Category Archives: SteveTomlinCrafts

Leela's rake

Last October I met Miss Kathloon Peart from Bishop Auckland who told me how she’d received her first hayrake when only 3 years old and had been making hay on her farm for the 50-something years since then. So I … Continue reading

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Romanian Rakemaker

I’ve been in the Transylvania region of Romania taking part in an International Haymaking Festival. During the week we called in to visit Viktor-bacsi (an honorific for older people translated for us as “Uncle Viktor”) who, despite ill health makes … Continue reading

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Double bow rake

My first completed rake, post-fire, a double bow model based on one at MERL. The head is 695mm wide with 12 tines, the bows are made from cleft ash, shaved almost to size and then drawn through a dowel plate. … Continue reading

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Steambending Course 2011

After last year’s success, Charlie Whinney and I again ran an intensive steambending workshop for four furniture makers demonstrating the amazing possibilities in bending solid wood using steam. My role is to organise the workshop and ensure that everything runs … Continue reading

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Kosenka spoons

I’ve been away in the White Carpathian area of Czech Republic, taking part in a conservation project to manage 6ha of upland pasture for wild orchids using scythes. You can read about the mowing on scytherspace, my scythe blog. All … Continue reading

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Rust cleaning

It’s summertime and the living is a bit hectic but exciting with all the current scythe goings-on so not much time for making. Charlie and I are getting close to finishing the cleft-oak signposts  and, when I get a spare … Continue reading

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Heat-treating tools with Robin Wood

During the fire in the workshop, the heat of the flames caused the metal in my tools to soften so the first step in repairing them is to heat-treat them to the correct hardness. I’ve done a little bit of … Continue reading

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My First Fan Bird

Ever since I first saw these fan birds, I’ve been itching to try making them but other projects always seem to have got in the way. Made amazingly from a single piece of wood, fan birds originated in Russia and … Continue reading

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Peeling Oak Bark with CANW

On Sunday I met with other members of the Coppice Association NW (CANW) at Moss and Heights Spring Woods for a day of peeling oak bark. The woods were worked for many years by legendary coppicer Bill Hogarth up until … Continue reading

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Shaving Mule

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 … Continue reading

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