An action-packed day with Groundwork West Midlands teaching a group how to make wooden hay rakes at Silverdale Country Park.
We started by cleaving a green ash log for the rake heads and stripping the bark off some straight hazel poles for the handle (called the stail) – lots of good working on the shavehorses.
To make the rake teeth (called tines) we split another ash log into squares.
These are then knocked through a tine cutter to shape them into the rake teeth. The teeth need to dry before they’re fitted into the head so I had brought some prepared in advance.
Lots of drilling followed and hammering the teeth into the heads. The handle is sawn down to make a split stail and provide strength.
Here’s some of the group with with their completed hay rakes. They’ll get lots of use this summer when we’re scything the meadows on the site.
