Pigletwillie - Maker of things

I process lots of the wood I use. This Yew came from the Althorpe Estate and I slabbed the logs back in late 2022.

Today this piece became an essential oils bottle holder...the beauty of the wood speaks for itself.

I always try to incorporate what others call flaws and cut away as they add interest and are part of the trees history, so this piece has a hole at one end caused by a bark inclusion, a knot and even sapwood. All combine to make this a unique piece that is obviously handmade and is a mile away from the sterilised timber that has had its character cut away used by most.

If you would like one, please message me.

A couple of offcuts of French oak cut and routed to shape. The key shaped key holder just needs the hooks fitting and key hole slots cutting into the back to hang it.

Both can be made out of most native and a fee salvaged exotic hardwoods.

A batch of Heart shaped tea light holders have been finished off today. Made from Elm, Iroko and American Black Walnut and finished in Odies oil, they will make fabulous presents

Another guitar style serving board template on order from ChopsDesigns to complement the one already purchased.

Perfect for the guitar hero in the family.

On a roll today. A trial of a guitar shaped serving board in English Elm. Measuring 9" x 18" it's a wonderful size.

Templates as always from ChopsDesigns.

At 21 inches long this charcuterie board is big enough for any party of get together.

Cut from Spalted Beech, the grain pattern of this lush piece of wood is sublime. Once again the template came from ChopsDesigns

The fabulous colours and grain patterns offered by British hardwoods.

If you would like a charcuterie/serving/chopping board drop me a message. I have lots of shapes and sizes that can be made to order.

New templates from ChopsDesigns arrived a week ago.

Heart shaped tealight holders are now in the process of being crafted. Below are some three tealight and single tealight hearts cut from American Black Walnut.
The two on the right have the template attached using blue painters tape and CA glue, and are awaiting the router to trim to shape before sanding and finishing.

A birthday present made for my sister, this pepper mill in Yew Looks stunning.

Whilst the berries and leaves of Yew are very toxic, the wood itself is much much less so . As the peppercorns have virtually no contact with the wood itself, coupled with the fact the hole the grindings fall down is sealed and finished, the issue has been removed.

Lots of chopping/serving/charcuterie boards finished today.

All are made from locally sourced native hardwoods.

2 x Spalted Beech.
1 x spalted Elm.
1 x Elm.
1 x English Oak.
1 x Pear.
1 x Apple.

They are perfect for BBQ season.

A local-ish deli is selling dirty scaffolding boards with a rough ass hole cut in one end for £20.

Apart from the fact it's not even clean, the effort put in is zero.

For £25 to £40, dependant upon size and timber species, you can have a serving/cheese/charcuterie board that looks good, has a food safe finish, is made with a little love and will be a talking point when it's brought out to serve guests. You can even choose a live edged board should you choose. I have a huge selection of boards to choose from.

When you have orders for two funky nest boxes, it's always best to batch out lots more.

Whilst drilling out the nest box hole takes seconds, the set up takes 10 minutes, when cutting out the fronts and backs using an ChopsDesigns template, its just as easy to cut and route 10 at a time as it is one.

Lots of nest box bodies ready for filling, finish sanding and priming. Once one is ordered then it gets two finish coats of the chosen colour and a roof of cedar slats fitted.

Roadside wood is always welcome. A lump of a crotch piece and a nice long branch will be made into useful things.

When your templates start to get in the way, it's time to make a home for them.

Some recycled pine made a quick and ugly rack in the workshop. When time permits I will make something a little nicer.

ChopsDesigns

The first of my funky nest boxes.

The roof is made from cedar which is naturally weather resistant and will turn a fabulous silver gray over time. The main body can be pretty much any colour.

Let your great t**s reside in style this year in a chalet style nest box.

Message me if you would like one.

Once again, templates are from Martin @ ChopsDesigns

Excuse the poor photos, but these two lovely Christmas tree shaped serving boards made from English Oak were commissioned by a work colleague who happens to be on shift tonight along with myself......ergo the pics were taken at my desk.

Martin ChopsDesigns cut me a bespoke Christmas tree template around 75mm longer (and proportionally wider) than his standard offering with delivery within 72hrs to give me the two sizes.

A huge car load of live edge boards were collected today. Mainly good lengths of Sycamore, Beech, Chestnut, Elm, English Oak and Pear.....plug a huge bunch of mistletoe as a freebie.
They will be made into wonderful things over the coming months giving ChopsDesigns templates a good workout.

A trip to my favourite supplier of timber saw the car loaded up with a massive bundle of live edge boards.
Mainly Chestnut, Beech, Spalted Beech, Pear, English Oak and Sycamore, this will be made I to lively things over the coming months.

I also got a freebie in the way of a big bunch of Mistletoe.

It's Christmas tree time. This was a trial run and I'm happy with that. I will start batching them out tomorrow.

Message if you want one, £15 each.

Lots of coasters made from American Black Walnut, Oroko and English Oak

All are made from waste from a joinery company so saving valuable timber from either the fire or landfill.

Priced between £10 & £15 they make fabulous presents. Send a message if you would like a set.

A fabulously grained chopping board made from Solid American Black Walnut.

It measures 13" x 11.5" x 2" and is a perfect fit in a kitchen of any size. Finished in Odies oil, a top quality food safe finish, it will give decades of service. At £45 it will make a fabulous present for anyone who enjoys time in the kitchen. Message me if you would like one.

A chess set with a missing piece was saved from landfill. The pieces now embellish a variety of door wedges.

Pocket money items that make great stocking fillers.

Solid oak door stops with coloured chain plate rings make a stylish solution to an age old problem.

At £20 each they make low cost and very individual gifts too. Available in various timbers, message me for options and to order.

I salvaged the hardwood pallet (species unknown) that my bandsaw was delivered on, and after turning a board into three of my magic bottle stands and finishing them with Odie's oil, the grain is fabulous.

The Magical bottle stand video is below.....message me if you would like one.

"Why wax the ends of your blanks" asked a customer.

Well, it slows down the evaporation of moisture from the ends of the logs. If they dry out too fast the ends crack meaning a good proportion of the log is of no use for wood turning.

Below the maple blank is waxed and has no cracks, and the other log isn't....see all the cracks. Both were cut on the same day and as of this post a week has passed. The non waxed log also has its pith present, normally these are cut out as again they cause cracks. The second pic shows the pith marked in green and the biggest crack emanating from it.

I'm trying to ensure 100% of my timber is either reclaimed, salvaged or sourced in such away that it prevents beautiful wood going into landfill or for firewood and trees are not directly cut down to supply the timber market.

It's a process, both in time and labour. A few hours this evening has produced a trug full of "half log" bowl blanks, a pile of 2" & 3" thick blanks for platters and several 24" long logs slabbed into short planks suitable for making into a variety of items.
One of my favourites is using templates from ChopsDesigns to cut fabulous serving/chopping/charcuterie boards out of wood I have prepped.

Tomorrow all of these pieces will have their ends sealed in wax to prevent them from splitting as they dry out, then storing for a year or two so they are perfect for me to turn into wonderful items.

Freshly cut "Green" wood needs preparing for it to be any use for wood turning.
It dries from the ends quickly and this causes the ends to split, often so badly that it's only use is firewood.
To mitigate that, the timber is cut where possible at least twice as long as its diameter or in reality, as long as is practical to handle and store and the ends are sealed to slow down the drying out process. By slowing down the drying process the wood dries out evenly and reduces splitting hugely. Some timbers such as cherry, and the Mahonia pictured are notorious for splitting even when prepared well.
To seal the ends I dip the cut ends into melted candle wax (melted on a double boiler to prevent the wax hitting its flash point) as shown in the pictures. Each end gets dipped a couple of times.
After that the prepped pieces of wood are stored in a stable environment until the moisture content has reduced to 10 to 15%. This can take several years, the rule of thumb is one year for every inch of thickness. Some of the pieces below will be ready for use in late 2024, some in mid 2026.

Is it worth it?
Well yes, tell me where you can buy bright Yellow Mahonia for one? Next it's cost. A store bought 10" x 2" bowl blank can cost up to £20 so the cost savings are huge for an initial outlay of time.

Do you like cheese?

Cheeseboards made from beautiful native timber. This one is from English oak but Spalted Beech, Elm and Sycamore are also available as well as some from reclaimed non native hardwoods such as Sapele or American Black Walnut.

Another fabulous template from ChopsDesigns was used.

Sustainability is the name of the game. I don't normally process pine as it's a low value timber and it takes up space for the 2 years or so it will need to season and dry out before it's useful in the workshop. But when it's arrow straight, knot free and close to home it's worth saving some from landfill or as firewood.

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A house no finished in Yew for a customer. I can make any sign for your home or business. PM or email me to discuss your project.