| During the second week of July 2011 I booked myself on an advanced green woodworking course run by Tim Gatfield from the Cherrywood project. The objective was to develop the skills that I had learned over recent years. It had became clear that there is only so much that can be learnt from reading books and working in relative isolation. Richard, my colleague in the DBG, was keen to go but the timings didn't quite work out for him. |
| Details about the Cherrywood project can be found on their own website but it is essentially a private community looking after some 40 acres of woodland and at the same time developing traditional crafts including green wood working. Tim was a trained cabinet maker that decided to change path. |  |
| The site is "off grid" and therefore many things that people take for granted by the flick of a switch aren't there. In it's place is a wonderful community that get on just great without the need to be plugged in to the electricity power lines. |
 | Train journey from Stonehaven to Chippenham on Friday 8th July and Tim collected me from the train station. The rest of the course participants were not due to arrive until the following morning so that gave me a chance to look around and get settled in. I had the luxury of a cabin which meant a bed, chair and stove. Dry and comfortable, what more do you need. And as the week progressed and the rain came down I felt a bit sorry for the guys in the tents. |
| Next morning the other five course attendees arrived and the course got off to a start with a chat from Tim then some practical demonstrations. It was always clear that this was to be a very hands on course and as such we all got going very quickly. |  |
| We all had different levels of experience of green woodworking and bodging ranging from zero to one seasoned chap who had attended several courses before. My own initial over ambitious plans was to create a double width Windsor Chair. With some gentle and diplomatic guidance I moved back to the idea of doing a single width chair. |
 | The workshop facilities at Cherrywood were very good indeed. Well laid out with sufficient equipment for all 6 of us on the course. They were open air workshops under cover so we were able to work in all weather conditions and still enjoy being outside. |
| No fear of going hungry with Lilly cooking for us all during the day in the outdoor kitchen and each of the course participants taking turns each night to cook for the group. A fabulous selection of food all week long. |  |
 | We all worked full days on every aspect of making our chairs. Starting from a freshly felled Ash tree we learned how to cleave, side axe, use the draw knife and then turn spindle after spindle. |
| The seats were made from seasoned Scottish elm and that involved a great deal of work sawing, carving, marking out and drilling. |  |
 | Steam bending was done using a 50 gallon drum filled with water on top of a fire and then shaping on jigs. Check out this video of a double width arm bow being shaped on a custom former. |
| Time was tight at the end but we all completed (more or less) our chairs as can be seen here. |  |
| All in all this was a fantastic training course which I would highly recommend for any one interested in making their own chair using nothing but traditional manual techniques. Many thanks to Tim and his team of volunteers for making it such a special event. The full web album of photos and videos can be found here. |
 |  |
| The completed chair. | One satisfied customer. |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
