Ciutadella woody pictures

These are few of the 'woody' pictures I took in Ciutadella, Menorca last week.

Side table in Ciutadella

I spotted this robust, but elegant, side table in the Convent and Cloister of Saint Augustine in Ciutadella, Menorca. I like the unusual Spanish design.

Menorca gate

This is the traditional Menorca gate that is usually made from Olive wood I believe. It is interesting that the angle piece in each gate slopes down towards the middle from the hinge side, and not the reverse e.g. middle top to lower hinge side, as is usual with UK gates.   

These are pictures of a new gate piece used in a shop display in Ciutadella  Menorca. It was very nicely made presumably by a local artisan.

Sash Clamp and bench vice for holding workpiece

I like the use of a sash clamp in the bench vice to secure work for planing. Picture from Paul Sellers blog.
http://paulsellers.com/2013/06/perfect-benches-revisited/

Manual planer / thicknesser

This is my 'planer/thicknesser' :-) Plane maker David Barron suggested the design, the plane rides on two waxed runners at the edges of the plane and  outside the reach of the blade. The wood is roughed down to approx thickness and then is placed between the runners. It is then planned down until the blade is no longer in contact with the wood. The resulting pieces are 5/16" thick. I can process planks up to 18" long and 2" wide. I have joined 2 together to make wider planks. I am planning to use these to make little boxes and cabinets. The wood is Rhododendron - I picked some off-cuts up in our local wood.

Rustic Mallet

I fancied a bit of rustic woodwork over the weekend, so I made a couple of mallets out of a piece of rhododendron I picked up while I was walking home from work a few weeks ago. The handles are made from an off-cut of pine. My first attempt had the head fixed at a funny angle! I tried telling my son Chris that it was ergonomically designed but I don't think he believed me!!! He kept it anyway, so I made myself one which I took more care with drilling the hole in the head. I am surprised how handy it is and how often I pick it up to give things a clunk! :-)  

Curled timber

I spotted these very unusual curled formations on the same tree trunk while I was out walking yesterday. I guess they would be pretty spectacular if they were planed and incorporated into a project. I have no idea what the tree is. There is just an 8' trunk left standing now.