Timber-framed houses along Friar Street in Worcester- wonky buildings, planning using geometry and the daisy wheel

Worcester has quite a few surviving timber-framed buildings and many of them can be found along Friar Street, in the city centre. Halfway along the street is Greyfriars, which was built in 1480 as a merchant's house and has been in the care of the National Trust since 1966: 

Not as old (but also looking great) is the facade of this pub on the corner of the street.

One thing that I noticed was how wonky the jettied first floors on some of the buildings were...

The building in the lower photo shown above makes me wonder if the builders got hold of the longest suitable piece of oak that they could find to support the front wall of the first floor and then built the rest around it. The slope on the first floor of the building in the photo above it makes me wonder if they had just been on the ciders beforehand!

When these timber-framed buildings were constructed, timber didn't usually come in regular sizes. Since everything had to be cut, split or hewn by hand, carpenters would make use of what they had available and so if a beam was a bit uneven, that would just be accounted for when building around it. 

I went to a very interesting talk by Laurie Smith a while ago. He is an expert on the geometrical methods that builders used to plan constructions throughout much of history. 

When factors such as irregular sizes of materials meant that exact measurements using units such as inches were not as useful in planning a construction, things were laid out using geometry.

Laurie Smith showed us how proportions and angles were worked out using simple geometrical techniques, meaning that they could be planned using just a ruler, a pair of compasses and a scribe (such as a piece of chalk). 

At one point, he remarked that he enjoyed looking at old buildings and working out how they had been altered from their original form over time. This could be done by a knowledge of the use of geometry in planning. He could tell if a gable had been removed or rooms added because they didn't follow the patterns that were easy to spot if one has the knowledge of these procedures.

One reminder of these planning techniques that can be seen in some old buildings is a 'daisy wheel', like this one from Court Farm at Himbleton in Worcestershire:

Image from: http://www.explorethepast.co.uk/2014/10/averting-evil-evidence-from.html

Some believe that these daisy wheels were used to ward off evil in old buildings. Laurie Smith said to me that he hadn't delved into that possible side of their history, but that they certainly were an example of a design used in planning geometry as well.

A pub on Friar Street called 'The Cardinal's Hat' proclaims that it is 'Worcester's Oldest Inn'.  

Apparently there has been a pub on the site since the fourteenth century, when the inn catered to pilgrims and visitors to the nearby Friary (which ended with the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII). The current building dates to the mid-seventeenth century and I took a moment to check out the carvings in the spandrels around the front door. These are over a window to one side:

These carvings are over the main entrance. I wonder if the letters 'D' and 'CB' refer to the pub's owners at the time, the carvers or to something else?

Making a sturdy trug - a useful basket for for gardening

A trug is a sturdy sort of basket, often used to carry tools and other heavier items. They are sometimes made of wood and a classic design is known as a 'Sussex trug'. 

Image from https://www.thenewcraftsmen.com/product/royal-sussex-garden-trug-no-7/?gclid=CJ-Gyt-ym80CFUWNGwodfLIE6g

Proper good-quality Sussex trugs are made by skilled crafts people using sweet chestnut for the handle and rim and cricket bat willow for the laths making up the basket.

I haven't trained in Sussex trug making and don't have the moulds to shape the timber. An important birthday was coming up and the recipient is a keen gardener, so I decided to make her a tough workhorse of a trug which would also be a lot more affordable than a good quality Sussex-style one.

The trug measures about 65 cm (25.5") from end to end and is actually a lot lighter than it looks, as well as being able to carry any plants or tools used in the garden. It is made from European larch with an oak handle.

The handle uprights and the laths going across the basket reused scrap wood that had been used to space timber as it seasoned. I chose pieces with as few knots as possible, so they were stronger under a load. 

The larger side bits were offcuts that were destined for the fire. With a bit of cleaning up they look great. They would also be pretty durable outdoors, although the fixings are not stainless steel which would have been my preferred choice if the trug were to be left outside (as a decorative planter, for example). 

I chose not to put any kind of finish on, as it will only look better when a bit used and worn. The larch timber will naturally go a grey/silver colour over time and doesn't need to be treated with preservative.

The finishing touch was her name carved into the side with a Dremel, so no other gardeners can walk off with Cath's nice new trug!

A kuksa (wooden vessel for food or drink) from Finnish Lapland

My Finnish friend Mika came to visit and had brought along his kuksa. A kuksa is a traditional Scandinavian vessel used for some foods and for drinking.  They are interesting to make and very comfortable to hold.

Mika's kuksa had been made near Raudanjoki (which means 'iron river') in the middle of Finnish Lapland. 

He described to me how a traditional kuksa is made from a burr (or 'burl' in the US) of birch (Betula sp.) that has grown in the far north of Scandinavia. Birch timber has no strong taste and is not toxic. These northern trees also grow more slowly and have denser timber than their more southerly-growing relatives, which makes them ideal to use.

A burr is a rounded growth caused by the tree dealing with an irritant or disease. It would be detached from the rest of the tree and then peeled to reveal the timber, which is then shaped using knives to create the kuksa. The rounded shape of the burr means that the grain travels in a curve around the bowl of the vessel, so it is stronger. The dots of dormant buds held in the grain pattern of the burr also help, as they break up the grain to reduce lines of weakness in the kuksa's bowl and so prevent damage to it.

Mika also told me that the first thing to be drunk from a new kuksa in Finland is usually good cognac. I was surprised, as it isn't a drink normally associated with Scandinavia. He explained that cognac is considered to be enhanced by being drunk from a kuksa and it also improves the vessel too, in a way that more traditional Scandinavian liquors such as aquavit or vodka don't. He used his to drink mainly coffee now and only washes it using water (not detergent) in the traditional way.

Carving an award for Penny Brohn UK, to be given to a very deserving person

Penny Brohn UK  are a charity working with people who have cancer. They contacted me recently to ask if I could make an award to thank a remarkable person called Nina Barough for her hard work raising money for cancer charities.

Among other things, Nina founded Walk the Walk events, which have been hugely successful. They have raised millions for organisations helping those affected by cancer. 

The folks at Penny Brohn were very keen to present her with a thank you gift carved using timber from a recently-cut Cedar of Lebanon in their grounds. It also had to be carved for a deadline in a month's time.

While cedar is a fairly stable wood as it seasons, using the green timber did mean that certain things had to be considered. Seasoning timber will move and change and the design had to take this into account. I normally carve timber that has been seasoned for much longer but I do also love a challenge!

Slices were cut from the log, keeping the rings as close to being at right angles to the large surfaces as possible. This means that the seasoning wood moves mainly in one plane (at right angles to the rings), rather than warping all over the place. 

The piece of wood wasn't really big enough to get a single large slab from, so I decided to join smaller bits together carefully. It took a few tests to find the best glue to use (Bostik Wood Adhesive) but eventually they glued well. I like the bands of differing colours through the timber.

After drawing the design that they had requested on to the timber directly, I started carving. The cedar carved very cleanly, even though many other softwoods don't.

The bands of colour worked nicely in the design as fields going into the distance. When the carving was completed, it looked good but I wanted to put a frame around it that would hold the cedar panel and account for any movement in seasoning.  Some seasoned ash timber was ideal. 

The frame has a small gap between it and the cedar, with the panel being held by four dowels (two at the top and two at the bottom) that aren't glued into it but are glued into the frame. This means that any movement in the cedar panel will just travel along the dowels and the assembly won't be weakened by the change. The finishing touch was a brass plaque with an inscription that was fixed to the frame.

A representative from Penny Brohn UK collected the plaque and seemed very happy with it. I suggested to her that it be hung somewhere away from direct sun and sources of heat such as radiators (to stop it drying too fast). 

Apparently Nina was very happy to have received the award and it now hangs on her wall. Here's a photo from the award ceremony, kindly supplied by Penny Brohn UK and used with their permission:

Wood carving at the 'Really Classical Relay', accompanied by historical instruments such as the viol da gamba and Baroque oboe.

Last weekend, the Bristol Music Club played host to the 'Really Classical Relay' and I was invited to demonstrate wood carving there.

The Bristol Music Club has been running for over a hundred years and specialises in hosting recitals of chamber music at its home in Clifton. 

The Really Classical Relay was a three-day event at which an international group of very talented musicians played classical pieces in a relaxed environment. Children were welcome during the day and visitors could bring food and drink from the cafe into the room while they listened. It was a really nice atmosphere to be in, as you may imagine.

I was set up in the reception next door and spent the afternoon carving a relief portrait of Beethoven into ash timber (F. excelsior). In the evening, the carving was auctioned and the profits went towards the running of the event.

Of course there were times when a quiet piece of music required me to down tools for a bit, rather than crashing over it with some unexpected percussion using mallet and gouge!

It was fun to do a relief portrait. I really enjoy the challenge of carving portraits; they aren't easy and anyone can spot if the likeness of a famous person is wrong. Happily, even without the chance to do any prior research and little reference material to work from, everyone spotted that this was Beethoven...

It was also great to see the beautiful reproductions of historical instruments such as the viol da gamba being played for some pieces.  Another instrument that caught my eye was a Baroque oboe made from boxwood (B. sempervirens), similar to this one:

Image from https://sites.google.com/site/ohmusicstudent/band-instruments/oboe/oboe-history

Thanks to Jon and the team for making me so welcome.

Talking to Edward Carefoot: some thoughts about travelling independently, as a journeyman craftsperson inspired by the German tradition, through modern Britain

Recently, I met up with Edward Carefoot, who is seeking to travel as a craftsman inspired by the traditional German journeymen, who are sometimes called zimmermen. 

After finishing an apprenticeship in antiques restoration in northern England, Edward wanted to follow a similar path. After some time in the Scilly Isles and in Herefordshire he was on the move again and phoned ahead of his visit to ask if it would be okay to meet up. He'd seen from my blog that I had spent a bit of time with craftsmen travelling in the tradition of the German guilds and wanted to discuss the plan and how it could work with carving. 

I wouldn't say that I'm any kind of authority on such things, never having actually travelled in the tradition myself. However, I'm also aware that I've spent more time in the company of journeymen (travelling in the German tradition) than many people in Britain and have been lucky enough to learn a little about their lives. 

It was very interesting to chat with Edward about his plans and the things that we spoke about seemed like they might interest others too (perhaps finishing an apprenticeship themselves), although I should say that the opinions expressed here are mine alone and may not be those of Edward or of my journeyman friends.

The tradition of the travelling journeyman has been largely lost in Britain. Probably thanks to events such as the Dissolution of the Monasteries by King Henry VIII or the rise to power of Cromwell and his Puritans later on, work for travelling craftspeople became harder to find in this country. Although British people do sometimes travel in the tradition of the German societies, it doesn't seem to be commonly done and also requires a good knowledge of the language that many British people sadly don't have.

Edward asked at one point if I considered the idea worth pursuing and the answer was a definite 'Yes!'

Meeting other craftspeople is one of the most fascinating things about this particular creative world and besides, without giving it a go he could never know if it was possible. He was ready to travel and hadn't had the opportunity to be introduced into the tradition by a travelling journeyman, so was going to give it a try independently.

I did think that it would be good to keep some flexibility though. French and German journeymen have many traditions and customs that mean important things but without an experienced person to explain, they could sometimes be easily misinterpreted. 

Image from http://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2014/10/02/1963247-des-compagnons-du-devoir-font-halte-a-la-mairie.html

All of the journeymen that I have met had travelled for a period of time, at first, in the company of a much more experienced companion who could explain the customs to them and also give guidance on how to navigate through the travelling life. I did say to Edward that I felt that someone outside of the tradition (and without a good knowledge of the language) identifying themselves very strongly with it could potentially lead to misunderstanding in certain situations. It could be better not to seek to emulate but to create your own path, inspired by and with respect for theirs. 

Journeymen in the German tradition don't carry phones. It seems a tough path for a British craftsperson, travelling alone initially, to take. Many people in this country aren't used to the ways of the German travelling tradition and turning up unannounced with nowhere to stay might not always be a good idea in more remote places, although it does open the door to receiving kindness from others. It also means that it is more important to be punctual and keep your word; useful skills for a craftsperson. However, other journeymen have told me that travelling in more out-of-the-way areas is often easier. With so many disused barns about and people more open to hitchhikers, it is not as difficult to travel and to find places to sleep.

We also discussed having a website. It can be like a very useful portfolio and business card which can be updated. I haven't met any journeymen who have one but some sort of personal online gallery does seem like it could be a convenient alternative, for an independent travelling craftsperson, to travelling with a bundle of photos and papers that can easily be lost or damaged.

German journeymen don't travel using their own transport but there could be reasons why this might not be so suitable for a lone British craftsperson. For one thing, a good antique restorer needs quite a few different tools. Finding work on the road might be a lot trickier without having all the proper kit already with you but that could be a sizeable amount of stuff: expensive to replace and not so easy to to carry without transport. Having a mobile workshop isn't the way of the journeyman travelling in the German tradition but it could make sense for some other travelling craftspeople.

I did notice that the journeymen that I met were fairly flexible about taking on manual work outside of their particular training if it was on offer. A blacksmith would work on a timber framing project alongside more experienced colleagues. Their codes of practise make them good workers to have around and so they were welcome in other kinds of work too.

 A visit to my workshop did give Edward a useful chance to sharpen his own chisels and gouges ready for the road.

It's a great project and I wish Edward every success on his travels. I'd certainly recommend him to anyone who is wondering what his work is like. 

I hope that you have also enjoyed these, my own thoughts on what the German travelling tradition could mean for an independent travelling craftsperson from Britain. Hopefully you can also see my respect for that tradition and I'd be interested to hear what others think. 

And if any other wood carvers are passing through Bristol, do feel free to get in touch! It's always great to have a chat.

A very busy day teaching woodcarving in Bristol!

It's always interesting to see what different students want from tutored woodcarving sessions. Some people like to be shown a few particular techniques and then to get on with practising them with some guidance if needed, whereas others want to try as many different things as possible in the day.

Both are fun be a part of, of course. My last session of tuition was definitely the latter and it was the first taught session in my lovely new workshop. I really enjoyed using some tools again that I don't use that frequently and discussing how to use them too.

One great thing about teaching one-to-one is that learners can use some of the power tools that I'd sometimes be wary of bringing out with a group. When things go wrong with power tools they can go wrong very quickly, so I like to be able to keep a close eye on things. 

I wouldn't usually teach people to use certain tools such as chainsaws or Arbortechs in carving as they are potentially so dangerous to inexperienced users (or experienced ones!). Tools such as the scroll saw are a lot less aggressive and so I'm happy to use that occasionally. 

Katya wanted to make some wooden frames for embroidered pieces that she had produced.  First of all, I showed her how to use a panel saw (below) and a coping saw (first photo) properly. Cutting accurately by hand with a saw is a skill that anyone using wood should know. Electric saws are great, but occasionally only a hand saw can be used (when there's no electricity available, for example).

Katya was very happy with the piece that she produced using the scroll saw:

We also tried using a Dremel hand drill, an electric powered wood lathe and an electric drill.
It was the first time that Katya had used any of them but I think that by the end of the session, the scroll saw was still the favourite! She also kindly let me use her photos in this blog post.