Secrets of the castle

[Student]

Did anyone watch this last night?

I found most of the subject matter interesting except perhaps those topics that dealt with the home and food. What I wasn't fussed about was the voice of the commentator, who insisted on speaking in reverential tones and often said the ***** obvious, or the three "stars". Why they can't treat the subject as a straightforward documentary I don't know.

The woodworking aspects were particularly interesting what with "story boards", pole lathes, wood shaping, furniture building, treadmill cranes etc. They even had a bit about tool sharpening without any mention of the pros and cons of diamond stones, scary sharp, oil stones etc!

 

[Glynne]

Good programme, but if you've watched any of the earlier "historical living the life", this was very much in the same vein. I thought the French guys were particularly good in that they just got one with it and explained their art / skill without the need for celebrity. If one thing didn't come through, I think it was how hard life must have been and I'm still not sure how apprentices survived if stone masons were only paid for blocks completed.

 

[finneyb]

....how hard life must have been and I'm still not sure how apprentices survived if stone masons were only paid for blocks completed.

Apprentices paid to be indentured with a master craftman in those days - I remember it well :lol:
I assume it made up for when things went wrong.
However, I would expect the master to know how to get out of most cock-ups one way or another and salvage most if not all of the value.

Brian

 

[mailee]

It was a great program and very informative. Those stairs were amazing. Not sure if it was me or what but the step they made for the spiral staircase looked perfect when it was cut but when they were moving it onto the tower I noticed the end of it was very rough? did they break it on the way up? I was impressed with the carpenter who made the grain crib all by hand. Pity there isn't more programs like this.

 

[AndyT]

I liked it too. I'm entirely certain that you can't ever really understand how something used to be done without trying it out for real, or as nearly real as practical.

 

[StevieB]

Yup, it was interesting. The stone step end I presumed will be in the outer wall of the staircase, so no need to dress the end of it. Would have liked to see more of the grain chest build (how were the holes drilled and the dado's cut?). Looking forward to the next in the series - a total of 5 programmes I believe.

Steve

 

[Student]

Like StevieB, I would have liked to see more about the making of the grain chest. The dado's looked as if they had been done with a router, they were so clean cut and the mortices and tenons looked spot on as well. I also wasn't sure how the cabinet maker cleaned up the riven planks after he had used the one sided axe. I know he said that you could get a fairly flat surface with the axe but, to me, the finished article looked as if the components had had a plane run over them. The finished product also looked far better finished than some of the medieval chests that I have seen in museums over the years.

Anyhow, it did prove that you don't need a table saw, planer/thicknesser, bandsaw, morticer, router, domino etc to turn out high quality pieces.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Ah yes. I noticed that the boards in the finished chest looked rather too well finished for just a side axe. If I'm not mistaken the ash log he split initially turned into oak too.

The potter making the round bottomed cooking pot made it look so easy in the way only a very skilled person can.

 

[Student]

I've carried on watching this series despite being put off by the irritating voice over and presenters. Last night's episode was very good as they concentrated on the various craft skills involved - blacksmithing, carpentry, masonry etc. There was also the benefit of an youngish female carpenter/archaeologist on the actual building team this time.

However, I am always on the look out for items that are anachronistic bearing in mind they are supposed to be using authentic tools and methods (subject to H&S regulations). Last night I spotted what looked like a galvanised ring eye on a rope, a pencil, a modern looking rip saw, a suspiciously modern looking file and a chunk of iron being used as an anvil that, too, looked a bit too pristine to have been forged on the premises. Not that I'm picky.

 

[BRYAN]

I liked the crane lifting the stone blocks untill,I saw the modern hook.

 

[t8hants]

Did you spot that the wooden crane tray had a 300kg limit marked on the side?

 

[doorframe]

However, I am always on the look out for items that are anachronistic

Yep, that's always been one of my weaknesses. Another is an inability to understand long words. :?

 

[bugbear]

There's some fairly obvious (and undisguised) modern stuff. I don't think they much fancy period attitudes to health and safety.

BugBear

 

[cusimar9]

I've really enjoyed the series mainly because it's one of only a handful of things I find worthwhile watching on TV.

Fascinating insight into the traditional methods, would love to watch more series like that to be honest.

 

[bourbon]

Like StevieB, I would have liked to see more about the making of the grain chest. The dado's looked as if they had been done with a router, they were so clean cut and the mortices and tenons looked spot on as well. I also wasn't sure how the cabinet maker cleaned up the riven planks after he had used the one sided axe. I know he said that you could get a fairly flat surface with the axe but, to me, the finished article looked as if the components had had a plane run over them. The finished product also looked far better finished than some of the medieval chests that I have seen in museums over the years.

Anyhow, it did prove that you don't need a table saw, planer/thicknesser, bandsaw, morticer, router, domino etc to turn out high quality pieces.

you noticed that as well! I'm a re-enactor as as such, we tend to look at these programmes a little more closely than we should. I have met the guy who made the grain ark and seen his work, he does indeed use modern tools. If he was totally authentic his products would be prohibitively expensive. he could have rubbed the pencil marks off though! (not invented in Europe yet)

 

[bourbon]

Ah yes. I noticed that the boards in the finished chest looked rather too well finished for just a side axe. If I'm not mistaken the ash log he split initially turned into oak too.

The potter making the round bottomed cooking pot made it look so easy in the way only a very skilled person can.

The Potter is a fantastic bloke by the name of Jim Newboult of Trinity court potteries, Our group has had the pleasure of working with him a few times now and it's always fun. Also if you are going to be a reenactor, he is one of the first people to see for your kit

and you are right about the wood as well

 

[WoodMangler]

At least they've dropped the 'doom-laden' narratives of previous series - "if they don't get this crop in before the rain they'll starve to death over the winter" sort of thing. I happen to have met some of this team, and I understand that that sort of nonsense comes from the imperatives of TV production rather than the people actually making the program. Having said that, I'm finding this series fascinating - I'm interested in castles anyway, and information on things like interior decoration can be quite hard to find. I found the web-site (http://www.guedelon.fr/en/ a couple of years ago, and I think it's a truly magnificent undertaking.

 

[Racers]

Did you see the chisel they where using in the last one, just like the old one Rich Arnold has.

Pete

 

[Benchwayze]

Did you spot that the wooden crane tray had a 300kg limit marked on the side?

A Health & Safety requirement I shouldn't wonder! :mrgreen:

 

[bugbear]

Did you spot that the wooden crane tray had a 300kg limit marked on the side?

A Health & Safety requirement I shouldn't wonder! :mrgreen:

Reproducing medieval injury and death would be a little extreme,
even for the keenest experimental archaeologist.



BugBear