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The Norfolk Wherry Trust
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In September 2009 my wife and I joined the Norfolk Wherry Trust, a group of people dedicated to the preservation of the 'Albion' which is one of the oldest Wherries in Norfolk. Follow the link to www.wherryalbion.com to find out more, and see for yourself what is being done.
In an effort to help the trust, I have volunteered to make souvenirs using genuine Norfolk Wherry Oak. This winter (2009/2010) the trust is undertaking a major restoration and refit on the boat including the complete replacement of the tabernacle (the part which holds the mast up). As a result, I will have a significant selection of very old Oak beams with which to make a selection of souvenirs for the trust to sell.
A selection of items has been turned from English Oak to show the trust what can be made, and it will be a privilege to get my hands on some of the genuine timber to work with. |
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Norfolk Wherry Trust 'The Albion' |
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Norfolk Wherry Trust Initial Selection |
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In November 2009 we went to "The Laying Up" supper, an annual event held at the end of the sailing season. We showed the trust members a selection of Oak pieces that could be made, and at the same time, raised some valuable funds for the trust.
Mindful of the fact that I needed genuine timber to work with, one of the members said that there was some old timber lying around at the yard which I could take away if I wanted. The next morning, we went to the boat yard to see what could be found. Pictured here is an old "Knee", taken out of the boat some years ago, and since then, has simply been left to rot in the grass. |
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I was not overly hopeful that this would yield much. But, after the surface moisture had dried off, I applied my chain saw to the top section, to reveal some wonderful medullary rays in the timber just a few millimetres below the surface in good strong timber. With wood of this quality in a rotten piece which has been ignored for the last 'n' months, I can do no more than guess what good clean timber will be like when it is taken out of the boat in the next few weeks.
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 Now that the top section has been cleaned up and the rotten areas have been trimmed back, I can start to plan out how I am going to cut the piece up. I hope to be making some click pencils and twist top and roller ball pens, plus some apples and bottle stoppers. In time, I would hope to be able to offer ANY of my designs, all made from genuine "Albion Wherry Oak". I will need to take some expenses out of anything I sell, but all remaining monies will go to the "Norfolk Wherry Trust". This is a worthy cause, so please, help me support a really good project, preserving our heritage.
The top section has now been cut into usable shapes. Several pieces have been salvaged for making pens, a section in the middle looks good for bottle stoppers, and I hope to get pieces out of the large section to make some fruit.
This is the first set of pen blanks. One piece has been cut ready to make a pen, and at the bottom we see the very first pen made from "Genuine Albion Oak". The pen didn't polish as well as I would have liked which may be due to some sort of contamination in the wood. Even so, it is still special, and could be a valued Christmas present to anybody that wants it. This pen and several others to follow are available direct from me for £10 each, and for every one I sell, I will give £6.50 to the Norfolk Wherry Trust.
 At the same time as getting the old knee section, I also picked up 3 odd lengths of rubbing strake. These also had been discarded, and subsequently left to the ravages of nature, for how long I cannot say. Most people would see this as fire wood, whereas I knew that great surprises may well lie within. All the old bits of metal were removed from the first of the three pieces, which was then cut into approximately 6" lengths. As with the knee section, the timber within was almost perfect, a true testament to the historical build quality of 'Albion'. I turned one of the sections into a rectangular candle, and immediately saw the beauty of the grain and the staining which is a common feature where iron and Oak are interacting with each other.  Two more sections were prepared and glued together to form a larger section from which I turned a round candle, Again, beautiful grain and staining. These tee-light candles, along with whatever else I can make from the strakes and the knee will be passed over to the trust to be sold as souvenirs, hopefully, generating useful funds to continue the good work. |
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