[The Apprentice]

Hi Folks

As a long time listener of your show Richie, please may I suggest a communities based thread about creative arts and real life skills, here is my current blog for those who might be interested. It is a way of regenerating the loss of our once proud makers of things and stable paradigm, away from the giants, who aim to stand down upon our shoulders, non to help us, but to crush our efforts so that we remain ever inter-dependent upon their slave style system where neither side get enough of what they need.

I am great believer in the many ways that we can empower ourselves, through self pelf and the sharing of the knowledge of who we are and how our hands can work for and by us, it is the single best ways to empower and re-organize ourselves, away from the new normals that the elite have chewed swallowed and digested away from us. If we loose our creativity entirely we become highly vulnerable, like a banker without his pen, or a navigator without a compass, and we always die a very slowl death into statism, that ends up with everyone in fighting for the crumbs the elitist mind have left, like the elite of old, who uused to leave just enough food for the workers who had originally created it.

More of my wares here,, https://steemit.com/@shedlife


Thank you, please show what you have created, because creating is who we really are.

[freelotus]

i can't seem to give reputation points (using my phone and the popup box is too big), but that is very cool!

[The Apprentice]

A Yarn to Spin



I have yet another yarn to spin, on this old spinning wheel that is, I made this traditional machine during one of my former energetic periods, I made it several years ago now from a few old 1970's two inch thick wooden shelves that were scalloped on their edges.



I was walking in our local area on a three mile dog and spotted these old boards poking out of a large pile of rubbish that  the new home owner was throwing out,  but what caught my eye was a tiny edge of dark brown timber where the board had been chipped off when they were being torn out to update the outdated 70's fashion within, I knew instantly what type of wood it was, and that is the finest dark brown Brazillian Mahogany that is no longer available in this kind of quality today.



20160925_155914 by apprentice 01, on Flickr



On my way back along the avenue the owner was coming out of the house with another arm full on chintz, so as quick as a flash I asked them if I could take the old boards over there to recycle, and without any thought the lady said help yourself, and then dissapeared again as quick as she came into view.



After about a hundred hours what came into view was this funtional spinning wheel, designed around an old Canadian style cottage spinner I saw in a picture, its a little bit over the top with many complicated turnings but seen as one of our items of furniture and has on many occasions been the center of conversation.





Over the years we have spun many a mile of yarn on this, which we then converted into many hand knitted items and woolens, many of which we are still using,



The lighter coloured timber and fittings are made from a fallen branch of Cox's applewood from a local orrchard where we get the fallen apples to make our own cider.



Below are two other wheel I made, the larger item has a full 30" wheel and made from recycled English ash and the other from off cuts of English walnut from a previous project, both are good working models and ornamental in many ways.



DSCN1469 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

DSCN1471 by apprentice 01, on Flickr













Thanks for looking and listening.

[The Apprentice]

Here in Yorkshire we have a saying, sit thee down and settle for a while, well here is a settle I made two years ago for our allotment, they are made from standard 50.00 by 25.00mm roofing lathes and 1 inch marine plywood side boards to which the lathes are screwed directly, the lathes are rounded on the edges to prevent cutting and marking, then the whole structure is strengthened by three cross bars that are bolted the sides using self tapping coach bolts.



The curved seating position mimics the curvature of the human form and spinal curve and are very comfortable indeed, I built three of these in full size and two half sized variants for less than a hundred pounds.



20170428_102314 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

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[The Apprentice]

Over the years we have made lots of different things and one is this hair brush, made to make combing of long hair easier after it has just been washed, so many tools of this nature simply cannot handle thick long hair so I designed and hand turned this one. m
Made from solid Madagascan Ebony with three widely spaced rows of 1/8" solid Sterling silver tines in a staggered patern, this really makes the job so much easier and lets the wet or dry hair glide between them, the well rounded ends or each tine also massage the scalp nice and gently.


20150101_005125 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

[The Apprentice]

Two of my most used pieces of footware that I made several years ago and still going strong, the first pair is a design I made that is similar in looks to the famous Chelsea model made by Lobbs of London, fully leather lined and quick to slip on, soles are by Dianite of the UK, the leather was recycled from a job lot I acquire about twenty years ago.

20150101_042622 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

The next pair is a pair of country brogues fitted with a full commando sole by Itshide UK, made for the outdoors, calf leather linings and fully hand sew Veldtschoen constructed for weather tightness, I have worn these many times and they are still not broken in yet, if you buy two decent pairs they can last you a lifetime bar new soles depending on how much walking you do.

20160923_122809 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

The sole threads or cords are handmade using the finest linnen thread by Barbour and have pigs whiskers braided in for needles, the thread is lubricated using my own home made wax, which is a 50-50 mix of Stockholm Tar and pure Beeswax from my own bees, everything done as in the days of old.

[The Apprentice]

My style of Amish Wheelbarrows

I made this wheel and barrow using recycled materials in the style of the Amish, the sides can be removed to convert it into a flag platform and replaced again in a few seconds, they are still made by the Amish today as they were in the 1850's, a tried and tested design, and believe it or not they are still roughly the same price as they were back then.

20160922_122404 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

20160922_122422 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

The wheels are genuine English pattern taught to me by retired wheelwright Michael Collishaw or Newark England, a skills I really enjoyed learning, no punctures in these wheels.



Below is a half scale sized barrow made from rosewood or Purpleheart that was recycled from an old packing crate salvaged from the log pile, we keep it in the living room window for a planter.


20160923_093228 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

Thanks for looking.

[The Apprentice]

A traditional gavel that I made from English Laburnum fitted with Sterling silver metalwork, the head ismade in three seperate pieces and screws together beneath the central furrule, then the handle is fitted through the soldered ferrule and into the timber itself, it also has a matching striking plate.

20160925_111039 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

20160925_111100 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

20160925_111120 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

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A practice drum pad and sticks that I made but just never really got the hang of playing properly, I had severl lessons from a freind and ex Irish Gaurdsman and expet drummer, the pad is made of a thick section of sole leather and is fitted so as it is domed away from the wooden plate below, this aids the bounce and works very well, the sticks I made from English Holly and the other pair from Cox's Apple wood, bothe very hard wearing with good spring and response time.

20160925_155530 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

20160925_155539 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

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My own leather clams, these are the seated type where you place the cross bar at the bottom under your legs in the seating position and grasp the work by turning and closing the jaws, they work really well and hold really firmly as the jaws cannot be prised open, made from English Oak.

20160923_163047 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

[The Apprentice]

Here is a blast from the past, my copy of an old Victorian long armed fret saw made entirely from Ebony,

20170502_095238 by apprentice 01, on Flickr

Follow the whole process and have a go yourself,

https://steemit.com/fretsaw/@shedlife/vi...rm-fretsaw

[freelotus]

there are a lot of free drum lessons on yt. i was teaching myself (or letting them teach me, lol) for a while.

and i painted my own drumsticks that i bought at the store. \o/