Greenwood Crafts: A Comprehensive Guide

by Edward Mills, Rebecca Oaks, Mike Abbott (Foreword)

Britain has a long and rich tradition of woodcrafts and what, since about the 1970s, have been called the 'greenwood crafts'. Greenwood crafts focus on using wood that contains sap and that is easy to work with simple hand tools to produce beautiful and useful products.Discusses all you need to know to get started, including tools, workshops, sourcing wood, making some of your own devices and the characteristics of the various woods. Covers a wide variety of turned and carved items for the house and garden, including kitchen treen and sports equipment. Examines a wide range of greenwood chairs, describes how they are made and highlights the talent and creativity of a number of expert craftspeople in the field. Examines a number of basket-making techniques involving a range of raw materials, form willow to oak via hazel and other hedgerow plants. Considers a range of items for the garden and for agricultural use such as rustic furniture, wood store, shakes, shelters, fences and basic timber framing. Explores the future of greenwood working, takes a look at some of the new ideas emerging from the sector and includes handy hints on running a greenwood business. Few books have been published on the greenwood crafts and this present volume will be welcomed by all those with an interest in country crafts, trees, woodland, woodworking and all matters rural. Superbly illustrated with 380 colour photographs and clear step-by step instructions.

252 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2013

Reviews

[Faith · Rating 5 out of 5]

a good overview of greenwood crafts. There's a little more than I'm interested in about larger stuff - timber frame construction and that sort of thing, but there's some good practical information about stuff like making a shave horse or a pole lathe, and preparing wood for basket making and steam bending. Also a section on what kinds of trees are good for what kinds of crafts.
I particularly like the examples they give of people being innovative with their woodworking. Lots of great pictures, and brief mini-bios of of some of the creators.