I have used light fast wood dyes to stain the wood.
This design is far more complicated to make, because of the long tail feathers.
Saturday, 24 October 2009
Magpie
A few pictures of a magpie
I have used light fast wood dyes to stain the wood.
This design is far more complicated to make, because of the long tail feathers.
I have used light fast wood dyes to stain the wood.This design is far more complicated to make, because of the long tail feathers.
Monday, 19 October 2009
Fan birds, the Raven
The raven and my fan bird making bench.
The raven - the first fan bird that I designed and made to represent a particular species of bird. All the birds I have made so far have been a stylized representation of a generic bird. I like ravens, very intelligent birds, like most of the crow family. A bird for this time of year with Halloween coming up soon. Made in the same way as any other fan birds, but with a bigger belly and a big beak, and then stained black.
It is very easy to get into a rut and just make what you usually make. Changing a design can result in failures and potentially wasted time, it is easier to make what you know.
This raven is hopefully just the start of many different bird designs.
As I said in my last post, I played around with some beech, and the wing tips had this lovely graceful curve. What I did not say was that I found another piece of beech at the Cranbourne Chase Wood Fair and tried to make another one with the same effect, as a public demonstration. Everything was going really well until I started the final thinning of the hinge, and the fanning out of the feathers. They started falling out, and by the time I had completed the interlocking of the feathers I only had half of them left. I gave the bird a small shake and the remaining interlocked feathers came loose. I was left holding a birds body, a complete failure and in front of 20 people as well.
As I explained to my audience it was not a total failure, such failures often hold a few lessons. The beech I used previously was green but had been cut down and left for some time. The beech I had used in my demonstration was very green and had been cut recently. The conclusion is that beech needs to mellow before making fan birds, just like hazel hurdle makers do with their hazel, they cut it in the winter and leave it for a least six weeks before using it, as it splits and works better after it has stood for a bit. I have also always found that beech does not split straight and tends to run off. I have never used that much beech in my career and I am not an expert on it like oak and ash. Is it me or is beech a bit of a sod to split straight?
I have stopped using a shaving horse on which to carve my birds and have made a dedicated bench. It is essentially a post vice that stands up on its own owing to the fact it was made from an ash tree trunk that split into 3 branches. I used a single vice screw and some 3 x 4 inch sections of dried oak beam I have lying about the workshop. All my tools are to hand, hanging off pegs or slotted into holes drilled into the bench.
Seen above is another use for this bench, and it is to make kuksas. I am using a French clog makers hook knife to cut out the inside of the bowl. The great thing is that I can walk all around the bench. I am sure I will find many other uses for this bench in time.
The raven - the first fan bird that I designed and made to represent a particular species of bird. All the birds I have made so far have been a stylized representation of a generic bird. I like ravens, very intelligent birds, like most of the crow family. A bird for this time of year with Halloween coming up soon. Made in the same way as any other fan birds, but with a bigger belly and a big beak, and then stained black.
It is very easy to get into a rut and just make what you usually make. Changing a design can result in failures and potentially wasted time, it is easier to make what you know.
This raven is hopefully just the start of many different bird designs.
As I said in my last post, I played around with some beech, and the wing tips had this lovely graceful curve. What I did not say was that I found another piece of beech at the Cranbourne Chase Wood Fair and tried to make another one with the same effect, as a public demonstration. Everything was going really well until I started the final thinning of the hinge, and the fanning out of the feathers. They started falling out, and by the time I had completed the interlocking of the feathers I only had half of them left. I gave the bird a small shake and the remaining interlocked feathers came loose. I was left holding a birds body, a complete failure and in front of 20 people as well.
As I explained to my audience it was not a total failure, such failures often hold a few lessons. The beech I used previously was green but had been cut down and left for some time. The beech I had used in my demonstration was very green and had been cut recently. The conclusion is that beech needs to mellow before making fan birds, just like hazel hurdle makers do with their hazel, they cut it in the winter and leave it for a least six weeks before using it, as it splits and works better after it has stood for a bit. I have also always found that beech does not split straight and tends to run off. I have never used that much beech in my career and I am not an expert on it like oak and ash. Is it me or is beech a bit of a sod to split straight?
I have stopped using a shaving horse on which to carve my birds and have made a dedicated bench. It is essentially a post vice that stands up on its own owing to the fact it was made from an ash tree trunk that split into 3 branches. I used a single vice screw and some 3 x 4 inch sections of dried oak beam I have lying about the workshop. All my tools are to hand, hanging off pegs or slotted into holes drilled into the bench.
Seen above is another use for this bench, and it is to make kuksas. I am using a French clog makers hook knife to cut out the inside of the bowl. The great thing is that I can walk all around the bench. I am sure I will find many other uses for this bench in time.
Monday, 12 October 2009
Cranbourne Chase Woodfair
Cranbourne Chase Woodfair
The last Woodfair of the season, outside in October! I decided that I would not have the energy to put up my marquee and that if I did it would come home wet, and would have to be dried out. So I booked a space in the big marquee and did fan bird carving demonstrations.
This Wood fair had a competition with three winners in three classes and so I entered all three classes and I won "Best small Piece", not jokes please. It is great to be recognised as one of the three of the best in the show. Below is the fan bird I entered, which is made of beech, an interesting wood as it curled a bit when I rived the wings, and as you can see it has made a lovely cup shape.
I met Owen Jones again, and at last managed to spend some quality time talking about fan birds and other stuff. He has been making small birds for some years now and said he must have made a couple of hundred. Owen make them with only a penknife and uses pine. I like them, they have a naive simplicity to them, and I like the shape of the body.
The birds are photographed on his oak swill baskets, so have a look at his web site
I am always interested in seeing other people's fan birds, so send me photos if you have ever made any, or seen any made by other people.
The last Woodfair of the season, outside in October! I decided that I would not have the energy to put up my marquee and that if I did it would come home wet, and would have to be dried out. So I booked a space in the big marquee and did fan bird carving demonstrations.
This Wood fair had a competition with three winners in three classes and so I entered all three classes and I won "Best small Piece", not jokes please. It is great to be recognised as one of the three of the best in the show. Below is the fan bird I entered, which is made of beech, an interesting wood as it curled a bit when I rived the wings, and as you can see it has made a lovely cup shape.
I met Owen Jones again, and at last managed to spend some quality time talking about fan birds and other stuff. He has been making small birds for some years now and said he must have made a couple of hundred. Owen make them with only a penknife and uses pine. I like them, they have a naive simplicity to them, and I like the shape of the body.
The birds are photographed on his oak swill baskets, so have a look at his web site
I am always interested in seeing other people's fan birds, so send me photos if you have ever made any, or seen any made by other people.
Tuesday, 8 September 2009
Westonbirt Festival of the Tree
Westonbirt Festival of the Tree is a show that I have been attending regularly for seven years. As with all the wood-fairs I attend, I love it. Wood-fairs just seem to be the most laid back and fun shows. This year was a very good one for me and I also had the best position next to the chainsaw carving arena, and the pitch position number A1.
One of the first people you saw as you came into the show was Dale with all his sculpture, benches and games for children. Note his gypsy flowers and shaving horse for making them. Over the years he has made many thousands of flowers. See a video I made of him working, here.
Mr Nick Gibbs, the esteemed editor of Living Woods magazine, has published a short article I sent in, on how to find the moisture content of wood without a moisture metre. I will be sending in more articles. He was at the Festival, and had two shaving horses that he let children have a go on, to introduce them into the joys of green woodwork. Nick was in the Classic Hand tools tent, an Aladin's cave of very expensive tools. I met Phil who makes and sells wooden planes, I introduced myself to him after finding out through his blog, that he was at this show.
This image is of Geoff King's stand Woodland Treasures. It is great to see someone making money from wooden jewellery and very fine pieces they are too, and a great tent.
Helen with her modified yurt, we met her at WOMAD and anyone involved with bushcraft may have seen her at the Wilderness gathering. If you want organic, bark-tanned sheep skin, she is the person to see.
I did not write down the details of this company in the picture below, but I was very taken with the timber framed tent. They do others which had all four sides enclosed with canvas walls. I would like to make my own timber framed tent, a really light-weight one, but has to be easy to put up and functional in every way. Maybe I will just dress my plastic and metal tent up instead.
Piers Roberts with wooden sunglasses he made himself. I just had to ask if I could take a photo. I have been wanting to make some for years now, just another thing on the list that I am yet to do. A few years ago I saw a couple of gentlemen walking around with turned wooden bowler type hats. These were turned very thin and since wood shrinks across the grain they went oval to fit the head, no photos of these I`m afraid
One of the second hand tool sellers was also sharpening the saws he was selling on this lovely old jig, that was used by leaning it up against his work bench. I like they way it locks the saw in place, the front rail next to the saw blade knocks in and out because it is sitting in a V wedge cut on the posts.
Three of the saws I bought. The frame saw is for ripping or sawing wood along the grain, the other two are cross cut saws. This winter I want to learn how to sharpen my own saws so that I will never have to buy a hard-point saw with plastic handles again, the ones that we are always throwing away.
More tools from France, have a look on the Bodgers forum for more info.
I have made a new bench for making fan-birds on, and it works very well, also great for wooden cups . It is made from a tripod of forked ash turned upside down. I had a large vice screw that was inserted through the log to make the vice. I have taken a liking to demonstrating making fan-birds whilst standing up, as I find it helps with interaction with my audience. The man watching me is Toni Ross who has posted many videos on Youtube under the pseudonym of bygonetoni. The sticks projecting from the bench are to hang all my tools from, so everything is to hand. I sold a fare few fan-birds and not just the cheaper £10 ones I do in my quick demonstrations.
This is my only photo of the chainsaw carvers work, taken whist we were packing up the stall.
One of the first people you saw as you came into the show was Dale with all his sculpture, benches and games for children. Note his gypsy flowers and shaving horse for making them. Over the years he has made many thousands of flowers. See a video I made of him working, here.
Mr Nick Gibbs, the esteemed editor of Living Woods magazine, has published a short article I sent in, on how to find the moisture content of wood without a moisture metre. I will be sending in more articles. He was at the Festival, and had two shaving horses that he let children have a go on, to introduce them into the joys of green woodwork. Nick was in the Classic Hand tools tent, an Aladin's cave of very expensive tools. I met Phil who makes and sells wooden planes, I introduced myself to him after finding out through his blog, that he was at this show.
This image is of Geoff King's stand Woodland Treasures. It is great to see someone making money from wooden jewellery and very fine pieces they are too, and a great tent.
Helen with her modified yurt, we met her at WOMAD and anyone involved with bushcraft may have seen her at the Wilderness gathering. If you want organic, bark-tanned sheep skin, she is the person to see.
I did not write down the details of this company in the picture below, but I was very taken with the timber framed tent. They do others which had all four sides enclosed with canvas walls. I would like to make my own timber framed tent, a really light-weight one, but has to be easy to put up and functional in every way. Maybe I will just dress my plastic and metal tent up instead.
Piers Roberts with wooden sunglasses he made himself. I just had to ask if I could take a photo. I have been wanting to make some for years now, just another thing on the list that I am yet to do. A few years ago I saw a couple of gentlemen walking around with turned wooden bowler type hats. These were turned very thin and since wood shrinks across the grain they went oval to fit the head, no photos of these I`m afraid
One of the second hand tool sellers was also sharpening the saws he was selling on this lovely old jig, that was used by leaning it up against his work bench. I like they way it locks the saw in place, the front rail next to the saw blade knocks in and out because it is sitting in a V wedge cut on the posts.
Three of the saws I bought. The frame saw is for ripping or sawing wood along the grain, the other two are cross cut saws. This winter I want to learn how to sharpen my own saws so that I will never have to buy a hard-point saw with plastic handles again, the ones that we are always throwing away.
More tools from France, have a look on the Bodgers forum for more info.
I have made a new bench for making fan-birds on, and it works very well, also great for wooden cups . It is made from a tripod of forked ash turned upside down. I had a large vice screw that was inserted through the log to make the vice. I have taken a liking to demonstrating making fan-birds whilst standing up, as I find it helps with interaction with my audience. The man watching me is Toni Ross who has posted many videos on Youtube under the pseudonym of bygonetoni. The sticks projecting from the bench are to hang all my tools from, so everything is to hand. I sold a fare few fan-birds and not just the cheaper £10 ones I do in my quick demonstrations.
This is my only photo of the chainsaw carvers work, taken whist we were packing up the stall.
Friday, 21 August 2009
Croissant Neuf summer party, Usk, Wales
Croissant Neuf Summer Party; Usk, Wales
A family festival in a stunning place. Lucy and I decided to both do something for the festival in exchange for tickets, and I ran some workshops in knife work and green wood. We were part of a great circle of craftspeople. Dale in the gypsy wagon and tables benches, sculpture and toys and games for the people who like to play. Dave and Em running LED lightning workshops. Bob making windmills from recycled tin and brazing them together. Bart and Amanda: wooden didjeridoos made from tree branches, and even small trees. Amanda with willow baskets and even willow coffins. Golly, a potter with whom I had some great conservations about smelting ores traditionally, bronze age onwards.
This photo shows most of the site. Croissant Neuf is entirely powered by renewable energy and has a fantastic sound system in the big tent.
Bob sitting in his workshop, in the foreground Crissy testing out her second spoon, the first one she made was also with me, 10 years ago, at Campus. She even had it with her.
We had great fun at the festival and I learnt a bit more about LED lighting, and bought 3 bulbs from Dave to make up a lighting kit for the stall and van. Dave goes around the country running his workshops and educating people about how energy efficient 12 volt LED bulbs are. For £20 I got a 3-watt spot light made up of 3, 1 watt bulbs, This is my favourite as it is the most powerful and has a daylight to warm colour. I have also got a 2. something Watt 48 LED `daylight` and warm bulbs for £12 each. The warm one is to yellow and the daylight one is a touch on the blue side but very good for working with. This colour temperature has been a issue with LEDs, primary colours are not a problem but daylight to warm colours have been difficult for the manufactures to make. So I have 3 bright bulbs that use 8 watts, that is a very long battery life. I bought a very small rechargeable sealed lead acid battery for £12 with all lights going full time it lasts for over 10 hours. The battery is a 7amp hour all I need now is a solar panel.
If will all switched over to LED lighting we could decommission lots of power stations. LEDs are the way to go, as they are very long lasting, 30,000 hours is what is given on life expectancy.
On the way home we spent some hours in Usk mainly walking around the Rural Life museum. Not one of the best in the world, but we love exploring local history, and of course old tools like the sandstone sharpening stone below: was it self operated or were 2 people needed?
This exhibit showed me that I have been making my frame saws wrong. I will now be including a handle below the blade in future.
I love this apple masher for making cider; pour apples in, turn handle and out comes the pulp ready for the press. It just has wire banged into the wooden rollers to pulp the apples with.
I am a bit behind with my posts as Croissant Neuf happened a few weeks ago now, and I have just got back from the Westonbirt Festival of the Tree, more on this in a week or so.
A family festival in a stunning place. Lucy and I decided to both do something for the festival in exchange for tickets, and I ran some workshops in knife work and green wood. We were part of a great circle of craftspeople. Dale in the gypsy wagon and tables benches, sculpture and toys and games for the people who like to play. Dave and Em running LED lightning workshops. Bob making windmills from recycled tin and brazing them together. Bart and Amanda: wooden didjeridoos made from tree branches, and even small trees. Amanda with willow baskets and even willow coffins. Golly, a potter with whom I had some great conservations about smelting ores traditionally, bronze age onwards.
This photo shows most of the site. Croissant Neuf is entirely powered by renewable energy and has a fantastic sound system in the big tent.
Bob sitting in his workshop, in the foreground Crissy testing out her second spoon, the first one she made was also with me, 10 years ago, at Campus. She even had it with her.
We had great fun at the festival and I learnt a bit more about LED lighting, and bought 3 bulbs from Dave to make up a lighting kit for the stall and van. Dave goes around the country running his workshops and educating people about how energy efficient 12 volt LED bulbs are. For £20 I got a 3-watt spot light made up of 3, 1 watt bulbs, This is my favourite as it is the most powerful and has a daylight to warm colour. I have also got a 2. something Watt 48 LED `daylight` and warm bulbs for £12 each. The warm one is to yellow and the daylight one is a touch on the blue side but very good for working with. This colour temperature has been a issue with LEDs, primary colours are not a problem but daylight to warm colours have been difficult for the manufactures to make. So I have 3 bright bulbs that use 8 watts, that is a very long battery life. I bought a very small rechargeable sealed lead acid battery for £12 with all lights going full time it lasts for over 10 hours. The battery is a 7amp hour all I need now is a solar panel.
If will all switched over to LED lighting we could decommission lots of power stations. LEDs are the way to go, as they are very long lasting, 30,000 hours is what is given on life expectancy.
On the way home we spent some hours in Usk mainly walking around the Rural Life museum. Not one of the best in the world, but we love exploring local history, and of course old tools like the sandstone sharpening stone below: was it self operated or were 2 people needed?
This exhibit showed me that I have been making my frame saws wrong. I will now be including a handle below the blade in future.
I love this apple masher for making cider; pour apples in, turn handle and out comes the pulp ready for the press. It just has wire banged into the wooden rollers to pulp the apples with.
I am a bit behind with my posts as Croissant Neuf happened a few weeks ago now, and I have just got back from the Westonbirt Festival of the Tree, more on this in a week or so.
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