Elm furniture at YHA Dartmoor (previously known as Bellever Youth Hostel)

  'A fire was burning in the common room, where there were specially made wooden seats.'

Pat Packham, A Holiday in South West England, 5 August 1958 mentioned in the historical listing of 2001, collected by John Martin, YHA Volunteer archivist

The youth hostel in Bellever Forest lies right in the middle of the Dartmoor National Park. Since 2012 it's been called YHA Dartmoor and is the main hostel in the area.

The hostel is one of the earliest ones that is still in use. It opened in 1934 but was originally a barn that was part of the Duke of Cornwall's Model Farm, which was owned by the Prince of Wales.

Bellever forest consists mainly of conifers surrounded by the wild, open moorland dotted with granite tors and prehistoric dwellings and monuments.

However the small village of Postbridge is not too far away, with a shop and the famous clapper bridge.

On arriving at the hostel, one thing that stood out was how cosy it felt, compared to some hostels that I have visited in the past. The building has thick stone walls against the Dartmoor weather, which can sometimes be very fierce. The common room had a great granite fireplace and comfy chairs.

 

The other things that I immediately noticed were some of the other items of furniture that were in the hostel. The pieces had obviously been made using one-off or small batch production methods using slabs of English elm and, in the case of the two armchairs in the common room, handmade iron nails with the heads left faceted.

Elm is a traditional wood used in furniture making, as boards of elm are less prone to splitting than many other kinds of timber. Unfortunately, since the late 1960's large elms in Britain are very rare thanks to the arrival of Dutch Elm Disease. It would seem likely that this furniture dates to at least the 1970's, although I suspect that it could be older judging by the quote at the start of this post.

There were more benches in the games room in another part of the hostel. I love the way that the pegs holding the bench together are extended into legs in the design above and the large armrests on the design below.

 

 

While these settles would fit perfectly in many country pubs:

 

 This table is so robust that I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was made for the newly-opened hostel in the thirties:

The entire table top is made up of a single slab of elm, like every piece of timber used in making these pieces of furniture:

I also noticed tables made in a similar way from even larger pieces of elm in the pub in Postbridge. Perhaps they all came from the workshop of the same local maker?

Sadly, there is no information that I can find about where the furniture came from. Garry Hayman, longtime manager of the hostel who now works at YHA Swanage, mentioned seeing an old postcard of the common room that looked hand drawn. He thought that the two settles shown above could be seen on it and also said that it was entirely possible that the furniture was brought into the hostel when it opened in the thirties.

So the origin of the elm furniture will probably remain a mystery. The designs were all simple, practical but also comfortable and seemed to fit the place and its rugged moorland location perfectly.

Interviewed about woodcarving by Steve Yabsley on BBC Radio Bristol (and Radio Somerset) - with images of some of the things that we talked about

Today I packed a large rucksack full of tools and carvings and headed over to BBC Bristol on Whiteladies Road in Bristol.

Steve Yabsley - or 'Yabbo' - was going to interview me on his lunchtime show. Steve had phoned up out of the blue last week and asked if I'd like to chat about woodcarving with him. Of course I was happy to!

So I arrived at the studio feeling nervous and excited. Simon the producer met me at reception. He was welcoming and friendly and  helped calm the nerves a lot. Steve was also relaxed and friendly, even though he was dealing with a few technical difficulties at the time.

It was really enjoyable talking with him about all kinds of things; how I got into carving and the links between carvings and stories amongst other things. You can hear the interview by clicking on this image:

Steve very kindly said afterwards that he thought I'd come across well, which was a relief to hear! If you are wondering what the carvings mentioned look like after hearing it, here they are. You can find out more about each by clicking on the caption:

Predator Bird Skull

Sgian Dubh and Kiltpin

 Wooden kiltpin

Carved Self Portrait

Insects inspired by the HI-MEMS project

Bristol Cathedral Misericords

Medieval-style woodcarving tools, made to my own designs

Repairing a sculpture by Friday Tembo

Oldest known figurative carving

Image from http://donsmaps.com/images23/lionman2.jpg

Carving a wooden kiltpin with a celtic design using a knife: part two

So.... I had carved a kiltpin that I thought was very beautiful.

After it had been completed, my kilt arrived in the post. I put the kilt on, attached the pin and...

It didn't quite work with the kilt outfit! The golden yellow colours of the kiltpin clashed with the colours of the kilt more than expected and the pin felt slightly too heavy hanging on the cloth. The round shape also felt a little odd and I realised that a longer, narrower shape was more suitable.  The carving would make a stunning brooch, especially for a plaid, however it was not going to be my kiltpin. It was time to carve another one.

I decided to use the laburnum wood that was used in making the handle and sheath of the sgian dubh again, so that the two pieces would be linked and would look good worn together.

What to carve on it? One design that stood out was originally from the Book of Kells. It was reproduced in Courtney Davis' book 'Celtic and Old Norse Designs', published by Dover Publications.

The design could be easily adapted to work on the kiltpin. Although it looks a lot like a classic celtic knotwork pattern, in fact it isn't a single knot. If you look carefully, the two dragons run through an infinity symbol.

The kiltpin is 6cm (2⅜") long from top to bottom.

It was entirely carved using my trusty old number 10 Opinel lock knife, with which I originally taught myself whittling over twenty years ago, and was then lightly sanded with some sandpaper to finish it off.

The only parts that weren't produced with the knife are the tiny drilled holes into which silver wire or hand-carved dowels of reclaimed ebony and found plum timber were inserted to make the eyes, nostrils and neck patterns. The laburnum was first shaped whilst sitting on the Centenary bench that I made a few years ago and which is now installed in Leigh Woods.

The kiltpin was polished using beeswax polish at the end, which really brought out the grain patterns and colours. It has a bought brooch pin glued to it and then fixed on with brass rivets (made by cutting down two brass pins). The carved recess means that the pin doesn't hang too far off the surface of the cloth and roll from side to side.

A day in Leigh Woods; Burwalls cave, Luke Jerram's stranded boats and a wooden sofa

Leigh Woods runs along one side of the Avon Gorge near Bristol and is home to some very rare species of trees and plants. I went there a few days ago with a friend of mine, Duncan.

First we visited the legendary Burwalls Cave. This cave is quite a scramble to get to, but it's worth it. When we went, the ramsons (also called wild garlic) were covering the woodland floor, giving the mild garlicky smell that always means 'summer is coming' to me.

The cave itself is just under where Burwalls House now sits at one end of the Clifton Suspension Bridge. Before the mansion and the bridge were built, there was an Iron Age hill fort there.

Although some of the cave looks natural, I'm sure that other parts were dug out, built up and remodelled to make the place more like a grotto when such things were fashionable. The Bristol area has a couple of other notable grottoes, including ones at Goldney House and Warmley. 

Unfortunately, the cave was a mess when we arrived, with old sleeping bags and rubbish all over the place.  There were no signs of any current occupants either.

 

We couldn't really leave it in such a state, so we bagged up the rubbish and piled away the camping gear (being very watchful for discarded needles, of which there didn't seem to be any luckily). It was a real shame to see such a great spot, that many people have enjoyed finding for the first time, left full of discarded junk. Often before there has been cooking equipment and similar useful items left there tidily for other visitors to use, but this was different.

It looked a lot better afterwards, and in one dark corner we were rewarded by coming across a roosting bat. We also let the rangers, who look after the cave, know what was there. Hopefully it will be in a more welcoming state now.

 

After a bit of a mad scramble to get back to the parapet of the Suspension Bridge, we walked up into Leigh Woods. It was good to be there again, especially at this time of year when everything is gearing into summer.  The visit also gave an opportunity to visit the Centenary Bench and see how it was doing, as well as getting some knife carving done.

 

Two of the National Trust rangers at Leigh Woods have carved a great-looking wooden sofa, from cedar which originally grew on the Tyntesfield estate.  It is where the car park used to be by the Trust's offices :

 

There was another new artwork to be visited in the trees nearby. Luke Jerram is a well-known artist and has made installation artworks around Bristol before. He has placed five fishing boats in the woods as a piece called 'Withdrawn'. It addresses the problem of overfishing and its effects on the environment.

It was interesting to see, although it was a shame that the boats weren't safe to climb onto. Even though it wasn't the point behind the artwork, some of Jerram's previous installation pieces have involved a lot of viewer participation (playing pianos left around the city or sliding down a huge water slide) and it made just standing and looking at the boats feel a bit like there was more that could be happening.  

 

The walk there was lovely though, with the bluebells in the hazel coppices starting to come into flower. I'm glad that the artwork is there and that it gives people who might not be visiting the woods otherwise a reason to see them when they're at (what I would consider) their most beautiful.

Buy local, buy social, learn to carve wood...

My friend Joe from Touchwood Enterprises surprised me yesterday by letting me know that I was now a figurehead for the 'buy local, buy social' website...

Well, not really. The first page of the site shows a photo that was taken when I taught woodcarving for Touchwood at a community project in Bradley Stoke, Bristol.

I'm very happy to be on this website, as it is trying to help promote giving work to small businesses and start-ups in the area around here and is supported by the local council for Bath and North East Somerset. Of course, if people in other areas want to offer me work too that is also fine!

Teaching woodcarving at my studio in Bristol - spoon carving lessons in the sunshine

Yesterday, I spent a very pleasant day teaching two students spoon carving at my studio.

 

First, we discussed different kinds of tools that were available and the pros and cons of each. There were a selection of several different styles of axes, knives, hook knives and spoonbit gouges for them to try out and see which they preferred.

Both chose cherry wood to make their spoons, which I have to say is one of my favourite carving timbers. It's great for spoons as it carves well, is non-toxic and has nice colours and grain patterns throughout. Another good timber is sycamore (Acer pseudo-platanus), a tree that I have heard was introduced into Britain in ancient times for the purpose of making eating utensils .

First, we cleaved the logs using different kinds of axe and also discussed using a froe and mallet.

Then we chatted about different knife carving techniques that would be useful. I recommended a couple of books for further reading (Swedish Carving Techniques by Wille Sundqvist and Green Woodwork by Mike Abbott) and let them have a flick through each if they wanted to. There was also a spoon carved by Barn the Spoon to hand, for inspiration and to discuss the finer points of spoon design if it was required.

We then spent a few hours happily carving, with me on hand for advice if needed. We discussed regrinding the blades of the widely-available Frost hook knives so that they work better, although both of them preferred using the spoonbit gouges to hollow out the spoon bowl. To be honest, I prefer to use the gouges for this job and so, apparently, does Mike Abbott. There was also time for a chat after lunch about sharpening tools and honing them using a strop.

The spoons were coming on nicely by the end of the day and were taken home to be worked on until the next session. I'm looking forward to the next workshop in May, when we will discuss transferring images onto panels and carving them using traditional hand tools.

From a log to a carved plaque - making a carving from a cedar tree that had been cut down.

I recently completed an interesting carved plaque for the St Monica Trust in Bristol. The trust runs retirement homes and nursing homes around Bristol and wanted a gift for the chairman Gerald Lee, who is retiring from his post.

A much-loved Himalayan cedar (deodar) tree was recently felled in the grounds of the Cote Lane site and the Trust wanted to use some of the timber to create a gift for Mr Lee.

The tree surgeons took away most of the timber, so there were only sections of branches that they didn't want left behind with diameters of 18cm (7") or less. The tree was also felled a matter of months ago, so the timber was unseasoned and would not be seasoned by the deadline for the presentation of the piece. Two interesting challenges to think about. I obviously told the clients about these considerations before beginning work!

I decided to quarter-saw the timber so that the rings were at right angles to the widest flat faces of the 'boards'. This means that, when they are glued together, the wood of the plaque will shrink and expand sideways and will hopefully not warp as it seasons.

I was not so worried about the timber cracking, as cedar seems to be fairly stable and not too badly prone to that. Carving the logs in the round seemed risky though, as the tensions set up as the wood dried would make such a sculpture more likely to crack than a flat panel would be.

The quarter-sawn pieces were quite small, as the logs weren't big to begin with, however they glued well to make a board that was big enough. The smell of the cut cedar was very strong; I don't think my workshop will have moth problems for a long time to come. Let's hope the smell of cedar repels other insects too (like furniture beetles!)

After the glue had dried, the boards were trimmed and run over a planer thicknesser to get a nice, even thickness throughout.

The design was to be a sundial, which is the logo of the St Monica Trust,  together with the motto 'Tempus fugit, caritas manet' (which means 'time flies, love remains') and a short text. It was laid out on paper and then transferred onto the surface of the timber. The sundial was carved in relief using traditional hand tools and the lettering, in an informal 'Chancery' style, was carved using a Dremel multitool. The cedar proved to be lovely timber to carve.

And here's the finished plaque: