A Bit More

Done a wee bit on my chair this week shaped the back rest and fixed the seat to the back legs. The wiggly waney edged timber makes for some interesting marking out when trial and error fails some temporary lines help out. Glorious weather this week short sleeves have been the order with temp of 16-17c ,but we shouldn't get used to it .As march came in like a lamb and could go out like a lion!! :)

Cycling ,Sycamore And Spoons

Wet and miserable is how I would describe most of march so far. Yesterday things had dried up a little so after lunch I jumped on the bike and gave myself a bit of a workout. No matter which direction I traveled, the wind was never on my back but I enjoyed it all the same. As I fought into the wind, I passed hardy little ponies standing in cold puddles and the nice black damp soil of newly ploughed fields. The snow drops and crocus show that winter is leaving us at long last .
And a small woodland of Sycamore and ash which I thinned out 15 years ago I like to look back to the places I have worked and see how the landscape is changing knowing I had a hand in it , a tidy little wood today. I hope the fair weather stays with us, as I would class myself as more of a fair weather cyclist than a die hard rain or shine type. I work in the rain but won't cycle in it. I got home and oiled up some spoons and that ended my Friday half day :)

Two Tables Might Make A Pair

I was asked to make two end tables by a lady who saw another table that I had made. I thought about some elm that could be made into these little tables for her. So I got started with lots of planing and sanding was I starting a production line, making two of something was a bit different as normally, I would make single items. My only order to follow was a top of around 16"x16" this had to be two boards of 8" which I paired together .The boards are waney edged, cut through and through I wanted to keep this look so a little spokeshave work where they touched and the table tops were done. The legs and rails yes, you guessed they have waney edges too! Leaving the holes and defects as they add to the rustic look that I love. Glancing out the window at the snow and sleet while rubbing on coats of wax to finish the pair of tables similar but not matching, no production line just doing my thing :)

The Silver Spoon

Here's the spoon I started in the previous post post . I would normally have used green wood but. By accident I used an old dry piece of Silver Birch after sharpening a gouge I tested it on some old Silver Birch so I gave it a go . I had tried a spoon using green Birch before and found it a wee tad stringy. But the dry stuff cut nicely and made a good spoon :)

Changed My Legs

On the chair that I started a couple of weeks ago , I had planned to mark out and cut the legs this weekend from some square oak .I laid them out but they just didn't seem to work with the back and seat .
But a couple of bits of Elm that have gathered dust in the corner of the shed seemed more like what would work. So I set about shaping them ,I split them roughly down the centre with an old cleaver and mallet, Elm is hard stuff its very tough to split green or seasoned, after plenty thumps they were done. Then I took the high points off with my axe and roughly shaped them with a drawknife and spokeshave. These work for me now. I also chopped out the start of a spoon using a piece of Silver Birch, chair and spoon will be posted soon :)