New documentary on Mike Abbot

As I started exploring the world of green woodworking, it became apparent that England has a thriving movement.  Names kept recurring, like Robin Wood, Ben Orford, Barn the Spoon, and many others.  Mike Abbot was another of those woodworkers, but a certain reverence was assigned to him in most blog posts.  He teaches green woodworking and especially chair making in East Herefordshire, and has also published at least three books on the subject.
Anyway, I ran across a trailer for a documentary on him, due to come out soonish.
Here it is:

Green Wood (Preview) from Elliott Forge on Vimeo.

Also, I quite like Eliot Forge's videos.  Worth following on Vimeo.

Robin Wood bowls I really admire

hook tools for bowl turning

turning a bowl on a foot-powered lathe

Fan bird carving

Something I want to try soon, for the holidays.

Here are a few detail shots of the blank:

LatheLoop

P.R. from Michael for the upcoming exhibit.  I break down the lathe and resurrect it in the exhibit space next week.

Ben's Mill: Making a Sled

This is a fascinating documentary.  Produced in 1981, it examines the work of Ben Thresher, a craftsman who straddles (straddled?) two different ages of technology.  Ben runs a water-powered sawmill in Vermont, one of the last of its kind.  The mill, built in 1848, is powered by a waterfall with all machines belt driven.  There he produces all sorts of amazing, old-time products, from water troughs to horse sleds.  His expertise is just amazing.  I love how he deftly moves through the various steps in producing objects from wood and metal. Maybe what interests me the most is how he lives in two worlds.  In this documentary you get a glimpse into a time when the world of craft was giving way to the world of industry, and for a brief time, coexisted.   It is about a hour long, but well worth the time.

http://www.folkstreams.net/film,187