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WoodLots Feature - June 2002 |
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Innovative design combined with traditional craft You are probably familiar with the woven hazel hurdle, but have you come across the woven sweet chestnut hurdle? |
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In
the South-East there are thousands of acres of under-utilised
sweet-chestnut coppice. Adding value to this raw material and producing
marketable products is essential if coppice cutters are to make a decent
living and if appropriate management of coppice is to be sustained. Tom
Lambie, chestnut cutter and innovative craftsman, has adapted
traditional hurdle-making techniques to allow for the less flexible
structure of sweet chestnut.
And with chestnut’s renowned durability, this attractive
product is built to last. Tom, based near Battle in East Sussex, cuts mostly 10 to 12 year old chestnut, supplying ‘cooper poles’ to the nearby Trug Shop and supplying himself with all the raw materials required for his hurdles and a range of rustic furniture. Tom also supplies chestnut fencing locally and processes and sells firewood. Potential weave material (often sunshoots) and hurdle uprights are sorted, cut to length and put to one side throughout the coppice cutting process. Back at the workshop, hurdle-making begins with the trimming of suitable lengths of chestnut. Both uprights and horizontals are individually hand cleaved (split) with artful patience and skill, and very little wastage. The uprights are then sharpened and inserted into the ‘raft’ that holds them in place until the weave is complete. Each piece of weave material creates a single layer in the hurdle, with both ends left sticking out, unfinished. This method avoids the necessity to twist at the end of each row (a technique used with hazel). When the required height is achieved, the outer uprights are sandwiched between two extra split uprights and fixed with nails. The hurdle is then removed from the raft and the excess chestnut trimmed, resulting in a skilfully crafted finished product. Tom has an enthusiasm and creative spirit that is refreshingly innovative. He would prefer to live and work within his own woodland one-day, thus significantly reducing the high cost of transport and haulage between home, woodland and workshop. Finished products would be ready for sale, with that crucial added value, before the timber has even left the woods. To be able to live and work within the woodland is key to a sustainable future for woodland crafts people. And the sweet chestnut hurdle? This is a stylish and sustainably produced, functional product that can contribute to creating sustained markets for English sweet chestnut. Tom Lambie, Coppice Cutter and Chestnut Craftsman Tel: 01424 225539 Mobile: 07751 441317 |
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