Galerie - Het Noeste Leven

Weekly spoon #2 But that's not a spoon! Well, yo

Weekly spoon #2 But that's not a spoon! Well, you're right. She's my lovely wife showing an earring I made. So, what's the connection with the weekly spoon? As these weekly spoons are all suppossed to be new and somewhat experimental, I tried to see how thin I could go on the bowl of the spoon (in the 3rd picture you can see some light shining trough the base of the bowl). When burnishing the spoon it then cracked. So, in stead of banning the failed spoon to the fireplace, my wife suggested to turn the handle into a pendant or earring. And what a great idea that was! I took the part of the handle that was kolrosed, carved it a little thinner and connected a little silver hook to it. And, voila, weekly spoon no. 2 just turned into an earring. #woodcarving #earring #earrings #kolrosing #weeklyspoon

As the last visitor of our historical open air mus

As the last visitor of our historical open air museum (@prehistorischdorp) has left about a month ago and the museum has been closed for the winter season since, there's not much more I can do than simply wait for the museum to reopen, the visitors to return and recommence my demonstrations on the pole lathe. But no, now it's time to get away from the lathe every once in a while and do some research on the history of the lathe, turned objects and the historical turner himself. Besides literature research and visiting experts on the subject, I will be practicing to master some new woodworking skills (especially on the pole lathe) and fine tuning existing skills by stepping up in terms of the number of produced cups and bowls. Even though I will miss the physical meeting with people during demonstrations and workshops, I do love this period of enhancing knowledge and skill! photo by @daveyanthny #polelatheturning #polelathe #reenactment #medieval #medievalreenactment #viking #vikingage #prehistorischdorp #museum

I thought I should give you a little glance at my

I thought I should give you a little glance at my tools now and then. So, for today I'll introduce two of the tools I use with my pole lathe. The first one is the Line Burner 3000. This sophisticated tool, that was made by myself, can be used to burn lines into the wood that one is turning on the lathe. In the video in this post, you can see how it should be used. The second tool is the AWS, or Advanced Whacker Supreme. This tool can be used for both whacking at the wedges of the pole lathe as for hammering the mandrel (the wooden rod around which the rope of the lathe is wound in order to be able to turn the object you're working on) into the hole that has been drilled into the wood that is going to be a bowl or cup. But, without kidding, these tools show that not all woodworking tools need to be fancy or high tech. In many cases simple solutions work just as well. (music in the video, and on my headphones, by Turnstile - Blackout) #woodworkingtools #lathe #polelathe #turnstile

Weekly spoon #1 New objective: normally, when I'm

Weekly spoon #1 New objective: normally, when I'm carving spoons, I always keep productivity in mind. I want to create a nice spoons, that can be carved rather quickly as well. But, to challenge myself in different ways and to come up with perhaps some unexpected design features, I've started a weekly spoons challenge. Think of it as the Formula 1 or the NASA of spooncarving. A serious amount of time and money is spend on something that is perhaps not directly useful. But, in the long run, many products that are being used in daily life originate from those Formula 1 and NASA experiments. So, here is my first NASA spoon (it's light weight, so NASA, in case you're reading this, you may contact me). Every week I will make and present a new spoon. Some may proof to be a succes, while other experiments may end up in the fire place as a failure. But, every now and then some feaures may come up that will end up in my production spoons. At least it is going to be exiting. Who knows what next week's spoon is going to be like? #spooncarving #spoonchallenge #weeklyspoon

I'm working on some new shapes and colours for nex

I'm working on some new shapes and colours for next year. In a couple of weeks, after the end grain cups and new shrink pots are done, I want to start a whole series of these bowls. As you can see I'm clearly leaning towards the darker redish en purplish colours. But, what shape should I start producing first? Which one do you like? #polelathe #bowlturning #woodturner #purple #burgundy

Days are getting shorter. So, at the end of my wor

Days are getting shorter. So, at the end of my working day I need a little light to see what I am doing. Can you see what I'm doing?. . . . . . The answer is: turning an end grain cup on my foot powered pole lathe. #winteriscoming #polelatheturning #itsdarkoutside #greenwoodworking #turner

I often make these black lines on my end grain cup

I often make these black lines on my end grain cups by pressing a metal wire firmly against the wood and then peddling the treadle like a madman. Here you can still see the cup smoking because of the heat that was created by the friction of the wire against the rotating wood. #cupturning #endgraincup #endgrainturning #polelathe #coffeecup #coffeemug

This low season will not only be used to increase

This low season will not only be used to increase my stock of finished products, but also to experiment and learn. The first thing I am aiming at, is to learn how to turn a handled cup on a pole lathe. Well, in this photo you can see the first result (as well as some 'regular' cups and some other new shapes I'm trying out). I must say I am pleasantly surprised with the result. Although the surface of the handled cup is still a bit too rough and it took me almost 4 hours to make I'm happy with how it turned out. Now I just need to make more of these to get a more crisp finish and to take production time down. What's interesting about these cups is that they can not be made on a regular lathe, but a reciprocal lathe like a pole lathe is needed. As the wood on a pole will turn one way and back again, over and over, due to the movement of the threadle, one can turn up against the handle and back again. As great precision is needed in the threadling part and only a small distance can be covered with the threadle until the handle of the cup is hit with the knife, progression is slow and tedious, resulting in this rough surface. But, as with all crafts, practice will create skill and better and quicker results. I am grateful for the support by The Cultural Participation Fund. The Cultural Participation Fund aims to encourage and increase participation in the arts and culture. This fund allows me to spend more time on mastering this wonderful craft and spreading knowledge about the ins and outs of the (historical) pole lathe turner. #polelathe #woodencup #coffeemug #craft #greenwoodworking #cultuurparticipatie

It's the end of the public season in crafts life.

It's the end of the public season in crafts life. As summer is gone, autumn is passing by and winter is coming, demonstrations, festivals and workshops will be on hold for a while. It's time to produce and start planning for next season. And beyond... Last week we've been planting 622 tiny trees. 240 of them are willow cuttings for coppicing. The seven types of willow, with their different colours, will produce lovely rods for basket weaving in about three years from now. If that ain't planning ahead. 2 larger willows have been planted for make larger rods with pollarding. The other trees are already a little bigger and are the 380 beech saplings that will form a lovely hedge around the workshop and living area of our recently bought plot of land. We've been working hard and had a great time doing so. Not only some of the people walking through the forrest came up and had a little chat, but even the sheep we're interested and enjoyed a nice meal of willow off cuts. #coppicing #pollarding #basketweaving #greenwoodworking

Slow motion cup turning with a freshly restored go

Slow motion cup turning with a freshly restored gouge on my pole lathe. Last weekend I was trying to find my drinking cup I misplaced in the museum I work (@prehistorischdorp). While doing so I found this large gouge that was in a terrible shape, but had some potential to become great again. So, I took it home and did quite some work on it. Lots of rust was removed, the misused edge was reshaped and sharpened and a new handle was made on my pole lathe. And what a result I got. It looks way better now and, even more important, works great! First few pictures of the result, then a few before pictures and then some of the restoration process. #toolrestoration #gouge #polelathe #restoration #newhandle #newedge

A little enhancement of my cup design. I added a f

A little enhancement of my cup design. I added a fluted pattern in between the two dark lines which I've done before on several cups. I certain don't like the results of all of my experiments, or actually of quite many, but this one will defenitely end up on more of my cups. I've seen similar decorations on other maker's products, like bowls of the talented @cornishwoodsmith and @thehoufworkshop, and I don't know who was the first to come up with this, if it's actually possible to come up with a first, but thanks to all of them for the inspiration Turned on a foot powered pole lathe, birch. #cupturning #polelathe #traditionalcraft

Another peak backstage. Forging new hook tools is

Another peak backstage. Forging new hook tools is hot and sweaty. But the result is always a joy to the eye. And what about the sound?! The loud roaring of the gas forge, the sound of the hammer on hot metal and finally the lovely, bright tinkling sounds of the cooling knives (watch and listen to the last video!). Isn't that a wonderful sound? #forging #blacksmithing #hotiron #hooktools

This lovely birch bowl was the result me testing m

This lovely birch bowl was the result me testing my new lathes and hook tools. During the last two weeks I've spend many hours making a couple of new pole lathes and forging new tools. They are finally done now and I'm tired but content. See the pictures for an impression of the process and the beautiful surroundings I'm working in 🌳🌼🌲. Let the workshops commence! #polelathe #newtools #nopowertools #craft #woodcraft

Grinding new tools makes messy men. Today I've be

Grinding new tools makes messy men. Today I've been forging some new hook tools and grinding them to their (almost) final thickness. As I use a gas forge, there are no coals to blacken everything around. But then there's the grinding part..... (see 2nd picture) #hooktools #forging #blacksmith #blacksmithing #grinding #polelathetools #messyman

Little by little my dream is changing into a more

Little by little my dream is changing into a more physical form. On our recently bought plot of land I'm building a few new pole lathes for my upcoming workshops. Wood chips are starting to cover the soil and grass, and it's starting to feel a bit more like a wood workshop. #woodworkshop #polelathebuild #polelathe #greenwoodworking #craft #nopowertools

Went a little crazy with the colours and made a ti

Went a little crazy with the colours and made a tiny heap of these bowls. Perfect for desert, a side dish or just some nuts, as they average on about 220 mL, with the smallest being 150 mL and the biggest around 280 mL. Made of alder wood, turned on a foot powered pole lathe and finished with a tiny gouge and paint based on plant proteins and lime stone. #polelathe #dessertbowl #woodenbowl #plantbasedmilkpaint #plantbasedpaint #kreidezeitnaturfarben #colours

Whoa, it has been a busy summer. Pole lathe demons

Whoa, it has been a busy summer. Pole lathe demonstrations, making a new set up for my large tent, preparing for and giving new workshops, and working on our new plot of land where my future workshops will be held. But now that things are settling down a little I finally have some time available to finish some bowls that were on the drying rack. First time making black cherry bowls. Much harder to work with than my usual birch or alder, but hey, what a crispy finish can be achieved on this wood and just look at that wonderful warpage. #polelathe #bowlturning #traditionalwoodworking #blackcherry #nopowertools

Burning lines on and end grain cup on the pole lat

Burning lines on and end grain cup on the pole lathe. Simple, yet effective. #endgraincup #cupturning #medieval #medievalcraft #jorvik #polelathe

Besides the alder cups, I'll be bringing two of th

Besides the alder cups, I'll be bringing two of these walnut cups to the Vikingfest (Eindhoven, The Netherlands) this weekend. Turned on my foot powered pole lathe and finished with linseed oil. Just managed to finish these in time as a last minute addition to my little, early medieval shop at the festival. I'm curious how they will be received and if I should be making more of these soon. #polelathe #medieval #drinkingcup #cup #viking #vikingage #earlymedieval

For those who are into nalbinding, or just want to

For those who are into nalbinding, or just want to start with that ancient craft for making hats and socks and such, I've made a couple of needle cases and nalbinding needles. Last minute adition to my little (work)shop at the Vikingfest (Eindhoven, The Netherlands) this weekend. . . . A second, last minute addition will follow soon.... #nalbinding #needles #needlecase #reenactment #viking #vikingage #prehistorischdorp #vikingfestival #vikingfest

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