On Saturday George Smithwick rolled into town again for our second Coopered Bucket Course. A perfect Winters day with the fire going in the workshop set the scene for another entertaining and informative day of Coopering.
Before long the workshop was a hive of activity, with staves being shaved, hoops bent and riveted on the Bick Iron and the heads ( the base ) being measured, cut and shaved to size. Not forgetting a special delivery of, our neighbour Louise's, home baked chocolate eclairs for morning tea!
It's inspiring to see 6 people who, prior to attending the workshop, had most probably not even heard of the coopering tools they were now wielding and see them start to take ownership of the bucket that was appearing before their eyes.
There was a pride in workmanship too, people being particular in ensuring the rivets in the hoops lined up and that the hoops were straight and parallel. Great to watch. This short grab of video was indicative of the buzz in the workshop for most of the day.
I'd taken a few more videos of George demonstrating various Coopering techniques throughout the day, but I had enough trouble loading the one above after 6 attempts that I gave up. Perhaps I might try to get them on U-tube and post a link. George really is great to watch.
At the end of the day there were 6 watertight buckets and 6 very happy bucket makers. George and I both had a great day too and have tentatively arranged for another course this September. Just like this and the previous course, they book out quick, with two people having already put their names down yesterday after hearing all about it. If you're interested, throw your hat in the ring quickly as the other 4 spots wont last long. Cheers.
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