Tools for fiber arts

[Eric_Methven]

I've been busy lately making a whole bunch of tools for the lasses in our living history group. These are all relating to fiber arts - spinning and weaving and making cordage. I took some pics and thought I'd share.

Here's some drop spindles and a Lucet...

A lucet is used to make braided cord and drop spindles are used for spinning wool, flax, hemp or nettle fibers for making thread or cloth from the raw material.

Here's a picture of a distaff. I made four of these today....

A distaff is used to hold the raw material prior to the spinner teasing it off the distaff to spin it on the drop spindle. These distaffs come apart for ease of carrying....

There is also an ash sword on the chopping block too. That is known as a waster and was used for practicing sword skills as steel was too valuable to be made as a blunt (you didn't want to actually kill your fighting partner). With the wooden swords we can practice full contact fighting and only end up brused at worst.

Finally here's a picture of my workshop (I can't remember who asked about it.) It's a thirty foot polytunnel that used to be used for growing tomatoes. Now most of it is for making wooden stuff.

Hope this isn't too boring.

***Edit: I have some spares of all of the above. If anyone needs any, PM me and we can sort something out (I'm happy to barter).***

Eric

 

[Toddy]

Okay, I'm impressed
Have not used one of these distaffs before, p.m. sent
A workshop is *so* much more a necessity of life than growing tomatoes!

Cheers
Toddy

 

[jdlenton]

very nice work and workshop , mine's in a garage and my machines get damp do you find that in a poly tunnel?

whats a distaff used for ?

 

[Toddy]

There is also an ash sword on the chopping block too. That is known as a waster and was used for practicing sword skills as steel was too valuable to be made as a blunt (you didn't want to actually kill your fighting partner). With the wooden swords we can practice full contact fighting and only end up brused at worst.
Eric[/QUOTE]


I made wooden swords and shields for my sons when they were little. A friend who'd bought plastic ones said, "Those will hurt." and totally failed to understand that that *was* the whole idea. If you hit your brother with something hard, he'll hit you back, and shield practice is so worth the effort.

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[Scally]

(If you hit your brother with something hard, he'll hit you back, and shield practice is so worth the effort. )
Quote frome toddys text


Cruel but kind i like your train of thought great way to teach consequences

 

[Toddy]

(If you hit your brother with something hard, he'll hit you back, and shield practice is so worth the effort. )
Quote frome toddys text


Cruel but kind i like your train of thought great way to teach consequences

Well I kind of thought so..... however, it's all very well giving the kids a workshop and tools, but it's amazin' how fast the little blighters then 'invented' spears, bows & arrows, catapaults, airguns..... ....I started to hope they'd grow up before they developed all out thermo-nuclear war.
Must be in the genes, like most of this list and knives, etc..

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[Eric_Methven]

JD, my tools get a little damp in really cold wet weather but I protect them to some degree by rubbing furniture polish on the polished surfaces of the saws, pedistal drill, bandsaw and the like. I could do the same with oil, but once I get the router going, they'd end up a dust covered sticky mess. I find that wax based furniture polish does the same job and the dust just blows off.

Yes, wooden swords hurt. They're supposed to. It teaches you to defend yourself properly instead of just attacking all the time. It teaches tactics, it teaches strategy, it improves psychomotor skills, reaction times and general fitness. It teaches competitiveness - something that is often discouraged in a society where we are encouraged to view everyone as winners and nobody is a loser in case it damages their self esteem (what a load of rubbish). It teaches self dicipline and a sense of honour - all things children should learn by the time they reach manhood (or womanhood). It's also great fun and is infinitely better for a young child than playing computer games. My grandson is seven and he is really good with his sword. He has battle scars and is very proud of them.

Eric

 

[R-Bowskill]

Nice stuff,

Has anyone spotted that the design of the polytunnel is basically a large hooped bivy? yet another contribution of bushcraft to modern society!!! Simple, cheap and effective.

 

[Eric_Methven]

The modern polytunnel is actually based on the gypsy bender. Which in itself is based on a simple design of bending saplings to form a hoop and covering them with skins - developed in many different aboriginal cultures.

Eric