Beginners' course fully booked

Posted on May 20, 2011 by stevetomlin

My first course of the year, for beginners (and folk wanting a refresher) is now fully booked. There’s an interesting mix of people, from those who already have a scythe but are struggling to get the best from it, to those with experience looking for more tuition to fine tune their technique and the just plain curious.
The weather forecast is good, we’ve a fantastic setting at Sprint Mill and I can’t wait to be out among the grass with a bunch of folk discovering the joys of mowing.
For those of you that couldn’t make it this time, I’m hoping to have another course in July. Details to follow.

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Scythe Instruction in Iraq

Posted on May 19, 2011 by stevetomlin

I wish I was blogging to say I’m just off to some far-flung corner of the world to run a scythe course and escape our current dreary Cumbrian weather. Actually Mr H. J. Hopfen Farm Implements Specialist  of the FAO was made available to the Iraqi Government between 25 Feb and 29 June 1954 to advise and introduce ‘useful improved implements’ one of which was the scythe and cradle.
His report on the project though short is very enjoyable. At that time the cutting of forage and cereals was performed almost entirely with the sickle though the scythe was known in a few places on the Turkish-Iranian border.  These were fitted to a straight snath with a single handgrip made from a short willow branch, bent to the shape of a ‘U’ to enclose the handle and the ends tied with string. Mr Hopfen observes that this design of handgrip is very simple and practical, easily repositioned for different users and even stronger than the grips that he himself had brought.
The original plan for a 2 week course run along with an Austrian scythe blacksmith was deemed ‘impossible’ and so Mr Hopfen carried out his training alone in the Kirkuk region during the month of May. Interest in the training was ‘considerable’ with up to 100 people attending the events which consisted of a demonstration by Mr Hopfen, an invitation to officials and farmers to try the scythe and cradle themselves and other ‘practical instruction and training’ (presumably care and maintenance of the scythe plus peening and sharpening.)
In one particularly pleasing  section, Mr Hopfen travels to the mountain areas around Sidiken on the Iranian-Turkish border to demonstrate the scythe. Unfortunately, ‘the farmers were so eager to obtain the few implement samples which the expert had taken to the mountains, that demonstrations had to be discontinued after only a few days as he had no implements left’! Similar problems were encountered in supply in Kirkuk so Mr Hopfen instructed local carpenters in the making of snaths and cradles.
Unfortunately for me, Mr Hopfen did not include any construction instructions in his report for carpenters local to Kendal though I also have a copy of ‘Small Farm Implements’ which he co-wrote and includes some better photos of cradles to work from. I’ll post them once I’ve finished reading it.

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Cumbria Scythe Festival Confusion

Posted on May 18, 2011 by stevetomlin

Back in January, Paul Kingsnorth and I met up with the Littoral Trust to discuss this year’s Cumbria Scythe Festival. We were all very enthusiastic for it to go ahead and talked over ideas of how we could build on the first festival. We also discussed dates and set a date of the first weekend in July, to coincide with the local agricultural cutting season, fit into the progression of festival’s moving north through Somerset and Cambridge and, hopefully, to get better weather. The summer months get booked up incredibly quickly so it was good to have this date in the diary.
Unfortunately, the Littoral Trust, who own the site, have this week informed us that they have had to change the date for the event to 23-24th July. Paul, Christiane Lechner nor I, who together led the practical tuition for the festival, will be able to take part because of prior commitments. After the success of last year’s festival, despite the rain I was looking forward to taking part again. I’ll keep you posted on developments.

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Mowing for the first time

Posted on May 15, 2011 by stevetomlin

Mothersday in Austria – a weekend where I don’t need to do anything because the kids are doing the cooking, washing up and all. So what is better than to have all the time you want for what you enjoy to do in spring and summer – mowing with my scythes. I was excited that it is now the right time to start mowing the young grass. But first the difficult decision for me – what blades am I using this time. I decided on a short 65cm and my long 85cm blade with snaths made by Peter Vido. Happy and excited I went to mow and was surprised that just after a short while I had to pause and even sit down to catch my breath. What had happened – I had forgotten to get myself in contact with the soil, grass, snath, blade and my breath. Sitting there made me aware how important this is and I used the time to do so – never thought this could happen to me.
I mowed a smiley face but it is hard to see because the grass is not all the same hight and I couldn’t get myself in the right position to take a good photo. In a week or so I’ll mow the inside of it and I hope it will be more visible then 🙂
But mowing is not all there is to do. What to do with the grass if no farmer wants to have it and you yourself have no animals who could eat it? There’s only one possibility left – compost heap. I enjoy piling the grass into a neat heap, space enough for all the grass to come during the season. Fresh grass is HEAVY – it does not look like it and every time I’m surprised about it. But with help, it’s shared work 🙂

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Shaving Mule

Posted on May 15, 2011 by stevetomlin

I was expecting plenty of response to the post “In praise of the homegrown shavehorse” which is a good thing as I want to encourage folk to debate and think about what they’re doing. I thought the first reply warranted a longer reply than is possible in the comments section.
‘r francis’ wrote:

Your ignorance amazes me. The original mule design was by Brian Boggs and made to do the job better and to help him with a back problem. Look up what he designed and how it works.
Both designs have their place. The differences are as apparent as the differences in the finished products made with them

Actually, I was aware that Brian Boggs originally designed a sawn-wood shavehorse but just to check it hadn’t changed I followed your advice and looked it up here. Below you can see the design alongside a picture of me on my own shavehorse for comparison.

The site boasts the innovative new features of this “hybrid design” but I am at a loss to see any that aren’t present in my own horse; the “full adjustability” in the cross piece and support heights, easy assembly (I don’t need the adjustable wrenches), extended work support and compactness are all there. No, I don’t have a “padded genuine leather seat” but I then I can easily add a cushion if I feel that way inclined and I’ve seen plenty of examples of horses with wide comfortable seats carved into them. If your horse has a narrow seat then use a wider plank like the little girl on the ‘clydesdale’.  As for the idea that the foot crossbar “requires the user to fully extend a leg in order to get a good grip on a work-piece” this is simply a matter of  ensuring you have the support and cross piece set to the appropriate positions for the size of the work – the kayak stringer I’m making in the picture is only ¾” but it’s securely held and my legs are comfortably bent. To avoid back problems you need a device that is made to suit your body size which is only possible if you make it yourself.
My main point though, which you seem to have missed, is that in making my shavehorse I used a whole lot of greenwood working techniques that I wouldn’t have learned by buying or making the mule, skills which are then essential for going on to actually produce chairs and other products from parts made on the shavehorse. What those finished products look like is down to the skill of the user, not the design of the workbench.

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New old tools

Posted on May 15, 2011 by stevetomlin

It’s 7am on a sunday and I’m walking around a farmer’s field in the rain – there must be a car boot sale. Following the recent workshop fire I’m planning to try and repair as many of the tools as possible, retempering them and making handles and sheaths but some things need replacing.  Mainly this is saws where the blade is buckled beyond my skills to straighten, wooden bodied tools or small items that got lost in amongst the debris.
Today I visited 3 local boot sales but the pickings were thin and I only came home with the meager haul below:
The marking guages will get converted into scratch stocks for cutting beads and the big screwdriver is for Charlie, who loves them.  Most interesting is the expansion bit made by Ridgway which will supposedly cut up to a 3″ hole! Maybe the things I’m looking for are too specialised, I’m too fussy or all the old guys’ sheds have been cleared out already.
Meanwhile, a parcel arrived from Richard Bingham, a fellow APT member though someone I’ve never met who read about the workshop fire and generously donated the axe and drawknives below. They’ve already been put to use on some oak chair legs this weekend. The other item in the picture is a tine from an old drag rake, shaved into a square taper 10″ long and with a square tenon. Richard has a few old rakes from his brother’s farm which I hope to get some more info on in the future.

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Going Straight!

Posted on May 15, 2011 by stevetomlin

With reference to Steve’s note (April 9th) on the Pembrokeshire snath in the Museum of English Rural Life, those interested in snath variations can study this page from an old catalogue.

I came across this on the internet. It’s a catalogue from the Sheffield manufacturer Tyzack and Turner and dates back approximately a hundred years. This page shows quite a range of poles (shafts) on offer, from the familiar S-shaped item to very nearly straight. Presumably the range reflects regional preferences, born out of variations in crop being harvested, climate, type of blade and method of use. I wonder if variations in personal preference came into it as well. The evidence from old paintings also suggests that the S-shaped snath that people regard as the ‘english’ standard was by no means universal. Perhaps it was a relatively recent evolution, or a more expensive variant.
There are other items of interest in the catalogue, including strickles and sickles. To view go to www.tyzack.net/Scythes.pdf

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In praise of the homegrown shavehorse

Posted on May 14, 2011 by stevetomlin

For most greenwood workers a shavehorse is at the centre of their workshop. An ingeniously simple yet effective device for holding work it is used along with a drawknife to shave chair parts, blanks for the lathe, rake heads and any number of other items. With a little modification it can be used for besom broom, carving bowls and anything else that needs to be held securely while you work.
Its beauty is in its simplicity; William Coperthwaite in ‘A Handmade Life’ says it “can easily be made at home, by a novice, and will work the first time it’s used.” For anyone aspiring to work with green wood, a shavehorse is an ideal first project; your design can be as complicated or simple as your skills, tools, time and materials permit. The building process will include turning spindles for the swingle tree, drilling holes at compound angles and shaving the legs to fit, cleaving and axework are the foundation of working with greenwood and make it an apprenticeship in one item.
So it was disappointing that at the Bodger’s Ball a new design of shavehorse was unveiled which for me has little to do with greenwood working , bypasses this skill learning process and has none of the aesthetics or individuality of its predecessors. Made from lengths of 4×2 of tanalised softwood fastened together with coach screws it seems to jar with the whole ethos of working local unseasoned wood with traditional methods. It is also so ugly that I couldn’t bring myself to take a photo, instead I’ve included pictures of handmade shavehorse from around the web to show their diversity and to provide all the inspiration and plans you need to build one. Everyone’s horse is unique, a reflection of their needs and personality from the strictly utilitarian to those lavishly decorated with seats worthy of a Windsor chair.
The idea behind this new design is “to design a shaving horse that could be made using tools and materials that can be easily obtained in the modern world.” Perhaps this is intended to make it more accessible for those used to working with square timbers who are daunted by the prospect of cleaving components from a round log or who are unsure where to obtain the materials. However, to then go on and propose those same people then make a chair is questionable. Not only is their first foray into the craft now a much more complicated, high-value project but also requires a higher specification of timber. If you can’t find short lengths of wood of whatever species to construct your shavehorse, where will you acquire clean straight lengths of ash for the chair?
Quite apart from that I feel this removes some of the beauty of what it is to be a greenwood worker. We are almost unique in being able to walk into the woods with a simple bag of tools and then make the workshop in situ starting from mallets and wedges for splitting the timbers, through to shavehorses and pole lathes. Afterwards it can be dismantled and left to rot peacefully back into the undergrowth.
Of course, starting a new craft is always daunting and many people will see it as a chicken and egg scenario where you need a shavehorse in order to build one. There is some truth in that, though you can very easily do without. If you need the help then please, go on a workshop where you have the tools and instruction to get you on your way. You’ll have a lot of fun, learn a lot and go away with an incredibly useful device that you can be proud of. And not a coach screw in sight.
 

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Back from the Bodgers Ball 2011

Posted on May 11, 2011 by stevetomlin

The Bodger’s Ball was a great weekend; plenty of interesting demos, folk to talk to and time for to relax with a beer. A wonderful setting too at Lower Brockhampton in Herefordshire. Too many things to write now so here’s just a few highlights.

Watching Andy Hayes hewing timbers for a traditional aisled building and talking to him about the french system of apprenticeship and his hopes of establishing something similar within the Association of Pole-lathe Turners.
Sean Hellman with fan bird Sean Hellman carving a beautiful fan bird to win the half-hour challenge while also entertaining his audience in his own inimitable style.
The crosscut saw challenge with Matt Jarvis looking very serious and Dan acting as official timekeeper and log holdfast. I’ve been collecting up old saws, including a 5ft crosscut, for years and learning how to sharpen them. It’s great to find out that other’s have been doing the same.
The ash grows well in Herefordshire and there were plenty of straight clean lengths available for demos and racing. We don’t have such good ash in Cumbria so I took the opportunity to split a log and shave it into rake heads. Thanks to Mark Allery for letting me use his kit.
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First Grass of the Year

Posted on May 9, 2011 by stevetomlin

Following the long winter break, mowing the first grass of the year is always special. This year it was for a demonstration at the Greenwood Worker’s ‘Bodger’s Ball’.
I always feel a little bit nervous after being away from mowing for so long. I’ve been watching the spring arrive, grass growing and the fields getting lush building anticipation for this moment.  My blade is peened and honed, now check I have everything; spanner and allen key, whetstone and sheath, don’t forget the wedge then go through the process of setting up the blade for lay and hafting angles. I’ve got some butterflies and fumbling fingers as I walk over to the meadow.
Its National Trust land, a meadow at the Brockhampton Estate and the section I’ve been given is sloping with fruit trees. I can see that it’s not as well managed as the rest of the field, too difficult access for tractors but perfect for the scythe and I like to be able to show how this is a tool that can work where machines have problems. The vegetation looks lush, buttercups in some areas then longer grass with some clumps and I wonder how matted it will be at the base but it’s standing up despite the  heavy showers we’ve had so that will make things easier.
Enough delay, it’s time to take the first cuts. I’m careful and slow, tentative strokes to feel the blade in the grass and remind my body of the movements and how everything feels. Can I still do this; have I forgotten over the winter, will it be how I’ve remembered it from last year?  The doubts fade away the blade sweeps through its arc, my body remembers and with each cut my confidence builds and I relax into it more. Soon it’s like I was never away, I’m moving in a steady comfortable rhythm, breathing easily and enjoying the pleasure of the work.
Steadily folk arrive to watch and ask questions, a few trying themselves after being surprised by how effective and fun it looks. Gradually they move on to see other demonstrations and it’s just me mowing with Simon and Andy who have their own scythes and we work on as a team finishing up our allotted patch before stopping to chat about scythes, mowing and the coming season. It’s almost over too soon, I could have happily continued but breakfast is calling and I know there’ll be plenty more grass over the summer.

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