole year’s supply between February and April. This can be a problem, depending on what you are making; by and large, turnery needs green wood, and wood a year old won’t be as easy to turn. Some crafts require wood to be prepared and then seasoned for a while, so for these products this is less of an issue; some materials such as hazel, will certainly become too dry and brittle if left for a year before being used.

Wood and its uses

Alder (Alnus glutinosa)

Alder wood does not last well outside unless submerged in water where it has a reputation for lasting many years. It is a relatively soft wood, great for turning, carving and whittling. It cleaves fairly well and takes nails well without splitting. When freshly cut, alder wood turns a rather startling deep orange colour but this gradually fades, though retaining some of this lovely colour. Poles tend to grow very straight and so are suitable for broom and rake handles; traditionally, alder was used for clog soles and reputed to make the best charcoal.

Fig. 1.10 Very tall alder coppice poles.

Fig. 1.11 Ash poles on limestone.

Ash (Fraxinus excelsior)

Ash coppices well and can make a large timber tree. The wood is quite clean and pale but the grain is more pronounced than some of the other paler woods. It is an extremely versatile wood and has countless uses; cleaving, turning and steam bending. Clean, fast-grown ash cleaves beautifully; it is a wood strongly resilient to shock and this means it is highly regarded as the wood to use for handles of all types. The wood does not last well outside but this is more than made up for by its other characteristics.

Beech (Fagus sylvatica)

Beech does not coppice well and therefore is more often grown as maiden trees. It turns well and when dry is a hard, strong wood. Beech has a light brown hue with flecks that make it easily identifiable; when left outside, it is susceptible to the fungus that makes timber spalted and is prized for turning, though less useful for garden furniture.

Fig. 1.12 Silver birch.

Birch (Betula pendula)

Birch coppices well when a young tree, but not so well when mature. Its wood is pale with brown flecks within, and sometimes has a rather nice wavy grain. It is a soft wood and is wonderful to turn when fresh and sappy. It makes straight poles when young and is good for rake handles and most types of turnery; stick chairs made from birch are light but strong. It does not last well outdoors.

Cherry (Prunus avium)

Wild cherry or gean has a versatile timber, rich in brown colours and texture; it turns well and can be readily carved, making for super spoons. A cherry tree large enough to be planked is well worth designing a special project for.

Fig. 1.13 Unusual cherry coppice.

Elm (Ulmus procera)

Because of Dutch Elm Disease there is little elm remaining now over much of the UK. If you are lucky enough to be able to find elm, then it is worth hoarding until you can use it. The wood is tough, hard and resilient. It has a lovely rich brown colour with a characteristic, often complex grain; which makes it resistant to splitting. Wych elm is more frequent in the North of England and Scotland; it can have a greenish hue to the wood. Elm lasts quite well outside, and for decades underwater, making it the wood of choice for early wooden water pipes. Elm turns well and it is traditionally used for chair and stool seats as planks, because of its resistance to wear. Elm bast is often used for chair seating.

Hazel (Corylus avellana)

Hazel is the ubiquitous woodland shrub with an ability to grow almost anywhere. It is very fibrous, and when twisted the fibres separate but retain much of their strength; this gives hazel a unique characteristic that is exploited in many crafts; it also cleaves well. Its main uses are hurdles, garden products, handles and sticks. It turns well and is probably the best for stick chairs. It has a pale wood and variety of bark colours.

Fig. 1.14 Massive open-grown hazel.

Holly (Ilex aquifolium), Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) and Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa)

We have grouped these species together, as they are less commonly used; however they all coppice fairly well and are usually not of large diameter. They are all hard, dense woods, resistant to cleaving. Holly is a pale, almost ivory colour, excellent for turnery while hawthorn is a plain brown and could be used for most turned items. Blackthorn is a richer colour generally and is harder still; it makes an excellent chopping block if you can find a piece large enough. Any of these species can be used for walking stick blanks.

Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus)

Hornbeam coppices well and usually makes only small timber trees. It has a fairly plain, pale wood. If you have some hornbeam, give it a go, but it should be worked when green, otherwise it becomes difficult to work because of its hardness when seasoned. It does not last outside and cleaves poorly so its uses are limited. It would make fair stick chairs if cut when young; try using it for chair bottoms or kitchen treen.

Fig. 1.15 Hornbeam coppice regrowth.

Field maple (Acer campestre)

Field maple does not have much of a tradition of being used by greenwood workers, but like most maples, it will turn beautifully when green and although a pale wood, it can have a lovely figure; it has been prized from Roman times throughout history for carved and turned bowls.

Fig. 1.16 Leaf of the field maple.

Fruit wood (various)

These woods include trees found in orchards but also crab apple found in semi-natural woodlands. Just like many other shrubs, these are often rather slow grown and tend to be dense and hard. They resist cleaving; the woods often possess rich colouring and beautiful grain, and are highly prized for small turnery and carving, especially spoon making.

Fig. 1.17 Crab apple tree.

Lime (Tilia sp.)

Native small-leaved lime and hybrid lime wood have similar properties – the wood is very pale, soft when green but hardening when seasoned; it is very light in weight when seasoned. When green, the wood cleaves and turns well, and is a superb carving wood. The bast is very strong and fibrous and is used for rope and chair seating.

Fig. 1.18 Small-leaved lime trees.

Oak (Quercus robur and petraea)

The two native oak species have very similar timber; the wood is excellent for cleaving, is hard, tough and durable outside. The pale brown-coloured wood often has a rich figure, and if used for rustic purposes outside, it will weather to a silvery colour. The wood can be turned and riven for all manner of uses including gates, baskets, shakes, furniture of all types and timber frames. In all uses except swill baskets, the non-durable sapwood is normally discarded.

Fig. 1.19 High quality English oak tree.

Poplars (Populus sp.)

There are two poplars you may come across – the aspen and the black poplar. Neither coppices particularly well but both regenerate by suckering. The wood can sometimes be brittle and is not known for turnery, nor are they durable outside; aspen makes decent besom and rake handles; black poplar has been recorded as being used for centuries-old cruck timber-framing. It is very light and as planks was the wood of choice for making carts.

Rowan or mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia)

There are still some people who won’t cut this species for fear of it bringing bad luck. It produces quite a clean, slightly creamy white wood, which could be used for a number of products. It is the traditional wood for much kitchen treen in Scotland; it does however have quite a strong smell (and taste) when fresh. It carves very well and has a wonderful, silvery bark, useful in stick chair-making.

Fig. 1.20 Rowan or mountain ash.

Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus)

Regarded as a non-native and rather a weed by some people. The wood is pale and can be rather plain but occasionally it may have some truly wonderful figure with all types of ripple effects. It is probably the best turnery wood, not being liable to splinter, and is often used for kitchen treen as it is reputed not to taint the food put upon it.

Sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa )

Another species not regarded as being native but widely planted in long-established coppices in the south east, sweet chestnut is one of the most durable timbers and doesn’t have the unusable sapwood that oak has. It cleaves extremely well and is widely used for fencing, gates, sticks and poles. It makes good stick furniture; it also turns well. There are several specialist uses, such as walking sticks, handles and rims for trugs, pale fencing, fruit props and hop poles.

Fig. 1.21 Plantation sweet chestnut. (Photo: Mike Carswell)

Willows (Salix sp.)

There are several types of willow. They all prefer wet soils and generally coppice very well; only the white and crack willows make large timber trees. The timber is not durable outside and has a reputation as being not very good for anything, except weaving baskets when grown as one-year-old withies. However, there are quite a few potential uses and the wood is light and versatile. It makes good yurt poles, rake and besom handles, clothes and tent pegs and has been used as thatching wood; of course, it is the traditional species used for cricket bats.

Yew (Taxus baccata)

A hard wood with beautiful rich red heartwood; it looks most effective when turned in such a way that you get the contrast between the red heart and the creamy sap wood. Equally good planked for shelves and seats although you need to get lucky to obtain some large enough for planking.

Fig. 1.22 Yew wood freshly cut.

Fig. 1.23 Elder wand by Jonathan Ridgeon. (Photo: J Ridgeon)

Other shrubs and minor trees

There are many other species that you can use for a wide range of products if you come across them; in reality, some of these are hard to identify in the winter, and if you ask for them, very few people would be able to supply them. Box (Buxus sempervirens) is slow-growing and has a fine, dense, white grain; it has a long history of uses for items such as chess pieces and musical instruments. Elder (Sambucus nigra) is a common shrub that has an easily hollowed pith, so it is popular for making whistles; known as the species that produces the most powerful magic wand, but you need special powers yourself to make such a wand.

Spindle (Euonymus europaeus) wood can be used for making spindles – these are used for spinning wool or other fibres into a thread. You will be very lucky indeed to find any juniper wood (Juniperus communis); try asking a tree surgeon for wood from garden varieties of this species. Its wood is light, tough and fragrant and is sometimes used for the inside of small boxes in a similar way to cedar. Its wood is normally small dimension and so could be used for items such as napkin rings and drinks coasters. Alder buckthorn (Frangula alnus) was prized as a charcoal wood, but is hard and so was used for such things as shoe lasts.

A note on use of exotic species

Sometimes you will see timbers that you have never heard of being advertised. This is particularly so in publications and on websites selling woods for turning or marquetry. It is often tempting to try a new wood – something that has a more exciting colour or unusual grain or characteristic – after all, some of our common timbers in the British Isles can be a bit plain. However, many of these timbers are from exotic, even tropical places and may be of unknown origin. It is common knowledge that many of these forests are under threat and it would be wrong to support their destruction by buying even small quantities.

If you are tempted or feel your piece really needs something different, then look for a mark of certification. This normally means that the timber being sold has been independently verified as being cut from a sustainably grown source. Most greenwood workers are not generally tempted by these offers and stick with the woods they know. Some even make the most of knowing exactly where the wood came from and use this as part of their marketing and sustainable credentials for their business.

Chapter 2

The Greenwood Workshop

A PLACE TO WORK

Finding the right workspace can seem an insurmountable problem. We can all dream of owning the perfect wood with a rustic shelter and fire-pit with kettle singing. The reality can of course vary from a cramped back yard to having a pole lathe in the spare bedroom. Whatever your circumstances, do not let the shortcomings of your set-up hold you back.

What do you need? A pole lathe may be a top priority for some, though not always a necessity, and with the bungee cord set-up the footprint is just about 4ft × 3ft or 12ft2 (1.2m2). A small shelter will keep you dry and make it so much more likely that you will work when the weather is bad. Likewise, the shave horse takes up space when in use but it can be dismantled and stored quite compactly. A chunky chopping block at a good height for working is essential, consisting of a simple round log cut to length, or, if working on an uneven surface, a three-legged stool will be much more stable.

Fig. 2.1 A three-legged chopping block from a natural ash fork.

Add to this a cupboard or chest for tools and perhaps a workbench with vice for specific tasks, and you can still fit all this and a small family car into a standard garage. If you have an outside space, then you will need some sort of shelter; Chapter 7 has a few ideas for greenwood shelters, though a lot can be achieved with just a cheap tarp and a rope to sling it over. This chapter takes a look at the tools and devices that you are likely to need, whether entering greenwood working as a business, or taking part in it as a hobby.

Fig. 2.2 Essential workshop kit.

Fig. 2.3 (Above) A collection of pole-driven pole lathes.

DEVICES

Pole Lathe

There are two types of pole lathe. The more traditional version is a long green pole, as used by the bodgers who worked in the woods, this may have been a growing sapling, rooted to the ground and simply bent over for the job.

Fig. 2.4 (Right) Bungee-driven pole lathe.

The other not-so-traditional version consists of two shorter poles attached to the lathe itself and is much more economic with space. In both cases, the turning power is provided by the turner’s leg and the return stroke by the spring in the pole, but in the upright version, this is enhanced with the bungee shock cord placed between the two poles. If you work in a confined workshop environment, your only choice may be to use this second type.

The lathe works by the treadle being pushed down by your leg, with the cord wound around the piece of work, turning it; the operator uses gouges and chisels at this moment to take wood off the revolving piece; the chisel is then removed while the spring of the pole (or bungee) turns the piece back to the beginning; a rhythmic motion is soon built up and simple pieces can be turned quickly in a remarkably efficient and satisfying way.

Easy options include buying a pole-lathe kit or going on a course to make your own lathe. However, if you have some basic woodworking skills and common tools, this is not a difficult project and most people will be able to complete their own pole lathe with some bought-in materials.

Fig. 2.5 Diagram of the bed of a pole lathe with A-frame legs.

Make your own pole lathe

The frame of the pole lathe will usually be made with sawn timber. To make the end A-frames, you will need 20ft (6m) of 3 × 2in unplaned softwood and another 12ft of 1.5 × 1in (4 × 2.5cm). The sides of the A-frame should be cut to 39in (1m); you can lay out the materials on a flat surface to measure up properly and make the lathe a little taller or shorter, according to your height. The bed of the lathe is made up of two pieces of timber that connect the two end frames and between which the heads fit. This can be four or five feet long depending on the length of the pieces that you want to turn. Drill the holes on the upright of the end frame and the bed to be sure they will all meet up during assembly. Now screw the A-frames together. The A-frames should be bolted to the bed – two bolts at each end; this is essential if you plan to dismantle the lathe for transport.

Fig. 2.6 Two different types of heads for pole lathes.

Fig. 2.7 Cutting guide for your heads taken from Mike Abbott’s Green Woodwork (Abbott, 1989).

The heads (A in figure 2.6) are normally made