One Ash: Peter Jameson
Charcoal drawing of Peter’s large charcoal ring kiln by Judy Masterman (Drawn with charcoal made by Peter!)
In this edition of the One Ash blog we introduce you to Peter Jameson (a.k.a. Charcoal Peter). Peter is a qualified carpenter & joiner and Building Surveyor. Since 1994, Peter has spent his weekends following his true passion for green woodworking and charcoal burning. Here we find out more about this craft and what he has been up to with his piece of the One Ash.
What is a green woodworker?
Green woodworking is a term that came into use in the early 1990s. On one level it relates to working with ‘unseasoned’ wood - where the green of the sap can be seen when one cuts through the wood. On another level green woodwork is more environmentally-friendly; green wood is softer than seasoned wood so more suitable for working with hand tools, one tends to work near to where the tree was felled and only haul out finished products, usually by hand, and try to find a use for every bit of the tree as by products.
Traditionally, the term was Coppice worker or Under-woodsman. The Forester worked the tall timber trees and the under-woodsman the understory (the underlying layer of vegetation in a forest or wooded area, especially the trees and shrubs growing between the forest canopy and the forest floor.)
A traditional pole-lathe
The picture you see above is my pole-lathe - a traditional tool for green woodwork. If you are interested in finding out more about pole-lathing go to https://www.bodgers.org.uk for explanations about the practice. Stuart King’s website is also a good resource https://stuartking.co.uk/history-of-the-lathe-part-one-reciprocal-motion/
On the felling day you made a clothes peg from a twig for the children to watch; what have you been up to with the ash since?
The plan was to make 4 lopping axe handles however the length of round wood I carried off the field did not ‘cleve’ (split) well enough for me to make these but I have made 2 hand axe handles, several chisel handles a couple of T pattern spade handle tops and some wooden tent pegs as a by-products.
I have also received part of a plank from the one ash and my plan is to create a solid spade hand however I need a spare part of a day to cut and shape the hand and pressing paid jobs keep stealing their turn on the bench! The spade will get its chance soon.
I was also given four bags of ‘lop & top’ (branches and twigs lopped off trees) which I used for charcoal.
How do you make charcoal?
Good charcoal is mostly pure carbon, called char, made by cooking wood in a low oxygen environment known as a wood coaler. The process can take days and burns off volatile compounds such as water, methane, hydrogen, and tar. The process leaves black lumps and powder, about 25% of the original weight. There is a history of Charcoal burning in portable metal ring kilns in Hampshire and Dorset.
I used a small scale charcoal burn in a converted oil barrel for the one ash project. I wanted to ensure that the charcoal I returned to the project was from the one ash rather than a mixture from a commercial sized burn. I hope these coals will be used for some blacksmithing. I have half a bag of lop and top left over and this will be going to a meat and cheese smoker.
How did you get started with your craft?
Now there’s a question! I was always good at woodwork at school and I wasn’t so good at many of the other subjects. I was diagnosed as moderately dyslexic in my late teens but there was not the same level of understanding about the learning disorder as there is today. So I have always been good with wood and wood is good to me! I started my working life as a carpenter and joiner and my day job is still on building sites but after returning to college I am now have a supervisory role as a Building Surveyor.
I have always believed the answer is in the trees hence I took a Saturday job in green woodwork and the charcoal burning came about in 1992 as a response to the amount of surplus wood around due to trees being blown down by gales in 1987 and 1990.
What are your essential tools?
My essential tools are an axe, a saw, sharpening kit (augmented by billhooks), a drawknife, carving knife and for charcoal making a long handle shovel!
Are you noticing a growing interest in wood craft revival at the moment?
I think shows like The Repair Shop and The Great Pottery Throw Down have given craft more respect than the mainstream media have shown in the past. We have moved beyond the idea that crafters aren’t intelligent and its not work. Who would have predicted the rise in recreational wooden spoon carving!
How do you see the future for woodcraft? What would you say to anyone wishing to get started?
The thing with craft work is you can only go as fast as one pair of hands. The money you need to make to cover housing costs here in the south is horrendous so either find yourself a rich partner or find a fellow crafter and live in the woods! You won’t make much money but you won’t spend much either!
But seriously, keep your hands behind the blades and give it a go - the worst that can happen is you have an interesting pile of kindling. Aim to make five products well and one down to a fine art - not 20 products half well.
There went lunch hour.
Bye for now
Thank you Peter! If you would like to find out more about Peter’s work with the One Ash project follow his journal.
You can read about all the crafters, artists and wood-workers on the One Ash project page.
An exhibition of the One Ash project, including Peter’s work, is planned for 2022 and will form part of the 10-year celebration of all that Andover Trees United has achieved, including the completion of planting in Harmony Woods.