The Real Apprentice

I met up with Ruth and Brian as they were making shingles for the proposed new timber framed classroom at Westonbirt Arboretum. Brian has been restoring the hazel coppice at Westonbirt for a number of years and has recently relocated with Ruth from Devon into the area.

She explained that she still considered her self lucky to be working out doors and learning about the qualities of wood and the associated wildlife and how every thing is interlinked.

The Chestnuts butts are split into smaller sections using a large throw or axe. Her greatest achievement so far is building up her strength and stamina .

Ruth would actively encourage more women into the industry and believes that there is no reason or any aspect of work which after training and experience she could not achieve as easily as her male sponsor.

Ruth is starting to think about which part of the sector she would like to focus on and how she can make a living. Her environmental  concerns and savvy business sense can not see a business future for her transporting coppice raw material over large distances or becoming a hurdle maker.

Reading the wood to maximise the amount of shingles

Placing the wood into a cut section of timber to act as a vice the chestnut section is reduced further using a smaller throw. The wood is reduced further and cleaved to the required size in the cleaving break.

Finally she marks the shingle to indicate the top and with half a smile to Brian says she wants to make sure people
know who has made the good ones.

The over stood hazel  is depressing compared to the hazel she is used  to working in Hampshire. She admires the commitment and passion Brian has for restoring coppice woodlands back into rotation but is concerned for what the future will be for coppice management. She suggests it may return to its original primary use for supplying  local wood fuel demand on a longer rotation. She would like to investigate larger  project work such as timber framing  and possible social forestry using her skills to help and encourage others to engage and benefit  from working in woodlands.  

She is very proud of her achievements to date and is looking forward to networking more widely and talking to other people on how they make a living from the  woods.

Ruth takes the split shingle and dresses one side using a draw knife held in the shave horse she made. The long edges are cut straight using the draw knife to allow the shingles to butt up against each other.