WOODCRAFT
Bristol's Woodcraft History
Old coppices stands can found in many places on Dundry Hill on the southern edge of Bristol. They are evidence of a time when hazel stakes would have been valued for numerous uses Many of these traditional skills and crafts have been replaced by modern alternatives.
What We Did
Pupils from Withywood Secondary School designed and carved oak sleepers to waymark a local walk. Groups worked with a trainer over many weeks to create the markers and learn how to use a variety of chisels.
Working with a skilled woodcrafter young people also built a pole lathe and shave horse which were used to teach the ancient craft of wood turning. The lathe is a tool which has been used for hundreds of years to create cylinders of wood which can be carved on the lathe e.g. chair legs, candle sticks, bats. Workshops held for young people to try the lathe and shave horse were very popular.
Young people from E2E and Hartwood Enterprises worked with a trainer to build a footbridge over a stream to improve access on a local walk.
Resources
- Forest of Avon has a list of different local woodcraft trainers and also holds regular training events. Tel:0117 9290066.
- Abbot, M and Abbot, T Living Wood: From Buying a Woodland to Making a Chair (2004). Price approx. £16.95