Oaks found ... 100's of 'em.
- Thread starter Phil Pascoe
- Start date
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monkeybiter
Established Member
Nice to know, I find the idea of a 1000 year old tree quite thought provoking.
Phil Pascoe
Established Member
Anyone thinking of cutting such a thing down should be compelled to do it with a jeweller's saw. 
custard
Established Member
Of course we should all celebrate trees as wonderful as these, especially as I understand that Oaks over 200 years old support far more wildlife than younger Oaks. However in the New Forest, where I live, there's a battle taking place between competing factions who all have different visions of how the forest should be managed.
Cyclists, dog walkers, horse riders, and ramblers tend to want a semi-open landscape with not too much undergrowth and plenty of paths and bridleways. The Government in the immediate post war period was concerned that Britain wasn't self sufficient in timber, so they wanted the forest planted with fast growing species like Corsican pine. The local councils tend to favour tourism which means more designated camp sites in the forest. The conservationists want a largely unmanaged forest with no trees that weren't native before the Romans arrived (so no Walnut or Sweet Chestnut for example, and no experimentation with trees that might better withstand climate change) with no commercial timber extraction, and with dead trees left to rot where they fall. Some conservationists take a different view and say they want all the trees removed to make way for low altitude heathland, which is a relatively rare landscape. Many of the forest "commoners" who have ancient grazing rights, support this position.
I'm in a tiny minority that wants to see a reasonable amount of commercial hardwood grown in the forest, sufficient to support a community of boat builders, timber framers, furniture makers, and joiners using local timber supported by an accredited "New Forest Timber" marque.
I guess the point I'm making is that even a subject like trees, that you'd think would get universal support, is actually fought over and disputed. Ho hum.
Cyclists, dog walkers, horse riders, and ramblers tend to want a semi-open landscape with not too much undergrowth and plenty of paths and bridleways. The Government in the immediate post war period was concerned that Britain wasn't self sufficient in timber, so they wanted the forest planted with fast growing species like Corsican pine. The local councils tend to favour tourism which means more designated camp sites in the forest. The conservationists want a largely unmanaged forest with no trees that weren't native before the Romans arrived (so no Walnut or Sweet Chestnut for example, and no experimentation with trees that might better withstand climate change) with no commercial timber extraction, and with dead trees left to rot where they fall. Some conservationists take a different view and say they want all the trees removed to make way for low altitude heathland, which is a relatively rare landscape. Many of the forest "commoners" who have ancient grazing rights, support this position.
I'm in a tiny minority that wants to see a reasonable amount of commercial hardwood grown in the forest, sufficient to support a community of boat builders, timber framers, furniture makers, and joiners using local timber supported by an accredited "New Forest Timber" marque.
I guess the point I'm making is that even a subject like trees, that you'd think would get universal support, is actually fought over and disputed. Ho hum.
Phil Pascoe
Established Member
I've just bought Owen Johnson's Champion trees (the tree register handbook, that this study was in collaboration with). A mine of information, but one thing about it irritates me - they have 100s of purpose taken pictures of often huge trees taken with nothing near them for scale - when that is often half the reason for the picture. Even a broom stuck against then, a bicycle parked alongside - anything ...
phil.p":1pt6m1sr said:Anyone thinking of cutting such a thing down should be compelled to do it with a jeweller's saw.
... just setting off armed with my saw frame and a few 6/0 vallorbe blades
Anyway, wasnt the wildwood Lime rather than Oak ? (according to Rackham)
Phil Pascoe
Established Member
6/0? What are you - a masochist? I've not felt the need for finer than 61tpi. (a 3/0 ).
I have quite large hands, so when I bought my Vallorbe saw I knocked off the handle and turned myself a nice larger one in laburnum. Much nicer to use. When I'm a little better sorted I need to build a new jeweller's bench as I sold mine to friend when we moved house. I sold it for £60 which was brilliant for both of us - it covered my material costs, I wanted to change several points of design and it saved my dragging it around ; she got something that would have cost her probably the better part of £500 had she bought a commercially built one. I suppose for a fairly captive minority market they can charge pretty much what they like.
).I have quite large hands, so when I bought my Vallorbe saw I knocked off the handle and turned myself a nice larger one in laburnum. Much nicer to use. When I'm a little better sorted I need to build a new jeweller's bench as I sold mine to friend when we moved house. I sold it for £60 which was brilliant for both of us - it covered my material costs, I wanted to change several points of design and it saved my dragging it around ; she got something that would have cost her probably the better part of £500 had she bought a commercially built one. I suppose for a fairly captive minority market they can charge pretty much what they like.
I used to do a bit of piercing in au 14ct so bought a job lot of 6/0 (144 pack.. still got nearly 100 of them!) as there was less metal wastage and I figured they'd pay for themselves. I use a grobet frame tho which works well enough. The handle is a bit skinny tho ..and blue plastic... hadnt thought of replacing with wood ...is the tang on that sort of frame up to it ? Coinicidentally laburnum (after elm) is pretty much my fave wood... but nothing can surpass elm for me ...those little 'flying saucers' that you so rarely see these days!
Using a 6/0 as a parting tool on a lathe at low speed is funny tho...it still takes a fair bit of time but the cut is nice!
As for jewellers benches ...exactly so ...make your own is a no-brainer... choice of materials for the apron under the peg was an interesting one though ..I ended up using a chammy cloth ...worked well enough.
Using a 6/0 as a parting tool on a lathe at low speed is funny tho...it still takes a fair bit of time but the cut is nice!
As for jewellers benches ...exactly so ...make your own is a no-brainer... choice of materials for the apron under the peg was an interesting one though ..I ended up using a chammy cloth ...worked well enough.
Phil Pascoe
Established Member
You should be able to re handle it OK, you'll probably need to bed the "tang" in with epoxy or two part wood or body filler. It's worthwhile as you get far better control of the tool and because of that I believe less catches and broken blades. I have an acquaintance in turning whose man is a silversmith who has his own 'shop and teaches - http://www.stuart.jewellerymakingcornwall.co.uk/ he keeps asking me when I'm coming to see him as we have some interests that cross over (I'm looking to make knives, damascus, mokume gane and even possibly keum boo. That might be overstretching an already overstretched thing, though ). He has no woodworking knowledge at all. I might test the water when I make mine and make two or even the parts for three or four and suggest I drop one with him and if he sells it he can take a cut - no investment on his part, and the people that do these courses are quite often fairly well off women who also can't make their own. I could make them better than any commercial bench on the market and even with his cut still sell £100 cheaper. Everyone would be happy. It's worth a go, who knows?.
). He has no woodworking knowledge at all. I might test the water when I make mine and make two or even the parts for three or four and suggest I drop one with him and if he sells it he can take a cut - no investment on his part, and the people that do these courses are quite often fairly well off women who also can't make their own. I could make them better than any commercial bench on the market and even with his cut still sell £100 cheaper. Everyone would be happy. It's worth a go, who knows?.
