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Mike Abbott,
pole-lathe craftsman,
Herefordshire
woodland crafts,
which contained some photographs of
bodgers.Abbott set up his first pole-lathe in the early
1980s, and in 1985 established Living Wood Training,
an
organisation dedicated to teaching greenwood skills and
promoting their potential. In 1989 he produced the
definitive textbook, ok, Green Woodwork,
ork, now in its 8th
printing, having sold 30,000 copies.The
Association of Pole-
Lathe Turners was formed in 1990 with a founding
membership of 6, which has now risen to more than 550.
Originating out of the Green Movement of the 1970s, and
the search for an alternative lifestyle of sustainability
combined with craftsmanship,
the pole-lathe is symbolic
of the woodcraft revival and its philosophy.
The essential feature of green woodwork is the use of
freshly cut unseasoned wood,
preferably coppice or a
maiden tree, cleft along the grain for strength and ease of
working. After cleaving, the length of the wood is shaped
further using traditional hand tools, shaving horse and
pole-lathe.Where the original bodgers and mop-stick
turners had made rough semi-finished wares,
the modern
pole-lathe turner makes whole items of quality furniture,
principally chairs, the best of which sell for hundreds of
pounds. Other products include bowls, platters and a wide
range of decorative items, from baby’s rattles and bobbins
to wooden containers made from birch wood by a
Gloucestershire turner and used by a fashionable Chelsea
restaurant for serving petits fours (Waitrose Food
Illustrated,Apr April
2004,
p. 26).
As with other greenwood od crafts, there is no system of
certificated training in or outside the NVQ and Modern
Apprenticeship ip frameworks.
Some 55 courses,
aimed
mainly at enthusiasts, ranging from the introductory to the
advanced, are organised by or under the auspices of the
Association of Pole-Lathe Turners.
Many of the leading
training providers offer green woodwork and chair-making
in their teaching programmes. Living Wood
Training,
based at Clissett Wood in Herefordshire,
is
running 14 courses in 2004, each of 3–6 days,
priced at £130–£250, £250, together with personal
tuition at £60–£90 per person per day. Gudrum
Leitz, a leading practitio
titioner and teacher, stages her
own series of courses each summer at the same
venue.A high proportion of respondents to the
Pole-Late Turners’
Survey have attended at least
one training course in the 5 years up to 2003 (see
Appendix A below).
The Association on of Pole-Lathe Turners has
broadened its terms of reference to embrace the
greenwood crafts as a whole.A high proportion of
the membership comprises recent entrants from
the ‘new tradition’,
drawn from a wide range of
social and occupational cupational backgrounds,
many of
them technical, scientific and managerial leading
professionals who derive a substantial income
from teaching and demonstration.
tion. Pole-lathe
turners are sometimes referred to as the
‘aristocrats’ ats’ of the greenwood industry, the most
educated and the most middle class.Abilities
range from the highly skilled with international
reputations, to the barely competent beginners.
All share the same high degree of enthusiasm for
the craft and its traditions.
The Membership of the Association, which
grew strongly over the 1990s, has now levelled off.
A feature of recent years has been a discernable
shift of emphasis from traditional to designer
wares, and historical exactitude to self-expression.
ssion.
Pole-lathe turnery and furniture making are high
added-value crafts,
selling mainly to better-off
customers.This exclusiveness is reflected by the
interest shown in the ‘Chairs 2004’ event held at
the National Arboretum,
um,Westonbirt,
in May. The
cost of tickets for the 2-day event,
ent, including meals,
was £135–£170, which sets the turners apart from
other sections of the industry.
Of the present membership, probably fewer
than 50 can be described as professional
woodworkers,
depending on their craftwork for
all or a significant part of their income. For the
majority, it is a leisure-time activity, though many
make occasional sales.
Crafts in the English Countryside: Towar
ards a Future 149