new workshop

I was hoping to use mostly reclaimed timber for the workshop but this can be pretty tricky to hold of in the right lengths and i would also need a van to collect as no one seems to deliver. This being the case i have resorted to using new stuff but with as much reclaimed as i can scavenge locally.

The fun thing is that when i do manage to fine reclaimed stuff, like the piece used for the big lintel below, the size of it determines the form of the building. It will be supporting the green roof so need to be big enough not to sag when I open up the front.... all will be revealed.

Timbers arrived.

6 old railway sleepers (apparently they came from Russia and are around 100 years old... I wonder how many poor folks were sent to gulags on these!!) were then chopped in half, sunk into the ground and levelled... aching i am!

new workshop

Here are the beginnings of my new workshop. Ground cleared and timber coming tommorow... Excited i am.

Appalachian mountain banjo #4

Just handed over my latest mountain banjo to a very happy - and surprised recipient.

Its made from reclaimed mahogany (Edwardian wardrobe), with a goatskin head. Fully fretted, 24.5" scale, screws for position markers, ebony (piano key) nut.

It also has some folk art, naive carving on the heel and the center section of the pot picked out with coloured enamel.

Original inlay work from the old wardrobe.

And here's the happy owner. Thanks Nick and Laura.