Hi, I'm Tony Morgan and I make things out of wood! I use mainly traditional methods and hand tools, and all the wood I use comes
from
local* woodlands, coppices and hedgerows. My arsenal of tools comprises of things such as shave horses, pole lathes and
rounding planes - all powered by my hand or foot. I love trees and wood and can't think of a better thing to work with!
There are
three things that I concentrate on:
Baskets

I started making baskets about 6 years ago from willow grown near Cockermouth after I attended one of Phil Bradley's
Beginner's Basket Making courses at the Weekend in the Woods event (see the
CANW website for
info about this event). I found it one of the most enjoyable pastimes yet and still enjoy making them in all sorts of
different sizes and styles.
See my baskets
Goblets

I spent a while making a few things on the
pole lathe
but didn't really get into making anything in earnest. Until I made my first goblet! (see the photo on the right)
Sadly, 2 weeks later, and after a
few goblets-full of wine I was sitting in front of the telly with my wife and 8 year old son watching Merlin,
with my "Holy Grail" sitting on the table having just been emptied of its contents
down my throat. I think Merlin was performing his usual magic on telly
when there was an almighty CRACK!!! My goblet had ripped all the way down the cup creating a very neat 8mm crack!
Freaky timing and I'd never experienced such a sudden and violent split happening like this. My 8 year-old son nearly
jumped through the ceiling with shock! Then the miracle happened. The next morning the split had totally disappeared!
However since then I've worked out where the problem lay and have made many more goblets that have survived TV-magic!
See my goblets
Martial Arts Weapons

Myself and my son are martial artist students and there's a niche, I believe, for locally, hand-made, natural items
for use in martial arts training. The form of martial art that we do is a South Korean system called Kuk Sool Hapkido and in
it you learn some cool moves holding one or two "sticks" in your hand and "waving them about".
(Sorry
KJN John Ward!) Well actually,
there's a bit more to it than that but essentially you just need sticks of varying lengths, some with string looped through
one end.
I built a tool to do most of the work of peeling a hazel, ash or willow rod down to size that allows me to make and sell
them to my fellow students for a realistic and competitive price. I'm hoping to sell them on to my wider circle of fellow
martial-artists!
See my weapons!
Well, maybe four things
I also make other things too, such as spoons, bowls, shrink pots, rollers for old lawn mowers and desk-tidies. The items
I mostly make to order but why not have a look at my pictures to get an idea.
See my other things
*Local for me means mostly in the Silverdale, Arnside and South Lakes areas of the North West of England. I live
in Carnforth and have sometimes
had to travel up to Cockermouth for willow and have had some delivered from Somerset.