Summary of Fettling in 2018

Having not blogged for a while due to work getting in the way, I have compiled a short photo summary of my endeavours over the last few months.

I guess a series of before and after shots of various works is as detailed as it needs to be, I wouldn't want to put more effort into this blog than David Davis the Brexit secretary is getting away with in the course of his work!

I hope you enjoy this montage of my recent activities as I charge into the sunlit uplands of our post Brexit reality...

Now we've got our country back an associate of mine in our rural idyll in Staffordshire decided to help me out by doing a bit of casual road rolling 

 I guess the machine must of been foreign or something! It will take more than faulty non British machines to hold us back in the new age!

If you are at all concerned for the welfare of my associate you have obviously never met him..... The owner of the roller lamented that the driver had got off too soon, but was otherwise unperturbed.

The manufacture and restoration of antique rocking horses continues apace. With unabashed British grit and in an atmosphere of great professionalism and humility, we go about our time honoured traditional craft.

Personally I wish they'd automate the lot.... apart from the bit where i get to sand their bottoms!

Farmer Palmer approached me late last year with a booze storage problem.

"Can you help me fit more booze in my cupboard?" They said. In sympathy as Michael Gove now holds their livelihood in his rather slippery hands, I decided to forgo the usual beard stroking and sucking of teeth.... 

 

.... and produced this rather pleasing little wine cellar and bar amalgamation.

The department of the environment can go whistle now, who cares about the common agricultural policy when we can all get smashed in style!!!

Slightly randomly, here is a picture of a Scotsman cooking and selling mussels in Lambrini on the street.

He is laughing at you.

Concentrating again now, here is a narrowboat bathroom belonging to one of the great "Unwashed".

There's nothing I love more than getting stuck into a good stinking bilge, and with Boris Johnson's tomes of of Joy ringing in my ears I undertook to sort this mother out!

I found it helped productivity to sing sea shanties whilst imagining Jacob Rees-Mogg standing over me as supervisor, with a cane.

I think self employment has given me all sorts of funny ideas, and submitting myself to a bit of zero hours exploitation to be good practice for the future.

 That'll do then!

 

If last years shepherds hut in my previous posts were a £350 million promise, then this antique hut of my own is representative of the biting reality! 

I'd have tried to find some cheap foreign labour but there's a bit of a shortage of that in Staffordshire at the moment.

Getting into the positive spirit I decided to extend the apprenticeship scheme to make use of a bit of child labour. If i can find a top hat I've decided to try and get a job as an adviser on Moggsie's staff.

The boy done good,.... had to leave it there for a bit though... we had to put on our cravattes and spats to go and consult on a rather incongruous plan to build a road link to France, just as we've severed trade links with the French!

But where to sit and watch the drama unfold? How else to absorb these events at this exiting point in British history?

Why in front of a bespoke media wall unit crafted by a local artisan of course!

What better way to watch the political class stick it to Johnny Foreigner, than by also gazing at hand crafted furniture made with imported materials, by a half German anarchist descended from immigrants!

What could go wrong!

In Summary I'm under the impression that the powers that be would rather all the self employed, and indeed all workers bar their chums in the city, offshore, or in the hedge (wherever that is) were kept in working conditions and a level of dignity represented by this picture of me on the right!

What they continually fail to understand is that the great British workforce; versatile, determined, inventive, resourceful, and fantastically cynical, is more represented in their attitude to the political class by this picture below.............!

Shepherds Hut

Shepherds Hut

Thanks to everyone for looking at and sharing my blog posts to date. After a busy year of work (not to mention some unprecedented global upheaval) someone has spotted my activities and engaged me in a new kind of project... 

I am constructing a shepherds Hut.

 It seems that the temptation to hide from the options of soft or hard boiled Brexit as waves of eggy Trumps roll in across the Atlantic, has made the alternative of sitting in a pre industrial shelter in the middle of a field  an attractive enough proposition to provide me with my latest endeavour in work!

The design is carefully and precisely worked out on the back of a napkin. Always the professional I mopped up the spilled beer and pork scratching crumbs from the table to ensure the highest level of precision.

 

Local metal sculptor Julian Childs has provided me with a very high quality steel chassis on traditional cast iron wheels.

Beautiful attention to detail includes scrolled beams and seperate fixings for floor bearers to avoid drilling into the chassis itself.  

 I dismantled  the chassis upon delivery to paint it and thoroughly grease all the friction surfaces

Painting the underside of the floor for longevity before turning over the sheets.

Cavity insulation under the floor will ensure toasty toes when sat in peaceful refuge from the bizarre developments in the world outside!

Unfortunately too cold for the leotard, my beautiful assistant casually models these solid oak double glazed windows. Thanks to lovely Gaynor in Much Wenlock for offering these on Gumtree... I think they will look good in their new home.

 In creating the solid but light superstructure I stick to screws rather than nails, and reacquaint myself with my old ally... Thixotropic PU woodglue. Cant escape those boatbuilding habits I'm afraid... Then again I'm aiming for quality and longevity rather than the bog standard "shed on wheels!"

More insulation and the hut begins to take shape.

  

The first milestone is achieved with covering the entire structure in a breathable waterproof membrane, and the fixing of the traditional "wriggly tin" roof.

Look out for the next post in the new year... progress to include the huts' fancy lining, woodburner, and twiddly bits!

Please like and share as lets face it... even my wittering has got to be better than reading the news!X

 

Winter At The Rocking Horse Works

Now that the Christmas rush has finished work carries on apace at the Rocking Horse Works.

New horses continue to be handmade from scratch, and restorations of old rocking horses are a growing part of the business that I love helping out with in the winter and early spring when I take a break from my narrowboat work.

Something quite unique has begun to happen in our little Shropshire workshop however...

Our last Pegasus, The winged mythological steed of Perseus, was sold last year. The boss has begun making another as an ongoing creative project... 

 The new Pegasus is all the work of the proprietor, Steve Bulcock. It currently stands taller than I am and we haven't even made its bow rockers yet! 

The wings are much more intricate than the last Pegasus from the brochure; they have been constructed and carved to appear as if in mid wing beat.  

 

 Now that the main body has been carved off it dosen't take two of us to lift it anymore thank goodness!

As Far as we know it is the only Pegasus rocking horse under construction in the country, if not the world!!

I cant wait to see the progress over the coming months. But for me It's back to work on Narrowboats for the spring and summer season!

NB "Jemima"

Dead space on a boat.... Nightmare! Jemima's owner could only use these bunk beds in the rear cabin as a dumping ground. 

What was required was a home office that could be used as an occasional bedroom whilst preserving some useful storage space.

Using the full width of the forward bulkhead and creating an angled passageway i made a three seat dinette to maximize storage yet facilitate access through the boat.

 
A spacious desk, large bed (when the table is put down), custom shelves and under bench storage breathe new life into this little cabin.

The pale white wood will benefit from a couple of coats of light oak wax oil, bringing it to the same shade as the existing fit out. Using this material is massively cheaper than building in oak, and the customer will apply the wood finish to keep the cost down even further.
  A good value and extremely useful alteration to a liveaboard boat!
 

Fitted Bedroom

Poor Jack! He has outgrown his bedroom and now his furniture is overburdened with paraphenalia to the extent that the use of his playstation is impaired!

Jack's is a very small box room leaving just enough space with this arrangement for a mattress on the floor and little space to stand. His Parents commissioned me to design, build and fit new bedroom furniture to better suit his growing requirements.

By building from scratch i was able to offer under bed storage, and then utilise all of the existing wall space with bespoke shelving designed for a mixture of media, books and treasures.

Monobloc edges and a grey tinted wax oil result in a contemporary finish. Note the extra floor space available in the room.

 

Storage wraps round the room even continuing above the door. TV space is central to the base unit in the bottom right of this picture (above).

The bed fits a standard size single mattress. The shelves above allow just enough room to sit on the bed and get up without banging your head.

Optimised storage and clothes hanging space.

Prewired TV and playstation worshipping alcove provides a better line of sight to the screen from the playing position (presumably recumbant in bed). Good on you Jack, and remember to keep your stuff off the floor!

Box beds

These beds were based on traditional welsh box beds and made to fit in awkward mezzanine landings in Plas y Wern holiday cottages Standard double beds would not fit in the available spaces, but these built in king size beds are very popular and novel!

Built into the bannister this bed is a hit with guests

Tucked up in the eaves of the cottage