Introduction
This section of the site deals with Greenwood turning, a fascinating craft whose origins remain enshrouded within the mists of our Anglo-Saxon heritage.
Here, the craftsman works freshly felled i.e. unseasoned timber, using a variety of simple hand tools and a few devilishly cunning devices.
This will create a wide variety of functional, beautiful and sought after products from bowels to country chairs.
Steve Vickers - Pole Lathe / Chair Bodge
An Honours graduate in Countryside Management, Steve 'discovered' green woodwork whilst acting as a countryside volunteer at Sheffield Countryside Management Unit. In 1993 Steve set up 'Turntables' to sell a range of Windsor, Celtic and spindle - backed chairs that he produces with the use of a pole lathe.
North Nottinghamshire has a strong tradition of Windsor chair making and Steve uses green timber drawn from the management of Treswell wood to turn on the pole lathe, producing a wide variety of items including bowls, candlesticks, garden dibbers and traditional babies' rattles, in addition to the aforementioned chairs.
How did the bodger get his name
It is conjectural how the bodger got his name. It cannot be related to the eighteenth century derogatory term applied to a clumsy patcher, 'a bodge job', for the bodger is a highly skilled craftsman. It may derive from 'badger', the name once given to traveling salesmen, some of whom were bodgers. Alternatively, the term may come from the woodland mammal, as the men lived a life much like the badger, only seen at dawn and dusk entering or emerging from the wood, and spending the day deep amongst the trees.
