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Milling Wood Problems.
Milling wood for furniture or wood turning is an interesting experience. The bark of a tree can hid many secrets. Obviously becoming more experienced means I can see subtle clues but there is not always anything showing on the bark after many years or decades. Sometimes milling wood and lifting up the plank reveals the most beautiful figuring that wasn’t expected. Then the excitement grows with each cut. Sometimes there can be disappointments – a nasty area where a dead branch has spoiled otherwise good wood or a rotten area, even a whole section that is hollow. One old Sycamore had a pink area in the middle that was very…
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Paul Clarke, Sculptor, Woodcraft
Paul Clarke is equally skilled working with stone or wood and luckily for me he is also a friend of mine. It is through our common interest in wood that I know him. He has bought wood off me before or I have known of someone who could supply the right wood for a project. Paul has made pieces at my places before as I have ample space outdoors. Of course I jumped at the chance to see him in action. He is working on a big project at the moment – a huge chair to go outdoors at Cardigan Castle for when it opens to the public next year. The castle…
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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…