-
Origin – A Makers’ Co-operative
Origin, a maker’s co-operative in Carmarthen, is a shop I am very involved with as many of you who have “liked” my Facebook page will know. Origin is a wonderful shop and I am so pleased and proud to be part of it. And it is such a really nice bunch of people. When I first joined Origin last year I spent time looking at all the work of the other makers, trying to memorize the products to help customers. I felt humbled by the wealth of talent. And then I thought about the hours of work and the years of experience, designing, altering, developing of skills and styles that…
-
Tale of an Ash Tree
My work often comes from trees where I know some of the story behind the wood. None more so than one particular Ash tree. There are so many different threads of different stories that I see when I look at a piece from this tree. Once upon a time an Ash seed rooted itself in just the wrong place, on a river bank where there was almost no soil and under a cliff so there was almost no sun either. For a hundred and fifty years and more the Ash tree grew tall and thin as she stretched to reach more light, developing a buttress on one side to hold…
-
The Sap is Rising
This time of year is so wonderful yet intense, isn’t it? The sap is rising, the garden is getting sorted, everything is growing, the birds are nesting, the days, though getting longer, are way too short. I can hardly drag myself in from the garden before dark but then I’m so exhausted in the morning it is hard to drag myself out of bed. I have a wonderful commission with the wood turning so that has to take priority. When I feel I can allow myself to stop it is straight out to the garden. I can see the vegetable garden as I am wood turning which is both wonderful and…
-
A Special Bandsaw
My bandsaw is like no other. I was so lucky to get it and appreciate it every time I use it. It is thanks to Huw that I have it. He spotted it when it had been dismantled from its old job and saw the potential and restored it for me. Everyone who uses a bandsaw is admiring or even slightly envious when they see it. This bandsaw is the machine I would find hardest to replace if anything went wrong with it. So what is so special about the bandsaw? What makes it so usable to me is the size of the table and the throat. The throat…
-
The Smallest Lathe
This is a Scheppach (dmt450) 5 speed bench mounted wood turning lathe. This lathe was the first lathe I used seriously. And I did use it seriously considering it was a small inexpensive lathe. It was bolted well to the bench and within months I was turning bowls up to the maximum diameter of 10″ (150mm). And these weren’t always round bowls either. I had already been making furniture for several years so I knew how much I liked the natural edge and the beauty of the wood in its fullness, not cut into a straight line for my ease of use. I was very impressed with this lathe. It…
-
Enjoying Life
Enjoying life. Not taking things too seriously. “Hard work never killed anyone, why take the risk and be the first one”. All statements that Huw has always felt. He is however a worker and even when he’s not in his workshop (he is a precision engineer) he likes keeping busy. And what better a way to spend a Saturday than making a coffee table. So, enlisting the help of his friend Merfyn, who is retired and originally trained in woodwork before the dust forced him into painting and decorating, they set to work. Huw is very fond of the wood he rescues from old pallets. Much of his work is…
-
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…
-
My Milling Band Saw
I have two different types of saws that I use for converting tree trunks into planks, a milling attachment for a powerful chainsaw and this large band saw. Hopefully I shall make some videos in the future showing them working. For very large trunks, or if they are somewhere other than home I use the milling chainsaw which I’ll describe in another blog. If the wood is small enough and at home I have the band-saw. This was originally designed for sawing metal but has been adapted now to saw wood. Most milling band-saws do the moving through the wood and are portable, which has its advantages. With this one…
-
A Spring in my Step
A spring in my step is the best way to describe how I’m feeling today but before I say why I need to give a little background to the story. One day totally out of the blue someone I hardly knew turned up. He is a mechanic by trade but was helping clear a totally neglected field of overgrown gorse bushes. The back of his pick-up was full of gorse – the biggest I’ve ever seen. I have plenty of what I consider to be overgrown gorse in the hedge in my field. The largest stems are a bit over an inch, maybe 30mm. These ones were up to 4…
-
Laburnum Tea Lights
Had a lovely morning in the workshop turning a couple of branches of Laburnum into Tea lights. Christmas is coming. I know, autumn is only just here but in business one needs to think ahead! This Laburnum came from trimming around the electricity wires. Keeping them clear is essential work. They are only branches so the trees will still be growing. I’ve had them for years so they are very dry which is important for the tea-lights because a large bulk of wood is still left. If it was turned green/fresh it could crack or shrink badly. The sapwood has a little spalting in it. Spalting is where fungus has…