APT Northern England Local Group2010-09-09T09:26:59ZDavid KnightCopyright 2010, David KnightSPHPBLOGA Visit to the Leaky Mushroom Sheds To find out why the mushroom sheds are so leaky and to see some images please go to
David Knight]]>http://www.bodgers.org.uk/blogs/5/index.php?entry=entry090810-1822282009-08-10T00:00:00Z2009-08-10T00:00:00ZAPT Northern England June 2009 meet up; smithing, bowls and spoons At the end of the day, Peter W had some straightened car springs to use as hook tool blanks, Bill had a half-finished adze shaped from a cheap mason's hammer, Peter S had a lovely alder spoon and I had something vaguely resembling the insides of a bowl. A productive day!
David Knight]]>http://www.bodgers.org.uk/blogs/5/index.php?entry=entry090609-2120562009-06-09T00:00:00Z2009-06-09T00:00:00ZAPT Northern England Meet, 5 October 2008 The cheery sight of the tarpaulin up and the kettle on the fire greeted me. Many thanks to Peter Wood who had arrived early to open up and set things up. Bill Oakes and Clive Pratt and Peter Simpson were also present and correct. Peter is a recent participant of the joint spooncarving and bowl turning course that Maurice and I ran in June. We had no specific theme for the day, so it was a chance for some serious tea and coffee drinking and good quality networking. We now have over thirty people who receive the details of our monthly meetings, so it’s really positive to think that we’ve a self sustaining group now.
It was also really good to welcome some new folk to the meeting. Piers Crawley and his wife Jill had recently been on Robin Wood’s spoon carving course in Edale, Derbyshire, and had come away inspired. A burn runs alongside the Flint Mill and is a rich source of alder trees. A couple of minutes slightly precariously leaning over the stream gave us some nice alder branches for spoon carving. A couple of alder saplings had also been uprooted by the high water levels during our wet and dreary summer and looked like tempting spoon blanks.
It was good to see Brian Pollard and Dick Atkinson drop in for a chat at various times during the morning. Both had family commitments so couldn’t stay.
So, as folk settled down to their various projects the sound of human industry prevailed. Clive was doing some good old fashioned polelathing inside the Flint Mill. Bill was testing out his new travisher on a seat base. Piers and Jill were using their newly developed spooncarving skills on the alder we had cut down. A particularly wiggly piece of alder had also caught my eye, so I embarked on a decidedly asymmetrical spoon as well. Peter W was diligently sharpening his tools and Peter S had brought a three quarters finished bowl to continue carving. He was enamoured by a Hans Karlsson adze and a dog leg gouge for smoothing the base of the bowl. I imagine that may be added to the Christmas present list!
Our final arrival was Nigel Goodfellow, another spoon carving enthusiast. You can see one of Nigel’s spoons here
Nigel works for the Chaplaincy Service at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle so having our meetings on a Sundays does prove a challenge for him. Nigel also settled down to some spoon carving, so the spooners were very much in the ascendancy today!
So with the warmth of the sun on our backs and the smell of wood smoke in our nostrils we broke for lunch and planned future meetings. On Sunday 2 November 2008 we’ll meet again at the Flint Mill with a theme of bowl carving. For our final meeting of the year on 7 December 2008 Bill Oakes will again host us at his workshop in the coal mining heartlands of County Durham. You can see from the blog entries below we had a great time last December and with a couple of forges going we can all become blacksmiths for the day and design the perfect green woodworking tool. For our first meeting on 4 January 2009 Clive Pratt has agreed to reprise the brilliant leather working workshop he ran for us back in February. We hope to find a warm indoor venue to protect us from the cold January winds!
David's wiggly alder spoon, not quite finished.
David Knight 9 October 2008]]>http://www.bodgers.org.uk/blogs/5/index.php?entry=entry081009-1952282008-10-09T00:00:00Z2008-10-09T00:00:00ZBlacksmithing at the Flintmill 1 June 2008 BIll Oakes, Maurice Pyle, Clive Pratt and Peter Wood were gathered around the kettle, but it was resting on no ordinary fire. The bellows and sparks gave it away. This was Bill's home made forge, very cleverly constructed from a old lorry brake drum, the hole in the middle filled in with some very light firebrick material and a T pipe and foot bellows providing the air. Maurice had provided a good supply of his Great North Forest charcoal (www.mpwoodsmith.co.uk/charcoal.html) and the glowing lumps soon had the kettle singing. Clive's pocket held a magical selection of fruit teas!
With the kettle's job done and mug's steaming we could get down to the main business of the day. Bill had kindly provided some metal rods for us to have a play at blacksmithing and he and Peter set off on the task of making a bowl turning hook whilst the rest of us took it in turns to pump the foot bellows. Good exercise for treadling legs!
The charcoal was raked around the rods until they were yellow hot before receiving several several bashes with the ball hammer on the wonderful anvil that Bill had brought along. Repeating this process several times produced a wide thin layer of metal at the end of the rod. A few judicious blows with the cold chisel shaped it ito something resembling a hook tool unrolled and it was then left to cool before an edge was put on by hand with files.
My own effort was to produce a spoon carving hook knife from a thinner rod of metal (recycled from a shop fitting to hang things on!). This was the first time I had tried any blacksmithing and I was pleasantly surprised at how a process so hot and noisy could develop a calm rhythm all of its own. The ease with which the hot metal became a malleable shapable material was also something of a revelation. I could get to enjoy this!
After lunch Bill used a pair of long-nosed pliers to gently shape his sharpened surface into the familiar questionmark shape of a bowl hook. After quenching it in oil to temper the metal he got down to the serious business of sharpening the hook.
In the meantime Maurice settled down at the pole lathe to turn an elegant handle for the hook tool. After an interesting debate into the three dimensional variables in producing a hook tool- bevels, width, curvature etc- the hook could be mounted on its handle.
Peter whipped out his cahin saw and within a couple of minutes had produced us a couple of bowl blanks to test the new tool. With blank attached to mandrel Maurice began shaping the outside of the blank with a gouge before the acid test with the new tool.
Bringing metal into contact with turning wood did seem to produce a quantity of shavings. After some minutes testing though the conclusion was that the hook was scraping more than cutting. Bill went away to spend some more time with his sharpening paste. I was well impressed though. From metal rod to functioning bowl-turning hook tool in four hours straight!
This was an inspiring day and a chance to learn some new skills and realise that simple blacksmithing and tool-making is within the grasp of the average bodger. I even went home with a couple of new proto-tools. Many thanks to Bill for his ingenuity in building the scratch forge and for use of tools and metal blanks, to Maurice for the charcoal and the use of the Flint Mill and to Clive and Peter for their good company.
David Knight 3 June 2008
]]>http://www.bodgers.org.uk/blogs/5/index.php?entry=entry080603-2217522008-06-03T00:00:00Z2008-06-03T00:00:00ZLeatherworkshop at Harehope Quarry 2 March 2008 The amazing array of tools and materials that Clive Pratt had brought in was an inspiration for all of us to have a go at making a tool sheath that was a little out of the ordinary.
]]>http://www.bodgers.org.uk/blogs/5/index.php?entry=entry080327-0709462008-03-27T00:00:00Z2008-03-27T00:00:00ZLailey Bowl Lathes at the Flintmill 2 February 2008
We were pleased to welcome some new faces to the gang this month. Simon Blackmore is an artist in residence at Berwick Gymnasium. Nigel Goodfellow attended one of my spooncarving courses back in September.. It was good to see Andy and Lynne again, Andy was having some respite back in the North East from the challenging task of gutting and renovating a crofting cottage on Skye. I can feel a APT expedition up north being planned when the work is more advanced
Tissue paper soaked in diesel finally got the fire going (don’t tell Ray Mears!) and the kettle was merrily singing, putting to shame those untrusting folks who had brought a flask of hot drink – just in case! Fortified with tea and biscuits Maurice and the gang had identified the correct spot within the workshop for the lathe and the team began the task of excavating the pits for the upright poles. Fortunately the earth floor of the workshop was fairly forgiving and soon there were a couple of splendid holes ready to receive the uprights.
There was much poring over the photographs in the Dixon book in order to get the design of the lathe bed right. We had a roughly planked piece of oak that was chainsawed in two by Maurice. In getting the line on the plank we used a chalk line. This was the first time I’d seen this technique in operation and was impressed with its simplicity, especially the elegant flick that transfers the chalk from the string to the wood, in a perfect straight line!
The oak that was to become the beds needed some smoothing and so a combination of drawknives and planes were used to produce a workmanlike surface, but not too smooth to lose its rustic charm.
Some more chainsaw and axe work produced the headstock of the lathe. Chris Helliwell, star of our local North East log to leg racing team at the Wallington Bodgers Ball, produced a new Japanese axe sold at a modest price by Axminster Tools, which performed pretty well in hewing the head stock. In complete contrast, Bill Oakes showed us his latest eBay treasure, a very unusual Plumb axe bought for a couple of quid from Australia! The light weight and curved profile made it perfect for spooncarving, an alder branch pulled out of the burn providing a quick and convenient blank for me to have a play with.
Obeying all relevant manual handling procedures –smile- the oak legs of the pole lathe were manoeuvred into position- a point in the day when it was great to have several pairs of hands and strong backs- and the earth tamped down to secure them in position. This lathe may be overengineered but it definitely wasn’t going anywhere! Next up was to chisel out the mortises to accept the lathe beds, a point when three dimensional thinking really helped, especially to get the orientation of the beds right for the smooth running of the head.
All too soon it was late afternoon and time to think of packing up. The day had gone all too quickly, but there was a great sense of achievement. We’d had the best turn out so far for our group and a real sense of achievement and teamwork. There’s still lots to do to complete the lathe, but we’re already planning the celebrations when the first bowl is turned on it!
David Knight]]>http://www.bodgers.org.uk/blogs/5/index.php?entry=entry080310-0705182008-03-10T00:00:00Z2008-03-10T00:00:00ZMallets and Mauls at South Moor As the drizzle fell outside and the temperature dropped the feature of greatest interest was the kettle heating up on the open fire in the corner of the workshop, an original feature of the building. With tea brewed and a quick tour around Bill’s smallholding (prize feature the free-range turkeys contemplating Christmas!) the group contemplated the theme of the day, making beatles, mauls, clubs and mallets. Bill had done the group proud in preparing for our visit, with a variety of pre-turned oak and ash handles for us, and a heap of beautiful oak from Northumberland’s Belsay Estate as raw material for the tools. He’d even tidied up his workshop!
Guess which corner the fire is in?
Lynn and I were keen to have a go at making a mallet with the handle screwing in. I’d never used a tap and die on wood before and was surprised how easy it was. We had a one inch die, so a little additional turning of the handle to get the right thickness and a few twists of the die later and our handles had beautiful, sharply cut threads. A little bit of brute force with a 7/8 inch brace and bit gave a neat hole for the tap and within minutes the handle was screwed in. A little bit of glue and the handle was secure for life!
Full marks to Andy for leaving the smallest carbon footprint in getting to the meeting, having cycled from Sunderland! Andy had a go at making a maul, choosing a knotty piece of oak and carefully sawing in to help remove the waste and define the handle. This was definitely going to be a superior maul as he moved from the rough and ready to the well sculpted. Steam was literally rising from his back as he dried off from his soggy cycle!
Andy and his big mallet
After some delicious chicken soup for lunch several of the larger lumps of oak caught the attention of the group. It was time to make some mallets on a Thor’s hammer scale. My own attempt got off to a bad start when I turned down a lovely oak handle too small for my inch and a quarter hole. Whoops! Maurice came to the rescue suggesting I countersink a smaller hole and use the shoulder of the handle to lock into place. With a blind wedge made from a nice dry piece of oak, plenty of glue and a green head shrinking onto a dry handle I’m hopeful that my large mallet will never lose its head!
Bill’s workshop held as much attraction as our green woodworking theme, as his wonderful collection of tools and equipment was discussed. In one corner was a power lathe and, in the interests of comparison, Bill gunned it up to turn a piece of oak for a superior maul. As a power lathe novice myself it was fascinating to compare the subtly different technique used compared to a pole lathe, especially how much rougher the blank could be.
Maurice flirts with the dark side!
AS afternoon tea and seasonal stollen cake brought the afternoon to an end, we contemplated our handicraft. A very fruitful and productive day, with good company and lively conversation.
A productive day in Bill's workshop
Our next planned meeting is Sunday 3 February 2008 at the Flint Mill Workshop where we’ll be helping Maurice construct a Lailey-syle bowl lathe. If we can find a suitable indoor venue we’re also planning a mid-January leather-working workshop on a Saturday for those of our group who find Sunday meetings difficult. If you’d like to get involved contact me using the buttons on the sidebar.
David Knight ]]>http://www.bodgers.org.uk/blogs/5/index.php?entry=entry071205-2016202007-12-05T00:00:00Z2007-12-05T00:00:00Z3 February 2007 Meeting Our meeting on Sunday 3 February 2007 will be at the Flint Mill, Beamish Museum, Co Durham and the theme will be building a bowl-turning lathe. Maurice Pyle will provide the materials and we'll help him construct a Lailley-type lathe as a permanent feature at the Flint Mill.
If you've not been to the Flint Mill before and would like to come contact me on the links on the right-hand side bar.
David Knight ]]>http://www.bodgers.org.uk/blogs/5/index.php?entry=entry071108-1224442007-11-08T00:00:00Z2007-11-08T00:00:00ZAPT North Local Group Newsletter October 2007
Bill Oakes has kindly agreed to host our next APT North meeting at his home in South Moor, near Stanley. If you are interested in coming email me for furher details (see "contact me" on the sidebar) The theme for the day is making beetles, gluts, mauls, clubs, wooden hammers etc,including drilling and putting threads on to the ends of handles. Bring your drill and bits! Bill is having several tons of oak delivered so there should be some good material for people to go away with some really useful greenwoodworking equipment. Bill has an interesting collection of militiary vehicles that are well worth a look. As a final incentive, Bill will also have soup and bread available for lunch. If you're planning on coming do let me know so we can plan for numbers. Hope to see you there!
Future APT North Meetings
To keep things simple for the future we've agreed to meet on the fisrt Sunday of the month from now on, skipping the first Sunday in January and the first Sunday in May because of public holidays. So, you can now diarise APT North for the whole of 2008 with the following Sundays at 10am; 3 February; 2 March; 6 April; 1 June; 6 July; 3 August; 7 September; 5 October; 2 November; 7 December.
We'll try to move around to a variety of locations. Hopefully we'll get an invite back to Penton Woods (hint, hint James) and Harehope Quarry (ditto, Ray). Other suggestions included Rising Sun Country Park in North Tyneside and a privately owned woodland in Co Durham.
We also agreed that each meeting would have a host for the day, so that the burden didn't fall too heavily on Maurice at the Flint Mill. Many thanks Bill for taking on this task for December. If you'd like to bagsy a month as APT North host do let me know!
APT North Meeting Themes
Following the success of our bowl-turning themed day (more below) we like the idea of continuing with themed meetings. Suggestions have included; making benches; bowl carving; spoon carving (gets my vote!) ; general pole lathing; stick chairs and rustic furniture; tool maintenance; repairing wooden objects; waxes, oils and finishes; leather working (sheaths) etc; riving and cleaving brakes; devices and bowl carving stands. Any more suggestions would be warmly welcomed.
APT North Bowl Turning Meeting Sunday 21 October 2007
After an early morning frost the sun shone at the Flint Mill and the fire sprang to life on a day focussed on bowl turning. It was good to welcome new participants Peter Fairer (ask to see his unfeasibly large side axe!), Ken Woodrow, Brian Pollard (who works closely with Maurice on a range of projects) and Andrew Parkes (our green cycling champion!). Good to see you all. Maurice kindly supplied some cherry and a pair of calipers to mark out some bowl blanks and pretty soon there was the wonderful sound of hewing to rough out the blanks. A revelation to me was to do two bowls at a time, so at least two ends of each blank could be rounded with something to grip on to before sawing in half. Andrew launched into mandrel construction, and I tried a no nails approach to mandrels.
Pretty soon all the lathes in Maurice's workshop were in action with G clamps holding extended tool rests in place. Our bowls were modest in diameter but it was good to see so many begin to emerge from the blanks. Maurice was testing a new grind Ashley Iles gouge without corners to catch (a power turner tells me it should be called a long grind bowl gouge). Several folk turned the whole bowl just with the bowl gouge. I brought along some Gavin Phillips hook gouges (see below) to play with. It was an excellent learning experience with a real sense of people pooling their skills and we made at least half a dozen bowls and a couple of mandrels between us to take away. Mine is drying nicely. However, to see a real expert in action go to http://www.robin-wood.co.uk/turnframe.htm for a videoclip of Robin Wood turing a nest of bowls. Watch him easily undercut the core and weep!
Tool Sharpening Course Special Offer 17 November 2007
Maurice Pyle has a one day Tool Sharpening course at the Harehope Quarry Centre near Frosterley in Werdale on the 17th November from 9.30 to 3.30pm. He has some spare places and will offer them at less than half price to members of the APT North Group. The Advertised cost is £65, special offer £30. It’s a full day course covering sharpening of all of the common green woodworking tools using powered and manual means of sharpening. As most people will know Harehope is a fantastic venue, we will be based in the eco-classroom (that’s where the wood fired stove is!!). For more details or to book contact Maurice on 0191 252 4064 or maurice@mpwoodsmith.co.uk
Hail Bodgers from South West Scotland
I'm pleased to add Rolf Bewert, John Colbeck and Gavin Phillips to our mailing list. All stay in Dumfries and Galloway and are members of the Galloway woodturners, a broad church of power and pole lathers. Rolf, John and Gavin in their own words are splinter group (ouch!) seeking to convert their fellow turners to the quiet, rythmic swoosh of the pole lathe in a 240 volt AC free environment. They hope to set up a SW Scotland bodgers group and I'm sure friends in the North of England would be keen to help them get going. I was invited across to a picnic in Mabie Forest just south of Dumfries last Sunday and had a great time. It took me about two hours to get across there. I do hope that we'll see you at least one or two of our meetings- perhaps even a joint meeting somehere near the border! As I mentioned above, Gavin is a keen bowl turner and makes bowl turning hooks. For more details go to www.bowlsandtools.co.uk.
The Legal bit
APT North is a local group of the Association of Pole Lathe Turners (www.bodgers.org.uk). UNtil other groups spring up we cover the North East of England, Cumbria and North Yorkshire. You don't have to be a member of APT to join our meetings, but for a few quid a year we'd encourage you to do so. Our meetings are a gathering of like minded folk sharing our collective experience and skills. There is no formal tuition. People are urged to bring their own tools to meetings and dress warmly with chunky footwear.
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