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
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With the wind turbine at Harehope Quarry ecoproject whizzing around, two charges of firewood in the ceramic stove and the smell of fresh coffee in the kitchen it was easy for APT Northern England members to decide that the leather working workshop had more appeal than felling alder for an outdoor shelter at the Quarry’s green woodworking workshop.
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.
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The snow of Friday night had fortunately melted away when the largest ever gathering of APT Northern England folk assembled at Maurice Pyle’s Flint Mill Workshop in the grounds of The Beamish Museum. Maurice arrived clutching a copy of The Reading Lathe: A Link with the Anglo-Saxon Migration by Philip H Dixon, (Cross Publishing 1994 now out of print) and several large straight grained oak logs that were to be the raw material for our very own Lailey inspired bowl lathe.
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
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Sunday 2 December saw the APT Northern England local group at a new venue in Bill Oakes' workshop in South Moor, Stanley, County Durham, at the heart of one of the North East’s old mining communities. Bill’s workshop caused great interest with its arched windows and its solid roof timbers. Dating back to the tail end of the nineteenth century the building was part of a pit foreman’s cottage, original use unknown. It was good to see Peter, Tom, Maurice, Andy, Lynn, Clive and Rowland at our meeting, even if it was a snug fit in the workshop.
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
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Hi all
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
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