CUTTING EDGE - Institute of Carpenters Home · Carpenters 2 @IOCarpenters CUTTING EDGE September 2015 ... H&S documents made easy ... so now it’s over to you.

Tax planningCan you save

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Get wise before OctoberBig changes are

afoot with the newConsumer Rights Act 2015

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You may now be eligible foran upgrade to your membershipC

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September 2015

WelcomeI ‘ve started writing this introduction about four times in the past month and on each occasion seem to have started with a comment about the weather - first it was sunny, then raining in the middle of August and on the last attempt was apparently turning dreary! However, today it is glorious sunshine which reminds me of my summer holidays - I do hope that you managed to get a bit of a break over the holidays to spend some well earned time with your friends and family.

As summer will soon be a happy memory, we will start to wake up to crisp autumn mornings which hold their own beauty and my daily dog walks will bring with them a whole new colour scheme. I love the colours of the autumn leaves and amongst the different types of tree I see is the good old English Oak tree. Speaking of which, never has an article generated so much interest before as my quest to discover the IOC’s oak tree at Kew Gardens. There’s more information surfacing with each edition of Cutting Edge and you can find out more and possibly help with any additional information on page 19 of this edition!

Those of you who attended this year’s 125th birthday celebrations will remember a very informative session from Barbara Wallis and I’m delighted to say, Barbara has written an article for this edition which summarised her presentation on page 6. Incidentally, next year’s Members’ Day is booked for Saturday 21st May 2016 so please do put the date in your diary.

There are important changes afoot with the introduction of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 which will have a direct impact on many of you, so please take the time to read about this on page 15 from Which? Trusted Trader.

As you’ll see we’ve another jam packed edition for you this month and unfortunately I wasn’t able to get all the articles you submitted in (this is a good problem to have!). If you were expecting to see an article but its not been included, I’m sorry there wasn’t enough space but please don’t worry, I’ve kept it back for a future edition.

Have a wonderful Autumn and see you next time for the Christmas edition of Cutting Edge.

Sharon Hutchings | 7th September 2015

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2 CUTTING EDGE September 2015

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Cutting EdgeEDITORIAL0844 879 [email protected]

Editor: Sharon HutchingsThanks this month to William Avery, Tom Balmain FIOC, Gary Smith FIOC, Muhammed Phillips FIOC, Barbara Wallis, David Winson FIOC, Andy Eato MIOC, Dave Quinton, Numbers, David Masey FIOC, Chris Higley FIOC, Lewis McKenzie FIOC, Malcolm Beechy FIOC, Ben Iredale FIOC, John Wood FIOC, Dr Brian Hodgson FIOC, Peter Culling MIOC.

Cutting Edge is the journal of the Institute of Carpenters and is issued to IOC members only by the Institute of Carpenters (IOC), 32 High Street, Wendover, Bucks, HP22 6EA.

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Before relying on the material referred to in this publication, users should independently verify the accuracy, completeness and relevance for their purposes and obtain any appropriate professional advice. Links to other websites are included for the user’s convenience and do not constitute an endorsement of the material on those sites, or any associated product or service.

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In this edition...News4 Forward planning News of the 2016 IOC Members’ Day and IOC President William Avery’s new venture5 News roundup Welcome to our new members, return of the mystery object, celebrity news and more6 Traditional farm buildings of the Southern Chilterns & their carpentry A very informative and interesting article from Barbara Wallis who spoke at our 2015 AGM 15 Get wise before October Big changes are afoot with the Consumer Rights Act 2015 - an important read16 Can you save money on your tax bill? Budget update and tax planning from Numbers Ltd along with important updates from HMRC19 Centenary oak tree update Never has an article generated so much response - read on to find out more!20 Fire door safety week 14-20th September IronmongeryDirect supports fire door safety week with the launch of a new fire door checklist22 Gothic style & woodwork Part 6 - The end of Gothic The final part in a very informative series from Dr Brian Hodgson FIOC

Member news10 39th Merlane Trophy Find out more about this year’s competition from the East Midlands Section & a date for your diary for the 40th competition12 Membership activities are on the up A new member joins the Membership Committee and news of two new membership groups13 Introducing... Kent & East Sussex News of their recent change in status from a membership group to a section17 The carpenters and joiners of tomorrow An update from David Masey FIOC on Erasmus Plus Partnerships and also the Carpenters’ Craft Competitions 2015 results18 East Midlands’ section visit An update from Lewis McKenzie FIOC on their recent visit to the Fawley Steam railway in Oxfordshire25 Thank you to Peter Culling MIOC Read on to find out how within 48 hours of a plea for help Peter had already got the job done26 Could you be eligible for a membership upgrade? Edward Baggley was - read on to find out about his upgrade. Could you do the same? 27 The IBICC’s Annual Summer outing of 1926 An article from the October 1926 edition of the IBICC’s journal28 IOC Region and section contact details Email, phone or post, there’s a way to contact our regional officers

Member benefits9 HANDSHQ - H&S documents made easy 25% discount for IOC members at HANDSHQ9 British Woodworking Federation As members of the BWF, the IOC now has access to a range of additional benefits14 50% discount at Which? Trusted Traders for IOC members (Terms & Conditions apply) Have you signed up for it yet? Find out how.16 10% discount with Numbers Ltd - accountants to the IOC Annual accounts, corporation tax, CIS returns, VAT, book keeping, annual returns & self assessment tax returns21 10% discount with IronmongeryDirect All things Ironmongery in one place with next day delivery when you order by 8pm25 Soletrader.com Get a new website for just £179 + VAT (RRP £219) in 48 hours

September 2015 CUTTING EDGE 3

Forward planningBelieve it or not, July saw me enter my 6th year here at the Institute of Carpenters and during that time I’ve seen a huge amount of change. Six years ago, things were very difficult as we barely had enough to make ends meet, but thanks to some tough decision making by the board, and cutting costs back as far as we possibly could we’re well and truly back on the straight and narrow.

Another thing which has changed during that time is the AGM. At the first AGM I attended in 2011, there were barely enough attendees to fill the downstairs meeting room at Carpenters’ Hall (less than 20) but over the years we’ve seen those numbers increasing gradually and I’d really love to be able to welcome at least 100 of you (ideally many more!) to the 2016 event. The hall is booked, the caterers are booked, so now it’s over to you. What would you like to see at our 2016 Members’ Day?

I need your help…. Firstly, please put the date in your diary! The 2016 Members’ Day is booked for Saturday 21st May at Carpenters’ Hall. Secondly, what would you like to see at the Members’ Day? I do understand that it’s a long way to travel but despite having turned a corner, I’m afraid we don’t have the funds spare to be able to pay for a venue as spectacular as Carpenters’ Hall (we are very fortunate that they waive the hall hire fees for us). Incidentally, we are looking at the possibility of running a second Members’ Day later in the year away from London – but more on that will follow once we’ve worked it out.

The Members’ Day does what it says on the tin. It’s a day. For our Members. The AGM itself is a legal requirement and takes around half an hour, so apart from that we have a banqueting hall and various break out rooms at our disposal for the remaining 5 hours. In the past we’ve had the members’ exhibition, drop in seminars and guest speakers. Do you want to see more of the same or add something different? Please take five short moments to help me out by sending me your ideas (format, guest speakers etc) – I want to arrange a day that ensures you attend and makes your trip worthwhile.

As it was noted in the October 1926 edition of our journal “members cannot be too often urged to make every effort to attend. The pleasure of meeting old and new friends from all parts, engaged in the same craft, all tending to ensure the stability and future welfare of our institute”.

Sharon Hutchings | Admin Manager

I type this on a plane travelling back from Poland. So why am I travelling back from Poland you might ask? Well I have just accepted delivery, on behalf of a company that I have recently become involved in, of a Maxi 1200 sailing yacht. Go to www.maxiyachts.com and select Maxi 1200 to have a look at what I am talking about.

The quality of workmanship is superb with many of the finishes below decks in solid teak. It also has teak decks which come pre-made in sheets about 8mm thick, cut by CNC machines. The boat builder that I was visiting is called Delphia Yachts and is located about 60k from the isolated part of Russia near the Baltic Sea. It employs around 400 people all of whom seemed highly skilled and hardworking and amazingly friendly.

The other range of yachts that the new company, Regatta Yachts Ltd has the UK dealership for, know their limitations. Called Fareast Yachts, they are one of the world’s leading experts in large number

production of small sailing boats in various glass fibre based technics. The clue as to their location is in their name, Shanghai. They are beginning to build larger boats (which is why we are interested) but will not be using wood or wood composites for their interiors because they do not have the skilled workforce to produce the quality that will be expected. Their boats will look and feel very different and it will be interesting to see how the traditionalists amongst the yachting fraternity take to the interior design. I have been a keen yachtsman all my life, an interest shared by my wife and to varying amounts most of both sides of our family. I hope at my age this late foray into a completely new business achieves the aim of enabling my indulgence in sailing to be a net gain to the family bank account as opposed to a net drain up until now. Suffice to say that it was a real pleasure to be amongst people who were so enthusiastic about achieving a quality product using a combination of modern high tech methods and one of the oldest and who were interested in my ideas. It was also an interesting transfer of skills inspecting for handover a 40` boat using the same approach as a house or flat inspection prior to completion. Hopefully by the time you read this article we will have sold a few boats at the Southampton Boat Show - come and see us on marina berths 322 and 323!

William Avery | IOC President

Picture courtesy of http://www.maxiyachts.com/system/yacht_files/23/Maxi_1200_brochure_original.pdf


http://www.maxiyachts.com

http://www.maxiyachts.com

http://www.maxiyachts.com/system/yacht_files/23/Maxi_1200_brochure_original.pdf

http://www.maxiyachts.com/system/yacht_files/23/Maxi_1200_brochure_original.pdf

News round up

Have you moved or changed bank?Do we have your up to date details?

Without them we can’t look after your IOC Membership and your membership may expire or your card go missing and you won’t receive Cutting Edge or AGM information.

We don’t want that to happen so please email us at [email protected] or call us on 01442 820585 if you have any changes to make. Thank you!

Welcome to our new membersFellow Mike Harding FIOC (South & South East)Richard Jacobs FIOC (Eastern Counties)Andrew Sugden FIOC (North East Northern)Darren Thorn FIOC (Greater London South Essex Surrey)Markus Weitzmann FIOC (Overseas)David Werner Johanssen FIOC (Channel Islands)

MemberKieran Garvey MIOC (Greater London South Essex Surrey)Ben Harper MIOC (Greater London South Essex Surrey)

Do you know someone who works in wood trades who isn’t a member of the IOC? All it will take is one short moment to send them a quick email to point them to www.instituteofcarpenters.com to find out more and tell them why they should join. So go on, take that moment now and encourage some more members to join!

Return of the mystery object!I was recently at the Royal Cornwall show and came across something that I thought might make an interesting item in

Cutting Edge magazine as a mystery photo competition. It is made from Elm and was a vast improvement on the old type previously made in clay. Ideal for some gardeners so what is it?

Gary Smith FIOC IOC Board Member (Central Section)

Tom Balmain FIOC appointed Mayor of WyreWe were delighted to hear that former IOC Honorary Treasurer Tom Balmain VP FIOC was elected as Mayor of Wyre at the

annual meeting of the Council on Thursday 21st May 2015.

Following a standard council meeting, accompanied by family and friends, Tom and his wife Alene were invested into their positions of Mayor and Mayoress - both with their chains of office.

Left to right above: Deputy Councillor Ron Greenhough, Alene Balmain, Tom Balmain and Chief Executive Garry Payne.

Muhammad Phillips FIOC gets the third degree

IOC Member Mo Phillips FIOC recently met the Three Degrees!

If you lost your wallet, would we be able to help track you down?In July we were contacted by a member of the public who had found one of our members’ wallets with their IOC membership card in it and contacted Head Office as they wanted to reunite wallet with owner. Unfortunately we didn’t hold the members’ phone number on our database which would have made the process much quicker! However, I am delighted to say that thanks to the internet we were successful in reuniting them.

Please do make sure that you keep us updated with your contact details to ensure that you receive all our communications by post, email and phone (you’ll only be contacted by phone if its urgent or other methods have already been tried). If any of your details have changed recently, please email [email protected] your new details along with your membership number and we’ll get things updated.


mailto:ioc%40webscribe.co.uk?subject=Please%20update%20my%20details





The traditional farm buildings of the

Farms have existed in this country since our remote ancestors stopped hunting and gathering and settled down in clearings in the forest. They built houses and buildings where the work of the farm was carried out. Today we can still see some farmsteads that are hundreds of years old. They fit in with their landscape because of the materials they are made from and their position. They were built mostly by the people who used them. These are what we call the traditional farm buildings. They are often distinctive to the region they are in.

The area described here is the southern part of the Chilterns between the M40 motorway and the river Thames. For historical reasons most of the area was dominated by Henley-on-Thames. The river bends and narrows above Henley and it was less easy to navigate so Henley became the main port for taking grain and malt and wood to the London markets.1 The hinterland of Marlow is also included in the descriptions of buildings.

So what would we expect to be distinctive about the farms in this area? In the Chilterns there were many small mixed farms. The buildings were often arranged round a U-shaped courtyard. Sometimes the farmhouse made up the fourth side of the yard and sometimes it was at one side. The other buildings included a threshing barn, granary, stables, cart shed and housing for animals such as cows, pigs and hens. Where cows were kept there would be a milking parlour. There was sometimes a dovecot or doves

were kept above one of the other buildings. In the South Oxfordshire farms nearer Henley there were often separate barns for wheat and barley.

In the well-wooded Chilterns where timber was abundant, many buildings were timber framed. The barns in particular were clad with weatherboarding. Oak was the preferred timber for construction, although elm and chestnut were also used. The boarding would often be elm although the later barns would use imported softwood.

However, carpenters were always pragmatic and often did not use new wood. The numbers of timbers used in barns that obviously came from elsewhere gave rise to the myth of ships’ timbers. It is extremely unlikely that ships were brought up the Thames to be dismantled and used for building barns (or timber framed houses). The shapes are wrong for a start. So, timber from demolished or fallen down buildings would have been used again in a humbler construction – oak was far too valuable to be just discarded and sawing weathered oak for the fire would be a daunting task. The other explanation, which would probably apply to houses rather than barns, is that the oak used was of the same quality as that which would be needed for naval vessels.

The practice of re-using timber makes dating of farm buildings difficult.While timber framed buildings would perhaps be the first choice and there are many of them, mass walling is also common. We associate the Chilterns with

chalk and some of this is suitable for building, especially round Medmenham. Chalk blocks used for construction are often known as clunch. On top of the chalk is a layer of clay with flints. Flint is common all over the area for whole buildings and for the base walls in timber framed buildings. The

clay was used for bricks from an early time and is particularly widely used to reinforce the flint at corners and window openings. Observation shows that the majority of the farmsteads include a combination of these materials – using appropriately whatever is to hand or what the building’s use demanded (fig 1).

Farmhouses are often very interesting buildings with parts of them at least belonging to the time when the land was first farmed. They were less likely to be knocked down and rebuilt than houses in towns and villages, but of course they have mostly been much altered to accommodate the needs of their occupants. Now many are not connected with the land at all and in this area have become attractive country residences.


About the author:We were privileged to be joined at our AGM by Barbara Wallis. Barbara has been interested in Historic Buildings for many years.

When she retired from teaching in 2000, Barbara completed a two-year part time course in Vernacular Architecture at Oxford University Department of Continuing Education. Her major project was a study of the threshing barns of four parishes adjoining the Thames and Chilterns.

Her interest in farm buildings and their carpentry was inspired by her late husband Christopher Wallis FIOC, a civil engineer and carpenter who was also a member of the IOC. He specialised in the restoration (not conversion!) of windmills and barns. Barbara is a member of the Vernacular Architecture Group, the Historic Farm Buildings Group and the Wind and Watermills Section of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings.

An overview of the farm buildings of the Chilterns to the south west of the M40 motorway. How the external features of threshing barns, stables and other farm buildings, their similarities and differences are related to the history and topography of the area. The wall and roof structures of some examples (particularly barns) are described. The age of the buildings and the use and re-use of different timbers are discussed and details such as joints and carpenters’ marks touched on.

Fig 1 - using whatever materials available to hand

Southern Chilterns & their carpentryTo illustrate the carpentry of farm buildings the rest of this article will concentrate on the barns. Most of them in this area date from 17th and 18th centuries. Many books about farm buildings and the countryside explain how a threshing barn was used. There are good diagrams in ‘Traditional Farm Buildings of Britain’ by R.W. Brunskill.2

The timber barns are invariably built to the same pattern as the timber framed houses. The earliest houses used a cruck-framed construction3 and there are still some in this area, but there do not seem to be any cruck framed barns remaining in South Oxfordshire or Wycombe Districts. Perhaps someone reading this knows where there is one?!

The standard plan for barns from the 15th to 19th centuries is the box-frame or post and truss construction. [ R. W. Brunskill, (op cit)]. Basically it is a box made of upright posts joined along the length of the building by cills and wallplates. The building is divided into bays by trusses which span the width and give stability. The walls are completed with posts, rails and struts and have bracing timbers to prevent the building moving sideways. This is such a lovely explicit architectural form and so easy to understand and you just need to look at a barn to understand all the timber framed houses. There are hundreds of these barns in the Chilterns, but although their form is identical, the details are all different and we can see the imprint of the local carpenter and builder. The wide time range for these buildings makes it difficult to age them, all the details of saw marks and use of pegs or nails give some clues.

The construction method for the barns is also explicit. Although there is usually not much in the way of foundation, there is always a base wall to keep the timber cill away from the ground. These were often made of flint, or flint and brick and vary in height from about 1 foot (30 cm) to about half the wall height. Sometimes a whole wall will be made of brick or flint. While the bricklayer was busy, the carpenter was cutting the cill, main posts, wallplates, tie beams and various other posts and struts that make up the structure of the bays of the box. Wherever he had to join timbers he would mark them so they could be taken apart and reassembled. I have seen these numbers in many of the barns. The work might take place near the position of the barn or in a carpenter’s workshop as happens today. The ubiquitous mortice and tenon joint was used to attach the different parts to each other. The long wall plates and purlins have to be jointed with scarf joints. It is not always easy to see the type until they fail, but the number and position of the pegs gives a clue. Perhaps the status of the building is reflected in the elaborateness of the scarf joints – or the skill of the carpenter?

At the top of the post the lap dovetail joint was the standard method for fixing the wall plate and tie beam to the main post (fig 2). All these joints in oak must have needed a supply of sharp chisels. Peg making too would have been a time consuming task.

Some barns vary from the standard box by

having aisles. I am sure you are familiar with aisles in churches, but many barns have an extra space at the side which is also called an aisle. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish a true aisle from an outshot that has been covered with the barn roof and the cladding of the barn removed. Usually the nail holes for the cladding can be seen and empty mortices where the rails and posts would have been. The aisles would have provided extra storage space or be converted to animal housing when the need arose.

The other aisled barns, which you may have visited, and marvelled at the ancient carpentry are the monastic barns. These may be stone or brick or timber and are the agricultural equivalent of the cathedral. There are no monastic barns in the area I am talking about, but we do have a huge barn at Ipsden and there were similar barns at Benson and at Ewelme that


Fig 2 - the lap dovetail joint

Fig 3a and 3b - raking struts to purlins without the collar

have now been converted to other uses. These represent the storage space that was needed to accommodate the grain for the maltings of Henley and thence to the London markets.

A further feature of nearly every barn in this area is the porch or cartstead. These can be gable-ended (Buckinghamshire pattern) or hipped (Berkshire pattern, but also found in South Oxfordshire).

The carpentry of the roofs of barns represents the various solutions to the problem of combining stability with storage space.

There are several standard solutions. Walter Rose, writing in his book The Village Carpenter 4 in 1937 explained how it could be done and there are many examples of his design in 19th and 20th century farm buildings. However, what we see in the older barns are earlier solutions to the problem. In our part of the world they seem to be modest in comparison to the crown posts of Essex and other places.

The earliest examples are king post construction where a single post connects the truss to a collar between the purlins, but the commonest roofs in the east part of the area use queen posts and queen struts. In this form two posts or struts are used between the truss beam and the collar. In other versions raking struts go to the purlins without the collar.(Figs 3a and 3b overleaf)

A further variation is the cranked or curved upper principals, where a strengthened principal rafter continues to and upper purlins. This is common in the west of the area (Fig 4 left).

When the timber frame was complete the roof was clad. In the 18th century the tiling would have been the bricklayers’ job while the carpenter finished off the inside with the construction of the threshing floor. A good description of the importance of threshing floors can be found in The Village Carpenter. (op cit)

I cannot leave you with the impression that you can see a newly finished threshing barn today. Many of them were obsolete for their intended use within a few years of them being built. Of course farmers valued the storage space and straw was still kept in the barns after steam driven threshing machines and combine harvesters took over from the flail. Others were used for animals, or housed grain dryers and storage silos. Like any building, repairs were needed and the extensive use of iron straps and nailed strengthening pieces again add to the confusion when trying to judge the age of the buildings.

Modern farming methods have meant that traditional farm buildings have become almost entirely redundant and conversions to other uses are very common. These can be done sensitively and from the outside at least still contribute to the special quality of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural beauty (AONB). However, if future generations are to appreciate the work that was done by their forefathers by looking

at the buildings, re-use is much more appropriate than full conversion. Barns make much better carpenters’ workshops than houses!

Acknowledgements: I should like to thank all the farmers who have let me see their buildings, Pauline Wilkinson for helpful comments and photo Fig 2, and Chris Addison who encouraged me to give the talk and write this article.

Barbara Wallis

References1 Townley, Simon, Henley-on-Thames: town, trade and river 20092 Brunskill, R. W. Traditional Farm buildings of Britain 19993 Alcock, Nat and Miles, Dan, The Medieval Peasant House in Midland England 20134 Rose, Walter, The Village Carpenter 1973 republishing of 1937 original

BibliographyBrunskill, R. W., Illustrated Handbook of Vernacular Architecture 3rd Edition 1987Brunskill, R. W., Timber Building in Britain 2nd Edition 1994Harris, R., Discovering Timber Framed Buildings 1978Hewett, Cecil A., English Historic Carpentry 1980 Morriss, Richard K., The archaeology of Buildings 2004Peters, J.E.C., Discovering Traditional Farm buildings 1981Rackham, Oliver, Woodlands, 2006Ryan, Carole, Farm and Rural Building Conversions 2013

Journals that cover the subject are the Historic Farm Buildings Group Review; Vernacular Architecture: the journal of the Vernacular Architecture Group; publications from county history groups etc.County record Offices and of course the Museum of English Rural Life in Reading have a tremendous amount of original material relating to farms.


Need more time or resources?

The IOC is committed to helping our members ensure they are compliant with Health & Safety regulations, and with HANDS HQ, this should be a lot easier than duplicating previously used word documents!

Visit their website www.handshq.com to find out more about how their easy to use system can really assist you in dealing with your H&S requirements.

To take advantage of your 25% discount, simply quote the discount code IOC.


Are you looking for more carpenters? Do you need an apprentice?

We were contacted recently by a student looking for an apprenticeship. Fortunately, after a few emails, we were able to suggest someone she could contact. However, it was a rather round robin approach.

There is already an area of our website at http://www.instituteofcarpenters.com/find-a-carpenter/job-opportunities.aspx which offers IOC members the opportunity to advertise for jobs but to date it has not had any use! If you’re looking for a carpenter, why not pop a free advert on to our website?

We could also expand this so that if you are willing to consider taking someone on as an apprentice, this could be added to your Find a Carpenter listing?

One of the aims of the Institute is to help ensure that each generation of carpenters and joiners upholds the highest traditions of our historic craft help ensure we are preserving the traditional skills. What better way for you to help through offering an apprenticeship?

To find out more about listing job vacancies or apprenticeships on our website please contact Head Office.

Have you taken advantage of the additional resources we have available as members of the BWF?

• Weekly news briefings covering a wide range of topics

• Access to the members’ only area of their website (Contact Head Office for help with this)

www.handshq.com

http://www.instituteofcarpenters.com/find-a-carpenter/job-opportunities.aspx

http://www.instituteofcarpenters.com/find-a-carpenter/job-opportunities.aspx

39th Merlane Trophy


Fourteen competitors and their support teams arrived bright and early - so early in fact that we were able to get the competition underway a little ahead of time such was the enthusiasm!

The East Midlands Section has successfully run the annual Merlane Trophy Competition since 1977, and during its time it has been hosted by virtually all the colleges within the East Midlands Region. From Boston to Derby and Leicester to Grimsby and also a little further afield to include Sheffield College and Moulton College (we would happily consider any other colleges).

The competition, founded by Nottingham-based George Merlane, provides friendly

rivalry amongst the colleges as their chosen students compete in a four-hour skills project. The project itself is bench-based and incorporates both carpentry and joinery in a wide variety of differing forms from roofing to floor trimming from gates to serving hatches.

This year’s competition was held on Saturday 13th June at Gainsborough College. The competitors were met by East Midlands Section Chairman Russ Dean MIOC, from Sheffield College and Section Secretary Andy Eato MIOC from ARG Mansfield one of our stalwart sponsors. For the second year running I was tasked with welcoming the competitors and support teams and after a short briefing the competition was soon underway.

This year’s test piece was a gable frame for a door canopy approx 800 x 400 mm. It was designed to take four hours including preparing a setting out rod. No jigs, guides, templates or other aids are permitted throughout the competition. As always the task was ‘designed’ to ensure as many competitors as possible finished the project.

Judging, which commences immediately at the start of the competition as the project is set out and then picks up on working practices and skills along with the correct use of tools, was overseen by Head Judge Derek Crawford MIOC ably assisted by Andrew Kemp MIOC (the competition’s very first winner) and John Hall MIOC. Both Alan Beet MIOC, former head judge for many years, and Don King FIOC, his

predecessor, graced us with their presence (just to keep us in order).

Even though the economic climate still continues to create problems for the industry (the last few years have seen a dramatic decline in sponsorship and prizes) the competitors

were certainly not disappointed with the prizes they took away this year. The first prize was well in excess of £600, not bad for four hours work.

There is a special prize (outside of the top three), the Ernie Leach Shield, that is awarded to the person who approaches the project in the most methodical and workmanlike manner, demonstrates good safe working practices, including a clean working area, and also demonstrates proper choice, handling and care of their tools. Since Ernie’s passing this special prize has been sponsored by ARG (Mansfield) Ltd and The David Winson Organisation, with the recipient taking home more than £100 worth of cash and prizes.

First place was awarded to Piotr Kantorowicz (above left) from Lincoln College, 2nd

place was taken by Ashley Walker (centre), from Sheffield College, with Ryan Guppy also from Lincoln College taking 3rd place (right). The Ernie Leach Shield was awarded to Jack Chambers from Chesterfield College (kneeling front).

College principals and other high-ranking officers have supported the competition by opening and closing the proceedings, and presenting the prizes.

This year’s prize giving, which included a Certificate of Participation for every competitor, and closing ceremony was presided over by Kim Chafer, Gainsborough College’s Director of Education and Training, pictured below with the Rose Bowl presented to the host college.

Gainsborough College provided a pizza and chips lunch that

took place at 2pm while the judges (who take it in turn for an early lunch) mark the pieces putting the top three on display. The proceedings drew to a close at 4:00pm

Our thanks go to our sponsors and supporters, without whom it would not be possible to run the Merlane Trophy.

In addition a special mention and thanks goes to the board of the Institute of Carpenters who graciously responded again to our request for support with a £250 contribution.

Next year’s competition, the 40th, will to be held on Saturday 11th June 2016 at the newly built Chesterfield College.

It is planned to arrange visits to the Crooked Spire of the 14th century Church of St Mary and All Saints for visitors during the competition.

So please put the date in your diary now and let’s make the 40th competition one to remember with as many IOC members there as possible!

David Winson FIOCEast Midlands

Photos courtesy of David Winson FIOC and Andy Eato MIOC


Congratulations to all the winners at this year’s WorldSkills competition in Sao Paulo.

Sadly no UK winners in carpentry and joinery, but huge congratulations to Edward Harringman who won a gold in Cabinet Making.

For full details visit http://tinyurl.com/qdawhon

http://tinyurl.com/qdawhon

Membership activities are on the up


Introducing the North Midlands Membership Group.Trevor was approached by Lawrence Fildes FIOC at the Member’s Day to request assistance in setting up a Membership Group in Stafford. He has already identified the venue and a plans to have meetings on either the second or third Saturday of the month. Trevor is now in the process of identifying members in a 25 mile radius of Lawrence and (if he hasn’t already!) will soon contact them to encourage a steering committee to form the group and plan the structure of their meetings.

It’s wonderful to see a section which last met in 2008 becoming more active and we wish Lawrence and the other members every success in getting the group up and running. If you’re further afield than 25 miles from Stafford but are interested in joining then please contact Trevor directly at [email protected] or on 01268 772383.

Congratulations to John Cotter FIOC

You may remember in an earlier edition of Cutting Edge our plea for assistance on the Membership Committee and I was delighted to learn from Membership Chairman Trevor Eveleigh FIOC that this position has now been filled by John Cotter FIOC, to whom we extend our thanks and congratulations. John joins the rest of the Membership Committee in their drive to look after existing members and also to recruit new members from those at the start of their careers in wood trades through to the time served carpenters and joiners.

You too can play your part - if you’re interested in getting involved then please do get in touch. It needn’t be too onerous a task - if you like talking to people and have an hour or so a month to spare we’d love to hear from you. For a no obligation chat, do get in touch with Head Office or contact Membership Chairman Trevor Eveleigh FIOC on 01268 772383 or at [email protected].

Welcome to the Inverness-shire and Perthshire Membership Group.Earlier this year, Ewan Buxton FIOC pro-actively contacted Trevor to see what the possibilities were for improving communication and networking between IOC members in the far north of Scotland - specifically in the postcode areas for Inverness and Perth (IV and PH on the map just above the number 1).

Trevor contacted all members in the area and the majority of them came back to confirm they were happy to share their details with the other IOC members in the area. There are also other members in the area who have let their membership lapse and it is hoped that with some increased activity in the area, and the additional membership benefits now on offer that we will be able to entice them back into joining!

Trevor advised us shortly before the AGM that the Inverness-shire and Perthshire membership group had been officially formed with seven members thanks to the initiative of Ewan. Incidentally, a perhaps bigger achievement for Ewan and his wife Louise was that they recently became the proud parents of their first child Benjamin on which we send them our congratulations and very best wishes.

It’s so refreshing to hear that we have people in an area who are actively requesting a membership group and hopefully building on the success of the other regions / sections / membership groups. Thanks especially go to Ewan for taking the initiative and as always to Trevor for getting the ball rolling.

We wish this new Membership Group the very best of luck in getting up and running and look forward to hearing more about the activities they have been doing.



Introducing.... Kent & East Sussex

In this edition, we introduce to you our newest section – Kent & East Sussex who have recently been granted the status of Section having previously been a Membership Group.

Key factsChairmanColin Searle FIOC

Vice ChairKen Denton FIOC

SecretaryTrevor Eveleigh FIOC

CouncillorMalcolm White FIOC

All nominees were elected by members at the meeting with no abstentions.

Section factsTotal members - 45Eldest - 88Youngest - 22


About Kent & East Sussex Section:

The K&ES Membership Group was formed in 2010 by a steering committee of local members in the Kent & East Sussex area following a request for meetings in the local area. They had help from Central Section, which enabled them to function as a sub-section of the Central Section even though they were in a different area for which the K&ES Membership Group are thankful.

Their first five meetings were held at the Apple Craft Centre Faversham in 2010. However since 2011, meetings have taken place at the Axminster Powertools showrooms in their meeting room as the Apple Craft Centre and adjacent land were redeveloped. There have been five meetings a year since 2011 with a visit to Chatham Dock yard in 2011 and Weald and Downland museum in 2014. The second of their five meetings for 2015 was held on 18th April followed by their first AGM.

We have been pleased to see this membership group grow and the board was delighted to be able to grant section status at the last board meeting and with immediate affect, was re-named the Kent & East Sussex Section.

Could you repeat this success in your own area? Lawrence Fildes has already kicked things off in the Northern Midlands and Ewan Buxton in Inverness & Perthshire so we wish them the best of luck getting up and running. If you are interested in finding out whether there is a cluster of IOC members near you who may be interested in setting up a membership group then do please contact IOC Membership Chairman Trevor Eveleigh FIOC who will be pleased to assist.

Have you downloaded our 125 year celebrations logo yet?

Log onto the members’ area of the website to access it now and add it to your websites, vans and stationary to help us spread the word about our prestigious organisation.

Do you know anyone who would benefit from advertising their goods or services to a captive

audience of people working in wood trades?

CALL NOW on 0844 879 7696 to find out about our competitive advertising rates

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- in Cutting Edge magazine

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Get wise before OctoberThis year has been a busy one for new rules and regulations and in particular the consumer landscape.

There are big changes being implemented on 1st October which will affect all businesses offering goods and services to consumers.

Many of you will be familiar with the old Sale of Goods Act 1979 and the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 which enshrined your customer’s statutory rights and remedies in the event of faulty goods or a poor service. Be warned, these are being replaced in favour of the new Consumer Rights Act 2015 and it heralds a new era of consumer rights.

Whilst some of the language hasn’t changed that much, the remedies certainly have so let’s drill down to basics. Firstly, goods, these have to be;

• of satisfactory quality• fit for any particular purpose• must match descriptions or samples• correctly installed (where agreed as part of the contract).

Where goods don’t meet the above the consumer will now have tiered remedies and this includes;

• A 30 day short-term right to reject where a full refund can be sought and the refund must be given within 14 days of it being agreed (this right does not apply to faulty installations)

• If the consumer chooses not to exercise the above right or is outside of the 30 days then they are entitled to claim for a repair or replacement

• If a repair or replacement is not available then the consumer has the final right to reject the goods.

• If the faulty goods caused additional damage to persons or property then there is a right to compensation

As for evidence, where defects are discovered within six months and the consumer asks for a repair, replacement or price reduction or even the final right to reject, there is an assumption that the goods were faulty at the time of delivery. After six months the consumer must prove his case.

So, what about services?

Again the language is familiar, the job must be carried out with reasonable care and skill, anything written or said to the consumer is binding if they rely on it and if no price was agreed beforehand, then only a reasonable price can be charged. Likewise, if no specific time for completion is agreed then it must be carried out within a reasonable time.

The main change here is the remedy, consumers will have the right to a ‘repeat performance’ if the job isn’t done correctly the first time or ask for a price reduction. The trader cannot make repeated attempts at getting the job done correctly if the customer doesn’t want it and the price reduction has no limit so it could be as much as the full price.

Lastly, unfair terms. In a previous edition of Cutting Edge we have spoken about the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 and all those items of small print in consumer contracts. The new Act has also swept away those regulations and replaced them with a requirement for terms and contract notices to be fair.

A term is unfair if contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties rights and obligations under the contract to the detriment of the consumer. In other words if what you say is all in your favour and not the consumers then it will have no effect and probably be regarded as unfair!

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 is a big subject. For easy to follow guides visit www.businesscompanion.info.

Dave Quinton | Head Assessor, Which? Trusted Trader

If you have any areas you would specifically like Dave to cover then we’ll try our best to include them. Please send any requests to [email protected] or post them to us at Head Office.

Which? Trusted Trader are hitting the road! Are you interested in finding out more about the scheme but would rather speak to someone face to face? Now you can!

Their friendly team welcomes the opportunity to tell you more about the scheme and how Which? Trusted Traders is complimentary to IOC membership.

Please contact [email protected] to organise a visit to your next regional meeting.


Business Companion provides information for businesses and individuals that need to know about trading standards and consumer protection legislation. This site contains impartial free information, and is government-backed.

The content on Business Companion is written and verified by expert contributors, but is not designed to be a replacement for professional advice and is intended only for guidance and should not be relied upon without professional advice.

The guidance is divided up into 15 broad ‘Quick Guides’ and each one contains a number of more detailed ‘In-depth Guides’. There may be rules you are not aware of, so make sure you explore the site thoroughly.

Visit www.businesscompanion.info to get started

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Budget SummaryAs promised in the last edition of Cutting Edge, a new edition of our Budget Summary was produced following George Osbourne’s July budget and uploaded to the Members’ Area of the website:

• New taxation systems for dividends receipts for individuals

• Proposals to restrict interest relief for ‘buy to let’ landlords

• Extension to the inheritance tax nil rate band available

• An announcement of the Annual Investment Allowance available to businesses from January 2016

• Removal of the tax relief available on the acquisition of goodwill and customer related intangibles

• An increase in the amount of the NIC Employment Allowance

You can access our free guide at http://tinyurl.com/pum6l9x.

Tax planning guideOur guide suggests many ways in which you could save money on your tax bill by taking full advantage of the tax system. It highlights tax planning opportunities as well as some of the pitfalls you should avoid for both individuals and their businesses. Among other things it considers the following:

• Have you made adequate pension provision in light of changes to the tax rules?

• Are you maximising your capital gains tax reliefs and making the most of tax efficient investments?

• Payroll issues such as penalties for failing to meet your payroll Real Time Information obligations and the roll out of Pensions Auto Enrolment compliance

• Changes to the car benefit rules• Corporation tax rules on loans to

shareholders• Changes to pensions

You can access the free guide at http://tinyurl.com/o7xb2ra.

Should you require any further information, have any questions or need detailed advice we are only a phone call or email away. Remember, we are here to help.

File your self assessment tax return sooner rather than laterAs you know the tax return filing and payment deadline for your 2014/15 tax return is 31st January 2016. You don’t need to wait until then though and can file

your return early.

Why should I file my return early? • HMRC will apply the correct tax code

earlier in the year• Tax refunds are paid soon after your

file your return - HMRC don’t wait until 31st January to make refund payments

• You’ll have more time to save money to pay your tax bill in January

How can Numbers help?• Our team of tax accountants has the

expertise and knowledge to minimise the tax payable and will complete your tax return for you - leaving you confident that it’s all taken care of.

• If you would like our help with your tax return, don’t forget that IOC members receive a 10% discount on our services and its one less thing for you to worry about.

What next?• Email us at [email protected] or

call on 01296 620220 quoting IOC

Summer updates from HMRCClass 2 National Insurance ContributionsThe last Class 2 NICs Direct Debit payment for the 2014-15 tax year was collected on 10 July 2015. Most Class 2 customers will now have their contributions collected through Self Assessment, however, some small groups of customers will not be required to pay through Self Assessment and we are writing to these customers to explain. More about paying Class 2 National Insurance contributions at

http://tinyurl.com/qaoekzy.

Time to Pay arrangements – Direct Debit payment to be mandatoryFrom 3 August 2015 Direct Debit will be the mandatory method of payment for most new, regular time to pay arrangements. Payment by instalments can be considered where a customer is genuinely unable to pay by the due date and is able to commit to agreed payments to bring their tax up to date.

Are you paying National Minimum Wage?HMRC have produced a YouTube video which you can access at http://tinyurl.com/om6xzoj.

This month’s highlighted webinars are: • Tuesday 15 September @ 9:00am -

Company Directors • Thursday 17 September @ 16:00pm -

Getting started as an employer• Tuesday 29 September @ 16:00pm -

PAYE Expenses & Benefits

Just in case you haven’t taken part in live webinars before – this is what you need to do to join:1. Sign up by providing a name and

email address – we will then send a link to attend.

2. Ask questions in the text box on the screen – we will explain how during the webinar.

Microphones and cameras are not needed - our presenters will not be able to hear or see participants.

View all available webinars at http://tinyurl.com/nb6kjnb

Can you save money on your tax bill?

As accountants to the IOC, we’re pleased to offer IOC Members a 10% discount on our services. Why not let us take care of your accountancy work so you can concentrate on running your business?

• Payroll & CIS • Sole trader accounts & self assessment tax

returns• Statutory company accounts & corporation tax• Book keeping & VAT returns• Company secretarial services

Please visit www.numbers-ltd.co.uk/ioctofindoutmore or give us a call on 01296 620220 quoting IOC10.


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Erasmus Plus PartnershipsAt the IOC AGM meeting in June, German college of excellence HOLZBAU BILDUNGZENTRUM were able to share with IOC members a presentation about the structure of the Vocational Education System which carpenters follow from apprenticeship to Master Carpenter certification. Central to this presentation was the fact that in Germany, you cannot train apprentices or own and operate a Holzbau (Carpentry) company under German law without their Master Carpenter Certificate. If you missed this presentation, you can download it from the IOC website at http://tinyurl.com/pjl7pzb.

After the AGM, the team travelled to the North East of England to visit IOC Member Bishop Auckland College where, along with Jason Howe FIOC (Construction Manager at the College and also the IOC College Liaison Officer), we met the Principal and some of the Academic Board members. We had a very constructive meeting to form a new Erasmus Plus Partnership with our College.

On 15th of June, our team was also invited to share our IOC presentation with a meeting of the North Eastern British Association of Construction Heads and to talk about possible Erasmus Plus Partnerships. The colleges present were Hartlepool, Newcastle, Darlington, Middlesbrough and Durham, as well as Carillion Construction Training. Feedback from this meeting has been very positive with several requests to visit our centre in Germany to talk about further partnerships. 16th June saw us move on to the North East regional heats of the SkillBuild competition.

Later in the summer we also had a trip to the college where I was previously the College Liaison Officer, City College Plymouth (also a former Leonardo da Vinci Partner from 2008 to 2012).

David Masey FIOC | Overseas

The carpenters & joiners of tomorrow


Carpenters’ Craft Competition Results 2015National Under 20s National Over 20sLiam Mudie (Inverness) Donat Fatet (Building Crafts College) Rhodri Evans (Coleg SirGar) Alex Mutch (Leeds)Conner Chalmers (Inverness) Michael Stevenson (Building Crafts College)

Regional Under 20s Regional Over 20sJake Wilson (Bournmouth & Poole) * Reece Haskew (Solihull)Piers Peel (Building Crafts College) Becky Johnson (York)Patrick Ronayne (Building Crafts College) Tim Toase (York)Alex Fear (Solihull) Andrew Forshaw (Accrington & Rossendale)Jon Smith (Solihull) Kitty Harris (Accrington & Rossendale)Luke Cooper (Sandwell) Ewen MacColl (Inverness)Robert Hill (Sandwell) Michael Smith (Inverness)Luke Robinson (Stockport) Kim Palfrey (Cole SirGar) *Jonathan Bale (Plymouth) Peter Jardine (Plymouth)Alexander Sprowell (Plymouth) Neil Jenner Mendia (Plymouth)

* denotes fourth place in the national result in each section.

Congratulations to all of those who took part in this year’s competition and especially to all the winners.

Details of the 2016 competition will soon be shared on the IOC website so do keep an eye on the news section.

http://tinyurl.com/pjl7pzb

East Midlands section visitThe East Midlands Section visit to Sir William McAlpine’s private railway.

On a warm June day, a handful of East Midlands members and their wives went by special arrangement to the Fawley Steam railway in Oxfordshire.

This is the home of Sir William McAlpine - himself not unknown in the building world! This fascinating place includes a steam train and open wagons on which Sir William offers rides to those who visit, plus a magnificent steam memorabilia museum, model railways and huge remnants from bygone railway artefacts or stations. One such timber framed station was actually transported by Sir Williams’ low loaders to its present location (behind the folk in the photos above left and below left).

The picture below shows some IOC members to the left and then second from the right Sir William and on the far right our invited guest for the day, Colin. Colin’s great grandfather was the Station Master when the Station (Somersham) was in its original location before it was moved by Sir William.

Colin was pleased to be standing where he was as he has a photo of his great grandfather (and sitting at his feet, his grandfather) standing in the same place.

Colin was the electrician on the new build of the house that went on the site of the old station, in Cambridgeshire. I have some inside knowledge as my development company commissioned Colin’s work and asked Sir William to open the new build house in 2010!

The photo of the house is below, exactly where the station once stood. Sir William was pleased to have a photo of Colin

on the platform too, for his collection. In writing to me he said “thanks for sending through the photographs and I am so pleased that you managed to make the picture happen! As you say - son and grandson - Somersham to Somersham. These are, of course, lovely pictures for the family album. With kind regards Bill (Sir William McAlpine)”.

We enjoyed our day at Fawley Steam Railway immensley and it was great to see some new faces joining us for our visit.

Lewis McKenzie FIOC | East Midlands


Sir William’s father’s steam train hauling up the steepest gradient in Britain – without any sprockets and cogs for assistance!

Lewis McKenzie and Sir William at the opening of the New Build on the site of the former station at Somersham

Centenary oak trees update

I have never known an article generate so much interest as my search for our centenary oak tree at Kew Gardens!

I have been contacted recently by two members of our Eastern Counties region who were there in person with some additional information and queries.

Malcolm Beechey FIOC enquired as to why there was reference to only one tree. Ben Iredale FIOC managed to dig out photos of the day itself which clearly shows the plaque alongside our (now missing) bench which mentions not one oak tree but four! Unfortunately, the bench is no longer there as it had to be removed as it had fallen into a state of disrepair.

As Ben told me “These photographs were taken by member Malcolm Beechey who along with myself and our wives were present at the event. Referring to the photograph showing the cheque, I am in the photo showing between the shoulders

of the second and third men, whilst my wife Pauline appears to be looking over the shoulder of the man holding the cheque”.

In answer to your question Malcolm, at the moment no, I can’t say what happened to the other three trees but I’ve already contacted Kew again. As Ben said, the trees “relate to an important event in the history of the Institute” so I’ll do my best to find out and as soon as I have an answer I’ll be sure to share it!

Sharon Hutchings

You may remember in the last edition of Cutting Edge that there was an article about another oak tree which the West Midlands section had also planted back in 1990 to celebrate the centenary of the IOC. Well, here John Wood updates us as they too have been back to visit their tree!

On Thursday morning, 20th July, a group of people assembled under an oak tree at Oak House, Oak Road, West Bromwich, to celebrate 125 years since the founding of the Institute of Carpenters and to plant a plaque to mark the occasion.

The party included members and friends from the West Midlands Section, members of Oak House staff plus some of the volunteers who keep the park looking immaculate.

I planted the oak tree in 1990, the centenary of the Institute, when I was the Section Chairman and was then assisted by the Mayor of West Bromwich. Jessica Hoyle, (Oak House Visitors’ Service Officer) was kind enough in invite members of the Institute back to re-dedicate this flourishing tree and as I am (by coincidence only) the Chairman once again of the West Midlands Section, I was pleased to be able to give an address. I expressed our thanks to the park and staff for looking after the tree and remarked on how much it had grown in the last 25 years and that it is looking well into the future. I hope that one day, the timber from the tree might be used to repair and maintain the magnificent Oak House, in the grounds of which our tree stands.

We are a pro-active section and over the years have visited many places of interest, mainly with a timber theme. We have met with people and organisations representing bodies closely connected with the construction industry.

The Worshipful Company of Carpenters

is one of the ancient guilds of the City of London. Documentary evidence suggests that the Company has been in existence since at least 1271. When we were incorporated in 1890 we were then known as the Incorporated British Institute of Certified Carpenters (IBICC). Since then we have changed our name and many of us hold the title of Fellow of the Institute of Carpenters with our backgrounds as carpenters and joiners or lecturers in wood trades.

John Wood FIOC | West Midlands Section


Fire Door Safety Week - 14-20 Sept

IronmongeryDirect supports Fire Door Safety Week with the launch of new fire door checklist

With Fire Door Safety Week taking place between Monday 14 September and Sunday 20 September 2015, IronmongeryDirect is showing its support by launching a fire door safety checklist.

The leading supplier of ironmongery products to the trade has launched the checklist to provide trade professionals with all the knowledge they need to ensure a fire door remains in excellent working order.

The detailed checklist informs tradespeople on all the areas they need to consider when they are installing or maintaining a fire door. By asking a series of questions, the handy guide covers all of the essential components that are required to make a fire door fully operational and therefore compliant and legal - from intumescent seals to hinges, locks, latches and door closers. With so many factors to bear in mind, the easy to use checklist highlights everything that should be checked to ensure that the door is in good working order.

All fire door components should adhere to the required standards to ensure that they are compliant with fire regulations. For example, hinges such as the Twin Ball Bearing Fire Door Hinge (http://tinyurl.com/nt4uwcf) are ideal for use on fire doors as they meet all of the required standards for a high quality fire door hinge. This hinge is CE marked, grade 13 and manufactured from stainless steel. Hinges should be made from non-combustible material with a melting point of at least 800C so it’s important to ensure that they comply with this requirement.

The checklist highlights how a door closer must be able to shut the door and overcome the resistance of any lock, latch or seal. It shows how it should also be completely free from any damage and should not be leaking, so it’s important to look out for this when carrying out maintenance checks. To comply with requirements, it is recommended that a minimum of power size three should be used and the closer must be CE marked. BS EN 1154 and BS EN 1155 are now the required standards to which door closers must be tested in order for them to be CE marked. The Light Duty Door Closer (http://tinyurl.com/ouh49aj), in particular, conforms to these standards as it is CE marked and has a power size of three and therefore is a highly recommended product.

Wayne Lysaght-Mason, managing director at IronmongeryDirect, said: “Fire doors are a vital part of a building’s fire safety and ultimately can save lives. This is why we are keen to show our support for Fire Safety Week to help spread the word about the importance of fire doors and knowing how to use and maintain them properly.

“Carrying out regular tests and checks on fire doors and their hardware components is vital to ensure that they are in full working order and complying with fire safety laws. There are a lot of aspects that need to be carefully considered because failing to check a component could result in the fire door underperforming. This is why we have put together our easy to use fire door safety checklist to make the job of maintaining fire doors simpler for tradespeople.”

To download the fire door safety checklist, please visit www.IronmongeryDirect.co.uk/fire-door


Important information about Cutting EdgeEdition: Copy deadline:December 10th November

• Please submit text and images as separate files - please do not embed images into your articles• Please provide images in as large a file size as possible otherwise they may be of poor print quality• All content must be submitted by COP on the copy deadline to [email protected].• We cannot guarantee that content received after the copy deadline will be included in that edition. Any content not included,

will be kept for a future edition of Cutting Edge.

Wherever possible, we will try to incorporate all images supplied into your articles, however, due to the space available this is not always possible.

If you, or anyone you know of, are interested in advertising in Cutting Edge magazine, please contact [email protected] for additional information. Content and advertising is free to IOC members. Non-members will be charged for advertising.


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Gothic Style & Woodwork: Part 6As the nineteenth century drew to a close Gothic was largely seen as ‘old hat’. Many influences from abroad had altered the styles in use, even Ruskin became (whether intentionally or not) an influence on the ending of native Gothic, this was caused by his fascination with Venetian Gothic as exemplified in The Stones of Venice first published in three volumes in the early 1850s with a compact edition following in 1877. Here I feel Ruskin looses the plot with English architecture - he suggested a new style was needed, but the only possible candidate was Italian Gothic, especially that found in Venice - a style not really suited to the British climate and British natural light.

As Michael Portillo points out in his Continental Railway Journeys the early twentieth century British tourists went on a trip to Venice with a copy of Continental Bradshaw in one hand and Ruskin’s The Stones of Venice in the other (one hopes the single volume edition for balance).

What Ruskin failed to grasp was that it was not so much a new style that was needed but a new technology. So much had happened in the technological sphere in the latter half of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Portland Cement-based concrete had arrived as a new material in the late 1820s; Bessemer had produced a new technology, resulting in quality controlled steel in the 1850s; and with this, reinforced (ferrous) concrete. The initial use of mass concrete had been very limited because of its poor tensile strength; which was overcome with steel reinforcing. Later still pre-stressed concrete brought even more liberty to the designer.

Two other inventions brought about more changes: lifts and air conditioning. These together with the new, framed, as opposed to unit construction (i.e. brick and stone) meant that buildings could cover greater floor areas because they did not need to be all within the reach of the windows for ventilation. And, the buildings could be taller with more floor levels, because, these could all be reached easily by fairly fast lifts.

This is jumping a little ahead, but the new technologies made unit construction only useful as a curtain wall, the mass of the building being supported on steel or ferrous concrete frames. With Gothic and Romanesque buildings the arches required weight imposed on them to make the arches work effectively. In framed construction the weight is on the frame, so the arches are not in compression to the same degree.

Viollet-le-Duc the French Gothicist realised this and in some of his designs he uses steel arches and flying buttresses; these require a different rational and he incorporated this into some of his designs. In all due respect, this type of thinking was beyond Ruskin’s ability.

Alfred Waterhouse’s Manchester Town Hall 1868-77.Alfred Waterhouse (1830-1905), was a master of building street-facing Gothic buildings still in the Gothic way; mass stonework. Most Gothic architecture is not really built with street elevations in mind; most of them are contained within their curtilage with surrounding grassed or paved areas. Waterhouse really understood this in respect of Manchester Town Hall. See photographs 6.1 and 6.2 below. The interior demonstrates a great skill in the decoration. See photographs 6.3 and 6.4 above.

Liverpool Anglican Cathedral.Giles Gilbert Scott (later Sir) 1880-1960 was believed to be too young and inexperienced when he won the competition for his design for Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, one of the largest Gothic churches in the world.

. . . The design selected by the assessor, the ageing Goth, George Frederick Bodley, was done by a twenty-two year old grandson of Sir Gilbert Scott, Giles Gilbert Scott who was still doing his training with Temple Moore. The organisers were embarrassed when the extreme inexperience of the winner became known.1

Bodley was appointed as consultant architect to give Scott the more experience, but he only lived a short time after this and in effect Scott ran the whole commission. This cathedral has several


Photographs 6.1 and 6.2 - Manchester Town Hall Exterior

Photographs 6.3 and 6.4 - Manchester Town Hall interior

The end of Gothicrecords such as the greatest Gothic arch, the largest ‘great space’ and the latest true Gothic cathedral to be built. It was completed, more or less in the mid 20th century. Both Manchester Town Hall and Liverpool’s Anglican cathedral are two examples of late true Gothic buildings, but true Gothic buildings were losing popularity in the British Isles.

The Arts and Crafts Movement.Some of the principles that made Gothic; its honesty, its tectonic nature, its debt to nature and its sturdy rigidness were all incorporated into Arts and Crafts buildings. The foundation for these were laid earlier on the nineteenth century by the houses built by AWN Pugin, who we have mentioned in previous chapters. The dominant features of arts and crafts houses are the incorporation of a range of materials demonstrating the craft skills of the mason, carpenter, glazier etc., these can be seen in the Red House built for William Morris designed by Phillip Webb; another good example is Blackwell, in Bowness near Windermere in the Lake District, built by Baillie-Scott. But more pronounced was a range of furniture designed and built by a new generation of craftsmen who reacted against the growing mechanization and mass production brought about by the Industrial Revolution. There is a relationship between the Gothic ideal and the craftsmanship ideal, and also the Aesthetic Movement, the Arts and Crafts Movement, Art Nouveau, and these all relate to the tension between historic styles and the need for a new style for a new age, as well as between the nostalgia for individual hand-made furniture in a growing machine age.

Charles Locke Eastlake was a chronicler of the Gothic Revival and a populariser of taste. In his Hints on Household Taste he stated:

The best furniture of all ages has been simple in general form, never running to extravagant contour or unnecessary curves.” He especially disdained the “shaped” forms of Rococo revival, which he thought “ensured the greatest amount of ugliness with the least possible comfort.” 2

He continues by saying that the curves are not natural to the wood and produce areas of weakness; here he is not writing about bentwood but referring to curves cut out of the solid.3 Eastlake expressed in Hints how tasteful furniture should be:

… functional, simple and rectilinear in form, honestly constructed without “sham or pretence,” and ornamented with respect for the intrinsic qualities of the wood as well as the intended function of the furniture.4

Charles Robert AshbeeCharles Robert Ashbee (1863-1942) became a follower of Ruskin while at Wellington and King’s College, Cambridge and in 1886 began his architectural training under G F Bodley. He moved to Toynbee Hall in the poor area of London’s East End, Cambridge University’s settlement house, an attempt to bring undergraduates into contact with the poor. Ashbee became ‘Architect-in-Residence’ and spent the first fifteen years or so of his working life in the East End. He used his time at Toynbee Hall to teach Ruskin’s principles of design, drawing and decoration. He managed to get the students to carry out practical craft work and eventually founded the Guild and School of Handicraft. Meghan Edwards writes:

He sought to restore lost traditions associated with pre-industrial production and the bonds of comradeship that he thought humanized the workshop, and urged that silversmiths, craftsmen and designers should work together.5

Ashbee’s understanding of craftsmanship found expression in ‘mastering a craft through development of an individualistic style, which he believed should emerge from team work and shared experience’.6

Edward William Godwin.E W Godwin’s (1835-1886) career grew out of his dissatisfaction in two spheres; the first was with his position in the office of William Armstrong, Bristol City Surveyor, Architect and Engineer. There was very little real architecture for Godwin to do, and what there was he had won for the practice. Godwin eventually set up his own practice, but during periods when he had little work he began studying and analysing Ruskin’s Stones of Venice.

The second dissatisfaction arose in the furniture then available both for a project at Dromore Castle and for his own personal needs.7 As Elizabeth Aslin expresses it:

... as Godwin’s own domestic needs led to a career as a designer of furniture and interior decoration which can be said to have had a significant influence on domestic design in the latter part of the nineteenth century?8

Having studied The Stones of Venice, it is not surprising that some Gothic influence found expression in Godwin’s furniture design, but there was a degree of sparseness about Godwin’s furniture that suggested some Japanese influence. His early designs were rather lightweight, as he himself admitted:

The scantling or substance of the framing and other parts of the furniture was reduced to as low a denomination as was compatible with the soundness of construction. This was to make possible both cleanliness and movement in the event of a change being required.9

His earliest furniture was made of European redwood, the most common softwood, and his use of the word scantling is interesting here because the word refers to the cheaper small section timber of European redwood (and whitewood) such as 2”x 1”, 2“x 11/2 “ etc., which explains what he was using for his furniture framework. This was the most economical material he could find.

This proved unsatisfactory, presumably being too weak, and he later remade this furniture in mahogany. This could still be of


Photograph 6.5 - One of Godwin’s scantling built piece of furniture, showing honesty of construction but without the heaviness of Gothic.10

slim section because of the finer grained and stronger timber.

The defining features of Gothic in Arts and Crafts Furniture and the Modern Revival.We have already discussed those aspects that most commonly reveal themselves in “Gothic” inspired furniture:

1. Solidity of construction; 2. Solid timber, not usually veneered

work; 3. No need to hide jointing details; 4. Inspired by the natural world;

another feature not yet mentioned is blacksmith made ironmongery.

The inspiration of the natural world can be demonstrated in two ways; some natural animal or plant motif reflected in the pieces construction or ornamentation; or, a display of the natural beauty of the timber itself. These, of course, are not mutually exclusive.

Both, to some degree, Gothic and Arts and Crafts pieces lay claim to some if not all of these features. Where Gothic differs from Arts and Crafts is that in Gothic is that some motif such as the pointed arch, quatrefoil and trefoil features and/or other tracery are important. But just to confuse matters some Arts and Crafts pieces show modified forms of these motifs.

It is possible to have a piece of furniture that shows both Gothic and Arts and Crafts features. It all depends on the maker and his alliance to these schools. What confuses the issue even more is that Art Nouveau pieces also show a reference to the natural world, but this reference is more in the shape than in the ornament itself. The sweeping curves in Art Nouveau work are usually inspired by plants such as honeysuckle, sweet peas, bind-weed etc. The other set of curves that influence Art Nouveau is that of the female body or hair. The photographs here are from the library of Iona Abbey Church.

In Conclusion We can see from these photographs that the heaviness of the Iona pieces make them heirs to both Gothic and Arts and Crafts Revival, which latter they claim. This is perhaps the best example of honest Gothic inspired modern work. I hope these six short articles have opened up new discoveries for our members and other readers. In my next series I will look at several aspects of Design and the Carpenter and Joiner and that series will not be so tightly bound to one field of study but range far and wide.

Conclusion to Part 6There are many Arts and Crafts furniture available to view in any Arts and Craft house, also an excellent collection in Cheltenham Museum in Gloucestershire. There is such a thing as Modern Gothic, but it has become a very loose term denoting any furniture of a heavy design or that containing motifs like Gothic arches.

An understanding of Gothic comes into its own in conservation and restoration work which will find mention in my next series on Design and the Carpenter and Joiner.

I hope this series, now coming to an end, has tickled members fancy and will start them on a voyage of discovery that will provide them with years of joy as it has me.

Dr Brian Hodgson, Ph.D, LCGI, FIOC, FFB, MIMWoodT, AIMMM (MIWSc) | North West

1 Alastair Service, Edwardian Architecture, London, Thames and Hudson, 1977, p. 842 Madigan, Mary Jean, ‘Eastlake-Influenced Furniture’, Nineteenth Century Furniture: Innovation, Revival and Reform, ed. Marsha Melnick and Susan E Meyer, New York, Billboard Publications, 1982, p. 55.3 Ibid, 4 Ibid, p55.

5 www.victorianweb.org/art/design/ashbee/edwards10.html accessed 11/01/2014, 6 Ibid7 www.victorianweb.org/victorian/design/godwinbio.html accessed 17/01/20148 Elizabeth Aslin, E W Godwin Furniture and Interior Design, London, John Murray, 1986, p. 7.6 Ibid9 E W Godwin, Architect, Ist July 1876. Aslin,(1986), p. 50.10 Aslin,(1986), p. 50.


http://www.victorianweb.org/art/design/ashbee/edwards10.html

http://www.victorianweb.org/art/design/ashbee/edwards10.html

http://www.victorianweb.org/victorian/design/godwinbio.htm

Thank you Peter Culling MIOC

I was contacted one morning in August by an Occupational Therapist from University College London. She is working with a lady in the Camden area who is terminally ill and very sadly does not have long to live (weeks, possibly months). The OT explained to me that she had done a home visit earlier in the week and explained that the lady has three steps from street level to her front door. One of the steps is 25cm high and the lady has already had at least one fall at the step. The Occupational Therapist suggested that this may be easily resolved by adding a ‘half step’ made from wood. She explained that lady didn’t have the money to pay for the work to be done and the Occupational Therapist didn’t think she had long enough to live to make a grant application for the funds so anyone who assisted would be doing so out of the kindness of their heart and would not be paid for the work.

I emailed all members in the local area and was delighted that Peter Culling MIOC called me within about an hour of my sending the email to offer his services and the step was installed within 48 hours. Peter explained to me that he had popped along Saturday morning to measure up and that the step had had to be removable as it is the last step on the pavement, so size and weight were to be considered. When not in use the step was to be stored inside the front door. Peter made the step Saturday evening and gave it a couple of coats of varnish, returned on the Sunday morning and scribed it in level on the pavement and left it there.

Huge thanks go to Peter for taking the time to do this, I’m sure this

work was very much appreciated by the lady he assisted.

Many thanks to the rest of you who also replied – I’m afraid Peter beat you to it and by the time I could respond to you, the work had already been completed!

It really is heart-warming to see such kindness from so many of you – thank you.


Could you be eligible for an upgrade?As I’ve mentioned before, I always like receiving letters in the post - it’s a bit of a novelty as we don’t get many! However, earlier this year I received a letter from IOC member Edward Baggley MIOC who was enquiring about upgrading his membership.

Prior to publishing anything like this in Cutting Edge magazine, I always check with the person concerned and was delighted to receive Edward’s response “with reference to your mentioning using some of my documentary for the application for a Fellowship. I see no reason to refuse. Why? If you wish to use it in one of your newssheet columns, I would be delighted.” On which note, I’ll hand you over to Edward!

I am writing to you to request to become a Fellow of the Institute. I have compiled a brief history of my 47 working years and 13 years in retirement. After several years at secondary school I passed the 13+ to a Junior Technical College of Engineering. My father and his brother were engineers and were very pleased and so was I at the time. On leaving College at 16, I became a building trades carpenter, joiner and shop fitter. What happened to engineering? I decided that it was too messy a trade; always covered in oil and grease!

I spent five years as an apprentice and attended the Manchester College of Building where I gained a First Class Full Tech Certificate in Carpentry and Joinery. It was with this award that the Institute invited me to be an Associate; which I became in 1959. I was then invited by her majesty to join the RAF from 1959-1961 where I trained to become an aircraft servicing recorder. This was to record the history of servicing aircraft both airborne and on the ground. After my demob I returned to being a joiner at the end of 1961.

From here I moved from firm to firm gaining experience on the shop floor and management experience as a charge hand setter out and then works foreman where I was involved in the recruitment of staff and apprentices which proved to be very interesting. Moving on from this I became a Works Manager/Inspector, a position I held for several years until I decided to apply to Trafford Borough Council as a Clerk of Works with the Architects Department. I stayed here for 30 years until I took early retirement at 63 years old.

While I was a Clerk of Works my workload included all types of buildings and their contents from the foundation dig to the final signing off of the certificate. Many projects were in the £1 million bracket to £13 million on multi storey flats. This continued until the council finances were reduced for all types of building work due to competitive tendering (including the design stages).

I have included some photographs of tools that I made, set up with the help of my wife as my eyes have not settled after two cataract operations. The planes are made from 2mm steel plate, dovetailed together then brazed along the joints. The infills are selected hardwoods from around the world. The screws, nuts and cap irons are brass or silver steel. The cutting irons I have found formed to a high grade of cutting edge steel.

The photograph of chisels and other items I have made from scrap blades,

heat treated 6” nails and old plan irons. In total I have produced over 70 items, including the turned handles of beech, laburnum and other scrap hardwood offcuts.

The framed panel I made is the only one I have left. Other carved panels and Tudor Roses went on show in Manchester years ago and I was informed that some of these were sent to Canada and the USA.

I’m delighted to announce that Edward was successful in his upgrade and has now been awarded Fellowship of the Institute.

Sharon Hutchings | IOC Admin Manager


Could you be eligible for a membership upgrade?

If you’ve held the same grade of membership for more than about two years, it’s possible that with your increased experience that you are eligible for an upgrade in your membership. Please check out our website at http://www.instituteofcarpenters.com/grades/ to see how your existing grade differs from the next grade.

To apply for an upgrade please contact IOC Membership Chairman Trevor Eveleigh on 01268 772383 or at [email protected].

Craftsman, Journeyman or Master Carpenter?

Historically, you could only apply for the Master Certificate Scheme if you were already a fellow of the Institute. This is no longer the case - as well as the prestigious title of Master Carpenter / Joiner, they now offer different grades depending on your level of experience - perhaps you could be awarded Craftsman or Journeyman?

To find out more visit our website at http://instituteofcarpenters.com/mcs/

http://www.instituteofcarpenters.com/grades/

http://www.instituteofcarpenters.com/grades/

http://instituteofcarpenters.com/mcs/

http://instituteofcarpenters.com/mcs/

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IOC Region & Section ContactsPlease see below the current Regional Officers of the IOC. If you are in a region which doesn’t have a Regional Chairman or a Regional Membership Officer why not have a go yourself?! If you’re interested, please contact Trevor Eveleigh FIOC on 01268 772 383 or [email protected].

Are your details up to date? Please let Head Office know if anything needs changing. Many thanks

Here are the contacts for each of the more localised membership groups / sections

If you don’t have an active section or region nearby then why not set up a new one? Please contact IOC Membership Chairman Trevor Eveleigh FIOC on 01268 772383 or on [email protected] for more information about how you can do this.

WEST SCOTLANDJohn Carlton FIOC | 0141 632 3299

NORTH WESTDavid Elliott FIOC | 01257 [email protected]

NORTH WALES Meirick Davies MIOC | 01745 582740 [email protected]

WEST MIDLANDS Roger Fellows FIOC | 01327 704556 [email protected]

EAST MIDLANDSAndrew Eato MIOC | 01623 [email protected]

NORFOLK & SUFFOLKLes White MIOC | 07973 [email protected]

THAMES VALLEYAnthony Gulliver MIOC | 01252 [email protected]

CENTRAL Brian Streather FIOC | 01277 [email protected]

KENT & EAST SUSSEXTrevor Eveleigh FIOC | 01268 [email protected]

OVERSEASMel Davies FIOC | +44 1491 [email protected]

NORTHERNSCOTLANDC Wilson Miller FIOC0141 649 [email protected]

M William McCulloch MIOC0141 583 [email protected]

CC Keith Swann FIOC07732 624088 [email protected]

NORTH WEST, NORTH WALES, ISLE OF MAN & IRELANDC David Elliott FIOC01257 792462 [email protected]

NORTH EAST-NORTHERNC Lee Shepherd FIOC07800 981386 [email protected]

M Andy Vale FIOC0191 520 [email protected]

M Nicholas Bell MIOC01924 496898 [email protected]

CC Jason Howe FIOC07766 [email protected]

WEST MIDLANDSC James McLaughlin FIOC0121 475 5513 [email protected]

EAST MIDLANDSC (Acting) Lewis McKenzie FIOC 0116 232 [email protected]

M Andrew Eato MIOC 01623 631208 [email protected]

EASTERN COUNTIES M Friedrich Sommer MIOC01449 [email protected]

M Stuart James FIOC01508 [email protected]

SOUTHERNTHAMES VALLEYC Trevor Greaves FIOC0118 958 [email protected]

GREATER LONDONC Don Stevens FIOC020 8398 5319 [email protected]

M Bill Hyatt-Steel MIOC07837 [email protected]

M Colin England MIOC020 8464 [email protected]

M Stephen Green FIOC07894 [email protected]

SOUTH WESTC David Whitfield FIOC01626 [email protected]

M Mark Smith FIOC07854 965266 [email protected]

M John Bolt FIOC01752 [email protected]

SOUTH EASTM Neil Little FIOC01474 [email protected]

CHANNEL ISLANDS C Bill Hill FIOC01534 736711 [email protected]

KEYC = Regional ChairmanM = Regional Membership OfficerCC = Regional College Co-ordinator

If you are in a region without any regional officers then please contact:

Trevor Eveleigh FIOCIOC Membership Chairman01268 [email protected]


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