-
Santes Dwynwen
Santes Dwynwen is the patron saint of lovers here in Wales and the day Santes Dwynwen is celebrated is the 25th of January so I thought I’d share her story. Santes Dwynwen was the beautiful daughter of a Welsh King Brychan Brycheiniog who lived in the fifth century. Brychan had lots of children it seems (possibly 24), many of whom became saints (bit of a popular pass-time back then, it seems). Dwynwen fell in love with Maelon and he with her but it was not to be. Exactly what the problem was is a little unclear and history becomes legend. Probably her father wasn’t willing or had already promised her…
-
Wood Finish 1. Polish
Deciding what wood finish to use can be a bit of a minefield. There are a lot of different things to take into consideration. The wood finish that brings out the figuring, refraction of the light, etc. best is a polish but this tends to be quite shiny which isn’t to everyone’s taste. It is also not very waterproof or very tough. However, if it is scratched it is easy to re-polish. Varnish is the toughest wood finish which is why it is used for yachts but this is a coating on the surface of the wood rather than going into it and if it gets scratched the whole finish…
-
Yew Trees
Yew trees are beautiful and I love working with Yew wood. Yew wood is one of the most interesting and beautiful woods, highly sought after by wood turners and furniture makers. It has a creamy coloured sapwood with much darker orange brown heartwood creating a striking contrast. The patterns created by the Yew tree as it grows tend to be very varied and ‘wild’. Yew trees also do not tend to grow smooth and round but undulating in and out. This means that if I can make things from yew that retain the natural edge this adds an interesting feature to the piece. However, yew also tends to surface crack…