Sometimes, you just want to take the piece of wood and beat the hell out of it. Thankfully, the other week when Phil, Frank and I did just that it was for good reason and not just to release some built-up frustration.
In the US there’s a whole branch of basketry based on ash splints, thin ribbons of wood created by separating the growth layers by pounding either the whole log or a prepared billet. I’d seen it done in some videos and when Jarrod was over for Spoonfest he brought some small samples with him to use in his bark sheath workshop. Jarrod’s wife, April makes beautiful splint baskets from ash, see them at Woodspirit in the gallery. Several UK makers were interested in the process and discussed trying pounding our native ash, spurred on by some old references to the technique.
It’s always easier to actually get on and try these ideas if there’s two of you so I mentioned it to my mate Phil Bradley who’s a basketmaker. He was immediately excited by the possibilities and the video links I sent so we met up on a damp day earlier this month for what we refer to as a ‘play day’ but should probably come under ‘continuing professional development’ or something.
Phil’s mate Frank came over too and we each took turns hammering the billets we’d cleaved and drawknifed out of a green 6″ diameter log. It was satisfyingly easy to do and didn’t need as much hammering as I’d expected, just a series of overlapping blows top and bottom (perpendicular to the growth rings) to break the bonds between layers and then angled strikes to separate them. This gave us splints about 1.5-2mm thick which we split further using a pocketknife to start a split and then pulling it apart. The inside has a gorgeous silky texture which seemed ready to use.
Phil kept the splints and plans to use them as highlights in his willow basketry, I just wanted to see if it would work and have a day out in good company.
As wood dries, it shrinks and often changes shape as a result. This is a major concern for most woodworkers and they go to great lengths to dry timber and keep it dry before starting work. With greenwood work I am working with freshly-felled timber which is still soft to carve by hand and will steam bend into curved shapes. The drying and shrinking is of course a consideration but can be an advantage. Carved bowls and spoons find their own organic final shape, chair joints lock together without the need for gluing, while in the case of a shrink pot it’s the whole basis of their construction.
Shrink pots are a simple project; a greenwood log is hollowed out and the inside smoothed using gouges before a shallow groove is cut on the inside at one end. A base is cut from a dry board which fits loosely inside the pot and is captured in the groove as the pot dries. I then shape the outside or leave it with a bark finish and fit lids once the pot has found it’s final shape. They look great for tea and coffee in the kitchen and have loads of uses around the rest of the house too.
I’m always surprised how physical weaving a chair seat is, I want the seat to feel full and tight so it supports the user so keeping the tension as you work round while anchoring the chair with your legs is something of a wrestling match. After weaving three-quarters of the seat on the first day I stuff the seat from underneath using more rushes to fill it out and then let it dry overnight before. By the next day the coils have dried and shrunk a bit and I can push them up tight before finishing off the weaving and stuffing again. It’s amazing how much stuffing a seat this size needs but the result is a seat that is firm but with the soft, natural rush texture.
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