Andy Hyde Charpentiers Sans Frontières
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N U M B E R 5 4 WINTER 2013 Andy Hyde Charpentiers Sans Frontières at The Château de Gaillon Dimitri Malko Restoration Work in Japan Joe Thompson The Chappell Framing Square Rebecca Yahr and Christopher Ellis Lichens in the Attic Elizabeth Cunningham Handheld Conspiracy Remembering Ed Levin At Play Frame 2013. Cressing Temple, Essex Photos by Fleur Hall Picture call… Show us what you do and how you do it [email protected] 2 THE MORTICE AND TENON 54 WINTER 2013 The Carpenters‘ Fellowship Promoting the study and practice of timber frame carpentry I s s u e 5 4 C O N T E N T S Autumn 2014 Carpenters’ Fellowship 2 At Play Photos by Fleur Hall Membership fees include subscription to the M&T. Find out more at 4 In Site David Leviatin www.carpentersfellowship.co.uk 6 Andy Hyde Charpentiers Sans Frontières Subscriptions CF Membership is available at The Château de Gaillon throughout the world. Please contact the Editor 12 Dimitri Malko for more details. Restoration Work in Japan Back numbers Please contact the Editor. 20 Joe Thompson The Chappell Framing Square Contributions The M&T welcomes contributions. If you have anything that you would like 23 Rebecca Yahr and Christopher Ellis to share with our readers Lichens in the Attic please contact the Editor. Copy deadlines 26 Elizabeth Cunningham Spring issue January 14 Handheld Conspiracy Summer issue April 14 Autumn issue July 14 Winter issue October 14 30 Remembering Ed Levin C o p y r i g h t Copyright of the Mortice and Tenon is held by The Carpenters’ Fellowship. Copyright of individual articles, illustrations or photographs remains with the authors, illustrators or photographers. P r i n t e d b y Welshpool Printing Group Severn Farm Enterprise Park Welshpool, Powys SY21 7DF on C o c o o n recycled paper I S S N 1 1368 4612 E d i t o r D a v i d L e v i a t i n Sub-editing S O S e r v i c e s D e s i g n M a r k C l a y THE MORTICE AND TENON 54 WINTER 2013 In Site Our annual gathering was a bittersweet former – making things well – involves a affair. The good weather, good beer, good few experienced and skilled people working food and good company were all tempered together on a relatively small scale all of whom by the news of Ed Levin’s death. Fortunately, are practically engaged in and understand all his old friend Steve Chappell was on hand. aspects of the entire manufacturing process Standing within the ancient oak framework from start to finish. The latter – making of Cressing’s magnificent Barley Barn, in front things profitably – usually takes place on a of hundreds of timber framers from around larger scale and involves more people with the world, Steve introduced Ed to those who less experience and skill working separately didn’t know him and also managed to conjure from one another, usually for rather than up his spirit for those who did. In addition with machines, in a highly specialised to establishing Ed’s person and presence, and differentiated process of which they Steve’s moving words helped sharpen the have incomplete knowledge, little overall focus of Frame’s theme: Considering the Past understanding and only the most basic and Imagining the Future of Timber Frame interest. Construction. Clearly, there is nothing wrong with Later that night I found myself engaged in machines; it’s the way they are used and discussion about the use of CNC machines misused. The problems I have encountered – an important aspect and recurring theme with CAD drawn, CNC machined frames have of our framing future – with a couple of nothing to do with the technology being used the Hundegger’s leading lights. While my but everything to do with the people using reservations about cutting frames on CNC it. Because many of these people are young machines drawn from CAD designs are no office-bound folks they have never taken an secret, my scepticism, and that of many other old building to bits or used tools to make and framers, should not be misconstrued. erect a new one; consequently, they know We’re not Luddites. We are well aware of little about the practical aspects of historical how remarkable machines are. A machine design (timber selection, timber conversion, freed slaves from having to gin cotton by timber dimensions, timber placement, joint hand; a machine enabled some women in the detailing) or much about the practical nature world not to have to wash clothes in rivers; of the interrelated processes of workshop two machines: a rocket ship and the television, manufacture and on-site raising. Amazingly, took all of us to the Moon. Bravo! given the state of technology and the Seriously… efficiency of transport networks, a frame can The point to consider, however, is the knock be designed in one place, cut in another and on effect, culturally, of our increasing reliance shipped to site without ever having been put on labour saving devices. Machines designed together. At the moment this is a curse, but it to save labour can in fact do so literally, making could very easily become a blessing. the work of those who have laboured for a living much safer (saving the lives of labourers) Recently I returned from Moscow where and generally making the lives of everyone my team and I put up and closed in two CAD else in society healthier as well. When the designed, CNC cut frames. We had nothing primary purpose of using machines is to to do with the design or manufacture of make things more cheaply, in an effort to sell the frames. Despite being CAD designed in those things more profitably, thesaving of one place, cut on a CNC machine in another labour becomes more problematic because and never put together before leaving the it results in the employment of unskilled workshop, the frames weren’t all that bad. and inexperienced workers who simply feed If, however, they had been designed by machines. someone familiar with the do’s and dont’s of Because the making of things well generally historical framing and put together by framers takes more time and costs more money who knew what they were doing before the than the making of things profitably, the frames left the shop, they would have been 4 THE MORTICE AND TENON 54 WINTER 2013 much better to look at, more srtucturally sound and designed, machine made, remotely operated … much easier to put together. Listening to all of this theoretical chatter, especially after The trick is for craftsmen to begin to do again what seeing the way in which McLaren’s humble hands-on until very recently they had always been doing: Know mechanical heritage was celebrated at the front door their business inside and out and work with their tools was getting me depressed. instead of for them. And then we met Dave. Dave is a McLaren race team mechanic, part of A few weeks ago, I found myself in the McLaren the travelling pit crew. Because he had a bad back Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey with an astro- he was taking time off the road and working in the physicist friend of mine. Forget about how I got there; Technology Centre. He was fiddling with an engine what I learned about what they do with carbon fibre and a gearbox when we were given permission by our and how they do it is something all of us who make host to approach and ask a few questions. Unlike some things, in whatever material, should consider. The first craftsmen who can be cranky and difficult, Dave was thing you see when you walk into the sinewy glass easy going and keen to talk with us. and steel Norman Foster structure is a row of cars. The When asked to describe the most memorable mishap, one in front of them all was the oldest: Bruce McLaren’s Dave paused and said that each and every race throws 1929 Austin 7. The red beauty, its bonnet held in place up something that they had never anticipated. The with a thick brown leather belt that would look great physicist looked perplexed. I went for his jugular and running through the loops of my Levi’s, was purchased asked Dave, “do you mean that with all this hi-falutin’ in bits by Bruce’s dad Les. Father and son put the car technology at your fingertips you still can’t get a good together and Bruce won his first race driving it in 1954. idea of what is going to happen on race day?” “Not really,” The other cars on display, the actual machines driven to he said. “There are the crazy things like when a crsip victory by the likes of Hunt, Lauda, Fittipaldi, Prost, Senna packet or a bird gets sucked up into the car and blows and Hamilton, chart the history and the evolution of the engine. Or,” he said as he motioned for us to come Formula 1 racing. closer as he separated the gearbox from the engine. All of these vintage cars work and are occasionally “You see that,” he said pointing to a piece of the gearbox driven. that he then pinched between his thumb and forefinger. As we made our way past this impressive row of “You hear that,” he then said as he gently began wiggling glistening driving machines (a display of racing history the piece back and forth: clink-clink, clink-clink.