The approach of autumn

The forest alongside the river Taw, that runs through the village of Sticklepath in Dartmoor.

Autumn is by far my favourite season, and in this part of the world, by late August I felt its approach. The skies remain clear and the sun still shines, but the air has a sharpness to it, a certain bite that just catches the back of the neck. Perfect weather for walking. Dartmoor has its fair share of perfect walks.

I have lasting memories of a forest path, walked in the company of the river Taw, amongst some lovely old English hardwoods. Oak and Sycamore and Copper Beech. We had caught it at just the right time, the sunlight highlighting golds, maroons, burnt umbers as it shone through the turning leaves. But we are now well into October, and the autumn weather brings a special concern to woodworkers.

Although cut from the tree and dried for a long time, wood still retains the characteristics of life. Not long after we had started, Ed came into our bench room and gave us some thin sticks of MDF. He explained to us that wood is constantly taking in and releasing moisture. We should 'stick' our wood (stack it up on sticks) so that each side can evenly take up and release moisture in the air. If we don't do this then the wood can warp, sometimes in a matter of minutes.

It wasn't cold today, but the rain fell down. Planing and general workshop work builds up a sweat pretty quickly. We had the doors and windows open to cool everyone down. Darren came in and closed them. "Moisture in the air makes your wood move. You'll lose that perfectly planed face in no time". 

Needing to take account of moisture in the air is one of those annoying things about wood, but it is considerations like this that draw me towards working in wood. The material still contains a deep connection to nature, a connection I want to to frame, highlight and celebrate in my own pieces. A connection to the natural world that living with woodwork can foster within us, if we allow it.

Of course on a day like today, we cannot keep moisture out of the air, but neither should we try to. We should learn ways to work with it, like sticking our wood, and closing all the windows.

-sh