sutton046

Once again, we were invited to run a woodworking activity at the annual Claisebrook Carnivale. Run by the Rotary Club of Heirisson, this annual event is used as a fund raiser or the charity Telethon, particularly through the operation of the "Duck Derby". Last Sunday was a great day and our third year offering our woodworking activity there. One of the quieter times in the Joy od Wood tent! The organisers once again supplied us with a 9m x9m marquee, so we had plenty of room to offer our "Joy of Wood" woodworking activity to the public. With lots of kids benches and a few adult sized benches, there were a total of 29 hammers out. People of all ages had a great time, using a considerable volume of wood pieces to make a fantastic array of creations. So many pieces of wood to choose from! The Sawing Station in full swing... with all 6 saws on the go. As normal, the wood recycling message is an important part of our mantra. All of the wood pieces have been cut up from w...

One of the things I love about green woodworking is the sense of history behind it. We use ancient skills and techniques to make simple functional items from pieces of trees. Then there is the magic of making... sharing something with other craftspeople down through the ages.  I have been enjoying following Christopher Schwarz ' posts about the "Furniture of Necessity" book he is writing. In one of the posts he referred to the Lund Stool , an 11th Century Viking Era stool.  The remains of the stool were found near Lund, Sweden. Hence the name. All that remains is the original Beech seat with the three holes for the legs. Similar stools have also been found, I understand, from northern parts of the UK, where the Vikings had ruled off and on for many centuries. As a person who has always liked practical functional furniture, the Lund Stool really took my fancy. I appreciate the history behind it too. A Lund Stool Made from London Plane. A cou...

At last, the next round of Public Workshops have been organised for the first half of 2015. This round of the  Joy of Wood public Workshops will be run at the Vic Park Community Arts Centre, 12 Kent Street, East Victoria Park, in Perth Western Australia. The kids workshops are in the school holidays, for people aged 6-14. The rest of the workshops are for people aged 15-105! You'll need to book to participate. Places are limited. ... So don't miss out on these great opportunities!