Rivers Joinery

The Guildhall Walk in Totnes now has a new red front door.

There has been a lot of footfall this week, as the re-modelling of St. Mary's is happening and pedestrian's shortcut through the church grounds has been blocked. There has been much admiration of the new door.

The Guildhall Walk has some crazy rooflines and is usually a peaceful respite from Totnes High St on market day. 

The door has a new Greenheart step/cill. This ancient piece of very hardy timber was most likely a part of Plymouth Docks a long time ago. It then sat in a local barn for many years, before I came by it recently. It's not going to rot in a hurry. Greenheart cill, bronze red water-based paint from Little Greene.

Then over to tidy up, at Jasmin Cottage, where the lime rendering is now finished. Cracked cement render removal, repair of timber frame, insulation with ionic sheepwool and re-rendering in lime to match existing.

Then over to Torquay to survey another prospective job on this converted windmill.

So, the front three panels are taking shape. 

The nearest/right one still needs grounding.

On to the top rail.

An old familiar way of working, with well used tools. I don't get to work this way all the time, so a day on this is joyous.

This board was twisted and I am surprised it planed up ok.

Setting the marking gauge with my Rabone rule for the thickness.

All change tomorrow, hanging a front door.

 It's been a while, and I do love it so.

Those East Devon joiners and carvers, whoever they were, made something special 400 years ago.

I was going to re-create one chest from the several that have survived. Looking over them, I realised that apart from the one, this was based on:

there were elements on each, that I was not so keen on. So I decided to scavenge my favourite elements from all of them, and put them into one.

As always there's a few South Devon influences as well. I do live in South Devon, after all.

It's not everyday you are asked, to come and take your pick from a freshly thinned wood, that is almost exclusively cherry. I haven't had any fresh cherry for a fair few years, so to be faced with a cherry woodland on the verge of spring, with piles awaiting selection is a rare treat.

I think I will celebrate, by carving a spoon, for Clare and Nigel, the woodland owners.

Split with the froe, into halves, quarters, billets.

Axe a crank. Sketch an outline. The cherry grain has provided me with a centreline.

Saw down to the line.

Axe to the line. Same with the profile, then out with the knives. Time to catch the last few rays of the sun. Almost Equinox.

And we have a spoon. The first of many, I imagine, given the big pile of cherry logs next to me.

From tree to log to spoon, before the sun went down.

I offered some of the cherry to Mick, but I don't think he wants, to carve a spoon; says it's too much like a religion. That made me smile, I used to do a lot of Buddhist meditation; nowadays carving is my meditation. People do all sorts of things in the name of religion, but I've never heard of anyone doing bad in the name of carving spoons! I do treat my chopping block like an altar, though, I guess.

 A door in Accoya.

Wedged tenons. Pinned with brass. Fixing the drip, with brass flatheads and my turnscrew. Holding temporarily with the Jorgensens.

Hunted and gathered this new old anvil today. It was a lively beast and took some subduing, but with Mick on the seesaw, we roped it in! 

So, forging ahead with the forging. Bang bang bang.

Lots of angles in the roof lantern. Basically a miniature hipped roof, with glazing bars instead of rafters.

A temporary structure and tent was placed over the roof lantern, as the work was happening in the middle of winter.

On installation day, a genie lift was used to raise the lantern up in two sections.

Over on to the scaffold tower.

Then slid along, and posted through the 'letterbox' in the tent structure. Over the hole and then the scaffold boards slid out and the lantern fixed down.

The tarpaulin battened back down, for work to continue, in the dry!

Birdwood House is a listed building, overlooking Totnes market square. It was originally called Somerset House and was the home of the Babbage family; later to produce Charles, the inventor of the Difference Engine, the first mechanical computer.

The building was refurbished in 2005 to house the Gallery, a venue for art. The art gallery is partially lit by a roof lantern. Unfortunately, the lantern had seen better days, so we were called in to do a restoration of it, starting on the 23rd December last. Listed building consent was acquired by the owners. After stripping the paint back, it was obvious restoration was not possible, and so a new lantern was made, saving and restoring the roll-top cap.

Here it is this morning, complete with anti-bird wire to replace the nasty bird spikes that were there before.

It has been blanked off for years, because of it's unsightly appearance, but now the possibility of using it to add a vertical element to exhibitions, has been opened up.

 

It must be something in the air. Out looking for birthday presents, I found these books, a stone's throw from St. Mary's in Totnes.

Literally for a song. I would happily have paid, for each page, what I paid for each book. Some things are just meant to be.

The first was right next to the second. A fitting accompaniment, given that my interest in 17th century English furniture, was first piqued, by an exploration of American furniture of the same period.

Cantilevered cupboards.

 Hadley chests.

All the favourites. Nothing else to say.

When I'm not stopping buildings falling down, making furniture, carpentry, framing and joinery........I'm doing more carpentry! No, not really. Me and her outdoors, try to be self-sufficient in fruit and vegetables and eggs. She is more green-fingered than I, but it's quite handy that I can build all the infrastructure!

We used to have problems with rodents, until we built Chickenopolis. The raised houses give the chooks somewhere dry to dustbathe, their favourite activity, even in wet weather. It makes them easier to clean out and means the rodents have nowhere to get comfortable; wheelbarrow under the big door, open it and pull out the waste, then off to the compost heap. There is a covered way down the middle; for collecting eggs from the nest boxes, sorting feed out and storing tools. Having a dry space to do it all makes all the difference.

In other news, the new old van is on the road, with new livery.

I just went out to the home workshop to get a box to put some things in, but some silly sod (me) has put a load of spoons and ladles in there. Grab other box; the same.

Oh well. I picked this chest of drawers up for the daughter's bedroom recently. I replaced the plinth, because someone had used a few bits of old pallet in a previous restoration. A polish with some Fiddes and good to go. Minimum intervention is the best option sometimes. The top drawer is a writing desk for her studies. Definitely Early Oak, but she likes it.

I was going to make another bowl out of the other half of that Elm log, but nature beat me to it. This is Velvet Shank mushroom. It makes good eating. The Japanese call it Enokitake.  As well as being tasty, it also is notable as a winter growing mushroom. Never eat a mushroom unless you are 100% sure about what it is. There are two other mushrooms similar to this which are poisonous. To differentiate you can take a spore print; Enokitake has white spores, the other two don't.

Here they are, growing on another piece of Elm in the hedgebank bottom, a bit more developed. I don't mind if this log goes back to wildlife, and the added bonus of a tasty meal.

On my way back from the workshop, I grabbed some firewood and this piece of beech, which was near the edge and got wet, has Turkey Tail mushroom growing on it. Back in the hedge, into a pile of logs and cultivate this one also. Turkey Tail is known as Kawaratake (roof tile fungus) in Japan and Yun Zhi in China, where it is used in traditional medicine. It is apparently good for balancing immune systems, so you never know, it might help me with my joints!

The first shoot of this year's sweet chestnut planting, showed itself. Giving back what we take.

 So, I've been continuing to use the elm up, making bowls etc.

The bottom one is dry now and ready for oiling. The top two have a way to go. The log wasn't so green and it's being lying in the hedge bottom for a while. I only finished carving the smaller ale bowl a few days ago. It's the first time I've tried my new kuksa gouge. Love it.

I used all the bowl carvers on this one.

Dave Budd bowl adze, Karlsson bowl gouge, kuksa gouge, Karlsson dogleg, twca cam, axe obviously and twocherries 12mm gouge to finish.

When I split the log, the juvenile tree was obvious in the split.

I thought it would work to retain the outside of the sapling (on the right) and use it as a handle and spout, for pouring.

Starting the hollowing with the bowl adze.

I love the texture of the bowl adze on the zigzag grain of elm.

Elm is a strong contender with oak as my favourite timber.