Galoots
Last week we were at the Pennsic War (gv).
I play a Medieval woodworker in the SCA game.
So to that end I brought my pole lathe and an assortment of basic tools.
One of the recent fun pole lathe exercises I was working on
was to reproduce the needle cases found on Henry VIII's ship
the Mary Rose. These look like a double thread bobbin (to
hold two spools of thread as it were) that has a stopped hole
bored through the axis to hold needles. A whittled stopper
plugs the hole. These things are VERY well received,
especially by threadworkers, and doubly so when they see
that I made them on a pole lathe.
http://galootopedia.com/old-
tools_wiki/images/thumb/1/1c/BobbinTurning.jpg/800px-
BobbinTurning.jpg">http://galootopedia.com/old-
tools_wiki/images/thumb/1/1c/BobbinTurning.jpg/800px-BobbinTurning.jpg
More turning fun and games were had when I taught a class
called Introduction to Spindle Turning on a Pole Lathe. I set
this up as a hands-on type of thing, wherein I quickly discuss
and demonstrate the lathe, then I get one person after the other
to have a go at turning. I think I had 8 or 10 people on the lathe
during my class time. It seemed that there were 3 general sets
of people. The ones who had used a pole lathe before were
there to seek assistance with their skill & craft, and they all
went away happy to have new insights and improved skills.
The ones who had never turned at all seemed to do better
than the power turners in the class. The ones with experience
on a power lathe had to unlearn some things before they could
get the hang of the reciprocating lathe. Everyone seemed to
get something positive from the experience.
One of the people in our camp (Barony of Thescorre) asked
me to make him a leather texturing tool for a project he was
trying to complete on site. He packed light so was missing
a tool he needed for the job. It took me about 10 minutes
to split, whittle, and file the tool to shape. Project completed,
wife happy.
Then I was tasked with producing a low, angled foot stool.
Something of a Medieval interpretation of a modern ergonomic
foot rest. No problem, we have firewood, planes, a lathe,
and boring tools. Esther was running a Hand Tool Petting Zoo
so she managed to get her students to hew and plane the
plank to size and shape. I pulled out a bead plane and
showed them how it worked and one of them completed
the decorative trim. Tom Sawyering at its best.
When I wanted to glue the legs in place I ran into a
hitch - no glue. Wait, let me check, aha! Yes! The
Baroness of Ramshaven had gifted me a Medieval
Glue Stick. Basically a stick with a large blob of spruce
pitch on the end. Heated over a low flame, the pitch softened.
Apply pitch to tenon, reheat pitchy tenon, and then hammer
into the mortise. Stuck good.
http://galootopedia.com/old-tools_wiki/images/4/42/FootStool.jpg
http://galootopedia.com/old-tools_wiki/images/b/b5/Ergo.jpg
Under the Martial side of the event, my son and I were at
the thrown weapons range, getting in some practice before
the Night Throw tourney (glow sticks taped on axe handles,
targets ringed with more glow sticks, and imagine the mayhem
that follows). The Marshal asked which Kingdom we were from,
and then said we should try out for the Champions team. Really?
Yes, really. So we did, and I threw well enough to be named to
the team for the Champions War Point. My score in the War Point
was 11th out of 24 participants, and our team took the day.
Great fun, throwing my tools at wood.
http://galootopedia.com/old-tools_wiki/images/4/44/PennsicChampionsThrow.jpg
and now we are back in the 21st century.
Damn.
--
Darrell LaRue
Oakville ON
Wood Hoarder, Blade Sharpener, and Occasional Tool User
|