Mackie pupils on Activities days - May 2010 | Dunnottar Woods

Mackie pupils on Activities days - May 2010

On the 27th and 28th of May 2010 a party of pupils from Mackie Academy attended a woodland workshop at the Dunnottar Bodgers site. This was the second year that pupils have had the opportunity to experience this ancient craft as part of the school based activities programme. Standard Grade Craft and Design pupils have been involved in workshops since 2007. The day was bright at the start but the weather forecast was for rain. Therefore the first task was to get the 8 metre canopy put in place. This involved pupils getting the pilot rope over a steel trapeze 6 metres up.
	Once the equipment had been set up the pupils set about preparing some timber. Seen here pupils are cutting a length of Ash using a bow saw. There was lots to learn about tools, trees and processes whilst we were doing this.
The timber was then split into suitable sizes for the item to be made. In this case the pupils were working towards making a 3 legged stool. The Ash tree is often used in green wood working due to it's very straight grain, strength and appearence (plus the waste burns very well).
	The timber is then worked with a side axe. This removes the bulk of the waste material bringing the shape closer to the desired round.
The work piece is then placed on a shaving horse. This is essentially a sit on vice that holds the timber in place. A draw knife (two handled knife) is used to slice parts of the timber off and bring it much closer to the round.
	Finally the work pieces are turned on pole lathes.
The pupils then prepared their own lunch al fresco! The afternoon saw the pupils continuing with their cleaving, axing, shaving and turning until we had to tidy up. The rain had been steady all day and we were grateful for the canopy.
	On Friday morning we set up all the equipment again and then got going with the work. Then the Forestry Commission Staff arrived as planned and did a tree felling demonstration.
All hands to the deck to retrieve the tree for use in our projects. And so on - the pupils worked away until the end of the day. Great fun for all and plenty of chances to learn new skills in the natural environment. The full web album can be found here. Slideshow