Summer Carpentry Course 2022 at Yr Ardd, Llandysul
Written by Tir Coed / Saturday 01 October 2022
An eager group of summer course participants arrived at an empty site at Yr Ardd, Llandysul, ready to turn some bark-encrusted logs into a community shelter for the benefit of local gardeners and the wider community.
Yr Ardd’s aim is to create a welcoming and safe community area, where community gardeners can come together to grow a range of plants and socialise in the open air at Pont-Tyweli, Llandysul.
The arrival of the trainees marked the beginning of our Ceredigion team’s summer carpentry course, in which participants learn woodland carpentry and other outdoor skills, including safe working practices and tool use, for 2 days each week over 12 weeks.
The first step in the shelter-build mission was to move the logs to the site by hand through a narrow underpass. Teamwork and careful manual-handling prevailed and with more than a little huffing and puffing, the logs were moved by determined hands onto the allotment.
Once on-site, the logs were stripped as trainees used razor-edged draw knives to remove the bark. Then, with sharp saws and chisels sharpened, the precise measurements were taken and tenon joints cut and shaped.
Carpentry skills were demonstrated, taught and practiced until the wooden posts, which had been sized, carved and painstakingly worked (so as to be able to be joined together with drilled and chiselled joints), were completed by our budding forest carpenters.
The biggest challenge turned out to be the extreme midsummer heat. Although tarpaulins provided some respite from the relentless sun and offer a space to work and recuperate, we had never seen such extreme impacts on our timbers, and the timing of the heatwave was almost disastrous.
The heat and the ferocity of the sun cracked and split some of the main beams, rendering them useless…The team’s solution? Steely determination and making the main beams all over again.
With all the parts of the building completed and the frame erected, but the full construction not yet complete, the 12-week course came to an end.
But we will be back soon: we’ll be collaborating with the Carmarthenshire Tir Coed team for a Heritage Craft Progression Week at Yr Ardd in which we’ll further hone trainees’ craft skills – and complete the build.
