New Course

[Fallow Way]

New Course - Traditional Foresty



I am currently developing a series of courses to be run with certain organisation. The first course I`m hoping to get going is a weekend camping course looking at traditional forestry skills/tools. Certain elemts of this I teach already to modern forestry students for them to appreciate the tools we have now, and also that we are responsible for keeping some of these skills alive and part of what it is to be a "forester".

The idea came about from the director of this organisation asking me to develop something, noticing that all the courses were concerned with use of wood, I thought it would fit in well to cover the crafts used in havesting it.

It will be based around looking at basic tree biology (as it affects felling), some tree folklore/traditions/terminology, basic tool use/history(saw, cross-cut, sythe, slasher, bill hook, froe etc etc), felling and timber stacking, and basic constructions (hoop shaver, A-frame lathe house etc), and generally a taste of what a timber faller life was like (making yorks and cooking luch over a fire)

Very basic in terms of bushcraft content.


i`ll post up a fuller description as it is agreed.

As usual I`d love feedback, ideas, opinions, insults etc etc


Also, anyone with advice in terms of restoring blades, handles are coming along lovely on some old battered tools i`ve collected. Steel wool and elm soap is doing ok so far, would like some alternatives to try if anyone has them drifint around their heads?

 

[jason01]

Id be interested Nomad. I recently discovered my great great grandfather was originally a forester around 1890, he gave it up to work on the Railways after his brother and/or his father was killed in a forestry accident.

Also.... any excuse to learn some traditional woodland skills cant be bad!

Where do you plan to hold the course and any idea of price?

As for cleaning up old blades, cant say I have any specific experience but if the rust is solid and too deep to grind off Id be temped to just leave them as they are and just regrind the edge. Alternatively, Wet and Dry paper in various grades is the favourite of bladesmiths for hand finishing but might not be practical if you have many to do.

Jason

 

[Fallow Way]

The course will be staffordshire/shropshire area.

Price - as cheap as possible. I`ve refused payment, and its basically going to be cost for equipment and cover the organisations costs (rent of woodlands etc) hoping personally to get it into £40 area, thats for a late afternoon/early evening friday start, and late afternoon sunday finish.

Had some sucess with Wet/Dry, trying to track down a stone grider and paper grinder to see if that fairs better. I have quite a few and some are big, such as a cross-cut saw.

Interesting you say your Grandpa worked cr1890`s as that is a period we will be covering. Negotiating the borrowing from a museum of a pair of yorks from that time.

 

[Jon]

New Course - Traditional Foresty
Also, anyone with advice in terms of restoring blades, handles are coming along lovely on some old battered tools i`ve collected. Steel wool and elm soap is doing ok so far, would like some alternatives to try if anyone has them drifint around their heads?

This link is not big on details but it may give you enough info to get started using electrolosis to shift the rust on your old tool collection. Even if it only works a little, there will be a huge saving in elbow grease.
http://users.ev1.net/~gmuster/tool_restoration.htm

The course sounds interesting, keep us informed.

And it's quite local to me none of this drive all the way to South Wales or even Cornwall rubish. :biggthump

 

[sargey]

for de-rusting things like saws, i'd recommend a wire brush wheel thing in a drill. you can also get flap sanders with built in scouring pads.

40 quid for a weekend course? that's an amazing bargain! i'd suggest a price hike too! though 40 quid is still outside my budget at the moment. any ideas when?

cheers, and.

 

[tenbears10]

I'd be interested as well. £40 is a bargain. Are you planning several dates or just one initially.

Bill

 

[Fallow Way]

I hope everything will be ready to go for later this year, so the course will be run during the actual upcoming woodland management season. Added bonus is that it will be cooler, not that its going to be an huge test of endurance, but it keeps sweating at bay.

The £40-60 is what I`m going to try and get the course as, the organisation may add a little onto that. I`m not wanting to make anything out of it, have a job so it doesnt interest me, at the minute I`d like to get experience outside my organisation and running courses of this nature. As long as cost are covered, and the organisation is happy with what its making, thats all i`m concerned with as far os money goes. The type of camp setup will be fairly familiar to anyone thats been on bushcraft courses.

We will be publishing one, maybe two weekend dates, and then arrange others so that if there is huge interest, it`s already arranged I`m free etc to put something on.

I`m sending over a semi-final course structure tomorrow evening, so later this week I should be able to tell you guys more.

 

[Wayne]

oh god not another course. do you lot realise what trouble i get from the wife. Anyway sounds great let me know when you have some dates sorted. definately one i would like to try and squeeze in

 

[Ed]

I think this course is likely to be quite popular with the members here, especially at those prices if you are running it at cost
Well done and keep up the good work.... I hope the project works out ok. Keep us informed how its going.

Ed