Film of woodworking in the 1920s

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Fromey

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Someone on the Woodnet forums pointed this out. Film of (rather rustic) woodworkers in Sweden in 1923;

http://svtplay.se/v/1371063/oppet_arkiv ... 1,f,103007

I like the approach to a vice the first chap uses. Just bang a wedge in!

I also like the chairmaker's bench. It looks like the one I had in my shed until I ripped it out and replaced it with a Sjobergs. He's definitely not using Lie-Nielsen tools!
 
Fascinating!

It's lovely to see the use of good old sharp tools....a wonderful teaching aid and historical record too!

I noticed the grindstone in the first shots of the workshop...and just knew that this was key to the rest of it. The hand tools are razor sharp and the speed at which they are used is amazing.

As I watched the two-man plane...and wondered what they would make...followed by the old chap sitting on his rustic chair whittling them afterwards...the thought entered my head "i bet he made that chair he is sitting on as well"....then he DID!

Wonderful stuff...made my morning!

Jim
 
Great videos - just wish they worked a bit slower so that you could see the tools in more detail? :)

Thanks for the link.

Rod
 
Fascinating. I'd never seen an adze in use before.

I suspect the speed is artificial, with the original cine film at 24 fps run on video at 30 fps without correction.
 
Fascinating, and quite wonderful to watch. thanks for sharing this, it has quite made my morning.

Has anyone any idea of the timber that was used to make the clogs, seemed to be too fine grain for a softwood, and I have never come across a bit of pine that could be worked like this, even with a Jacob sharp hand tool.
David
 
Acanthus":f3ekc08h said:
Fascinating, and quite wonderful to watch. thanks for sharing this, it has quite made my morning.

Has anyone any idea of the timber that was used to make the clogs, seemed to be too fine grain for a softwood, and I have never come across a bit of pine that could be worked like this, even with a Jacob sharp hand tool.
David

I think willow was the trad choice for clogs - or maybe birch would have been commoner in Sweden. Both quite mild to work and light in weight.
 
I really liked that, makes me wonder why I spend so much time faffing around with calipers and the like!

DT
 
You can notice the morticing chisel one of the men is using, and I love the no-nonsense mallet he's using.

What I also found interesting is their frequent use of knives for marking and trimming. It must be relatively soft wood, whatever it is.
 
Fascinating stuff, makes you want to go and knock something up in the shed (hammer) :D

Cheers, Paul :D
 
paulm":to90l4sc said:
Fascinating stuff, makes you want to go and knock something up in the shed (hammer) :D

Cheers, Paul :D
...like a nice fruit bowl in lacewood p'raps :-" :wink: :lol: - Rob
 
woodbloke":bh3t7joa said:
paulm":bh3t7joa said:
Fascinating stuff, makes you want to go and knock something up in the shed (hammer) :D

Cheers, Paul :D
...like a nice fruit bowl in lacewood p'raps :-" :wink: :lol: - Rob

From that old manky bit of firewood you gave me Rob ? :lol:

It was only an inch or so thick, good for peanuts maybe, or small grapes, but not much good as a fruit bowl :roll: :twisted:

Maybe Santa might give you an upgrade if you've been good :lol: :ho2

Cheers, Paul :deer
 
Acanthus":157qt6p7 said:
Fascinating, and quite wonderful to watch. thanks for sharing this, it has quite made my morning.

Has anyone any idea of the timber that was used to make the clogs, seemed to be too fine grain for a softwood, and I have never come across a bit of pine that could be worked like this, even with a Jacob sharp hand tool.
David
Birch I think.
Yes they do seem to have got the knack of sharpening without a Veritas MkIII, glass plates, rouge and all that nonsense.
It's easy to forget but sharpening only got difficult in the last 20 years or so, with the proliferation of gadgets, materials and competing systems. Previously it used to be so easy that nobody gave it a thought!
Tierney":157qt6p7 said:
I really liked that, makes me wonder why I spend so much time faffing around with calipers and the like!

DT
Throw them away then!
 
The clogs were made from alder according to the text.

Pine would normally be the wood used for chairs. The text says nothing about it.


That is the kind of woodworking typical to all the nordic countries. Of case there are some differences, for instance clogs are unknown in my area. Look at the log walls. Logs were hewn on two sides. Then the round sides were scribe fitted together and the resulting wall hewn smooth.
 

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