Poling day
Wood Sisters wood-working
On Mothering Sunday another band of stalwart women and helpers met at Dartington to strip the final 22 poles that will make up the frame of the red tent. Despite warning of heavy lightning storms, the worst we had was one short shower and glorious sunshine the rest of the time.
Kes and Izzy at work
We were well-trained up on our shave horses and draw knives and someone commented that it was rather like peeling very long carrots. We ate another delicious bring and share lunch and worked like Amazons all afternoon to get those final poles stripped.
Sunshine and smooth poles
It was a satisfying moment when every pole was stripped and called for some jousting and jesting!
Sam raising the standard
Jousting
However, no path runs entirely straight and true and we met our first bend in the road when we realised that the frame we were preparing was not perhaps going to look like the tent we envisioned in our minds. Ronnie, who has a post graduate diploma in engineering, lost no time in getting down to the trigonometry of it all and produced three drawings which showed our options.
Shape of things to come
Toby was running one of his yurt building courses elsewhere but found time to chat on the phone. It all boils down to how we steam bend the poles. We can steam them and curve them equally along their whole length, producing a dome-shaped tent, which may or may not be less stable and easy to transport but is the picture of an alachigh we had in mind and has big advantages in terms of head room, performance space and entrance space.
Or we can keep the poles straight at the bottom, steam them them into a short deep curve curve, leaving the main length of the pole straight, which is how yurt roofs are designed. This has has the advantages of stability and easy transport but the disadvantage of being very low on head room.
Crossed poles
These different approaches have implication for the way the tent is tensioned and what shape the wheel rim is (and what job it does). So we have ground to a halt on tapering and flattening the poles for steam bending until we can get to the bottom of all this which may effect some of the dates advertised. For instance, March 31st may not now be a steam bending day (but it still might) so keep your diaries flexible if you can and we’ll keep you informed of any changes.
Carrying poles to the pile
Thanks to all those who turned up again to help and new people who come to work on the red tent for the first time. We had a wood boy and girl and a wood brother and we are grateful to everyone who is helping to make the tent come true.
Footnote
It was a relaxed and chatty day with lots of laughter despite our target to get all the poles prepared and we revelled in spending a day outdoors, working with our hands and bodies and enjoying the sort of conversation that flows when you are engaged in useful, fun, community activity.
Elin, Joyce, Debbie and Sam