Hola sabuesos de herramientas - (Hello tool hounds)[Spanish]
News - by Wilkins of the Wood:
Missed you all who made excuses not to attend. Only 3 of us, Dave the ranger, Mike the bowl and me. We managed to get lots done, Dave ranger carved the characters, I roughed out the spoons, and Mike his bowl, and in true democratic fashion we took turns to make tea. The bees, Blossom and butterflies were out enjoying the sun!
More News - by Rich of the long curing Kuksa:
Myself and Wendy of the wool were absent from the last meet as we were up a tree for four days. We weren’t roughing it, but in the lap of luxury (it’s been a while). We stayed in a two storey treehouse, situated in an old Oak tree in Ongar. Aside from the wondrous accommodation, we had a beautiful view that was regularly filled with birds of prey, Spitfires from North Weald, daily passing of a herd of Deer, and plentiful Dragonflies resting in the old Oak after a tiring hunt around the pond. We didn’t want to leave, but home we came, eager to catch up with you all at the next meet.
Word Of The Week - Rich of the long curing Kuksa:
Withy: A withy or withe (also willow and osier) is a strong flexible willow stem, typically used in thatching, basketmaking, gardening and for constructing woven wattle hurdles. The term is also used to refer to any type of flexible rod of natural wood used in rural crafts such as hazel or ash created through coppicing or pollarding.
Places such as Wythenshawe and Withy Grove (both in Manchester) take their names from the willow woods and groves that grew there in earlier times.
Several species and hybrid cultivars of willows (often known as osiers) are grown for withy production; typical species include Salix acutifolia, Salix daphnoides, Salix × mollissima, Salix purpurea, Salix triandra, and Salix viminalis.
Regular Bits n Bobs:
If you have them, bring your lathe, shave horse, and any other fun equipment. We have a few chopping blocks and one kuksa horse, so if you can bring your own please do. Note for those with Lathes, our floor space is mostly concrete, so treadles may not be able to be pegged down.
Our meets don’t just have to be about making wood chips, we encourage members to bring other crafts to the meets, be that spinning a yarn, weaving a basket, making a tool sheath from leather or bark, and even decorative methods for our wooden items. Feel free to showcase your other craft skills as we are interested in sharing and learning a wider range of skills as we grow as a group. If any members would like to lead a session of various crafts for the group, possibly a paid one day course, please get in contact with me and we will see what we can arrange for the future.
About the venue:
The venue has toilets, kitchen, and is accessible to wheelchairs. I will supply teabags, coffee, sugar and cows milk. Please bring your own non dairy milk if needed. If anyone wants to bring biscuits, cake, snacks to share that would be nice, but bring your own lunch, bowl/plate, drinking vessel, and cutlery please.
Members have suggested a contribution for Tea/Coffee a few times, so I have decided to ask for a contribution of 50p. Obviously if you bring all your own bits, there is no need to chip in.
Free secure parking is available within the walled garden. Follow the main driveway all the way down, past the public car park and the “no unauthorised vehicles” sign, then the Walled Garden’s big gates will be on the left. Toot your horn to let us know you’ve arrived.
See site map, and map links at bottom of page.
Hope to see you there, and please contact me if you have any questions.
Richard Roberts - Group Coordinator APTGW Essex Bodgers
APTGW Membership:
Our meets are free of charge to members of the Association of Polelathe Turners and Green Woodworkers.
Non members are welcome to join us a few times to see if it’s something they’d like to pursue further. We then ask that folks join the APTGW. It’s only £20 per year and membership runs from January to December each year.
Join the APTGW here: https://www.bodgers.org.uk/joinus
For just £20 a year you get:
A quarterly Gazette with news views and articles on all aspects of green woodworking.
Attend the UK Bodger's Ball always held in mid-May (this is chargeable, but a bargain!)
Win prizes for your creations at the many craft competitions at the ball
Connect with other Green Woodworkers, tool makers, rural crafters.
Learn new skills in a variety of length courses.
Attend and participate in the Annual General Meeting which is held at the Bodgers Ball
Vote on how the organisation progresses and elect, or even stand for the committee!
Here is a "what 3 words" ink to the location: https://w3w.co/sizes.soup.puddles
Google maps link to location: https://goo.gl/maps/f6rYfb92p6n43Uz99
