one-day course green woodworking

venue: Ecclesall Woods Sawmill, Sheffield

Green wood in this case means fresh, unseasoned and recently cut. Green wood is easier to split and work with hand tools. It is a time-honoured method of making furniture, hurdles and other wooden objects.

The course is run by Steve and Alistair of the Working Woodlands Trust, both with many years experience of working in the woods. Steve produces exquisite chairs, hand-made on his pole lathe, and Alistair is a full-time coppice worker and hurdle maker.

This course will be held in the beautiful Eccleshall Woods and the day will be split between two sessions with the tutors - Steve will cover the basics of pole lathe turning whilst Alistair will teach you the art of cleaving and hurdlemaking.

The main topics covered will include:

• what is green wood and the benefits of working with it
• introduction to wood turning tools and devices
• how to create various items on the pole lathe and shave horse - dibbers, candlesticks etc.
• having a go on the pole lathe
• cleaving
• benefits of different woods and their suitability for various projects
• splitting hazel and seeing how a hurdle is created

more on green woodworking

using a pole lathe to turn green wood

making hazel hurdles

using a shave horse and draw knife to shave a piece of wood to size before turning