|
Click on these links to find out more:
Contents:
Web Work:
|
|
Click on a picture to see
a bigger version.
|
|
A Benchmark in Time
By: Mathew Mitford and Martin Smith
This group designed and made a bench for public use in Chatham’s Historic Dockyard.
The bench was made using ancient wood techniques, they also made hands of copper using ancient metal techniques. They made the hands by putting their hands in plaster and waiting until dry, then they put wax in it and melted it, then they melted the wax and bronzed the inside.
The bench was to be for three children or two adults, and they all made a design of the bench each. They then put all their ideas together to form one design for the bench. They measured themselves to make sure their bench would be large enough. They also went to a park to look at benches.
As the design was made up they put the nails in for decoration and to hold the planks in place. They put the nails in slanted slightly so that it would be harder to lift the planks off after 10 years when the bench is old and had weathered. Before this they used an old drill to mark the holes for the nails and had to be extremely careful that they didn’t break the drill if they bent it too much.
They carved decorations on the bench using a wood chisel. They were all given a small piece of wood as a trial piece to learn how to chisel and practice their designs. They then took turns to chisel their final drawing on the main piece of the wood.
The group also cast their own miniature bench in metal as an ornament to take home.
One of the questions we asked Joe was 'Is it easy to use the tools?'
He said 'It depends on what tools you use, some of them you have to put a lot of pressure on which is difficult.
'What are you going to do when the bench is finished?'
Tom replied 'We are going to put it in the Dockyard just outside the Foundry for public use.'
We asked Hannah 'What did you enjoy the most?'
She said 'The carpentry, I also enjoy discovering things that I did't know before.'
We had to ask: 'What do you think of Damian?'
Mark answered with 'He is helpful because he teaches you things you didn't already know, he was also very helpful with the bench.'
We also asked Damian 'What do you think of the Group?'
He replied ' As long as they behave, they are good, probably the best group I've ever worked with.'
|
