Still image from Chair Bodging and Chair Making in the Chiltern Hills via EAFA.
United Kingdom
English
00:11:23
275 ft
16mm
B&W
Silent
"The production of components for chairs is compared and contrasted at three locations in the Chiltern Hills" (EAFA Database).
This film is part of the Institute of Amateur Cinematographers Collection held by the East Anglian Film Archive, Norwich, UK.
Institute of Amateur Cinematographers Collection, East Anglian Film Archive
"The film begins with the traditional activities of bodgers in beech woods, moves on to record the activities in a small workshop in Turville and concludes with shots of a mechanised form of a production in a modern countryside factory, including chair assembly. Scenes include: bodgers at work in the countryside, cutting and shaping components for chairs, collecting water from beech trees for use in production and brewing tea over an open fire; activities in a small workshop in Turville, workers cut wood by hand and with a power saw and shape components for chairs; workers in a mechanised country factory cut wood with the aid of machinery, but shape it and assemble chairs by hand. Shots with the bodgers in the beech wood include: bodgers cut a tree trunk; carry parts of the trunk to the work area; the wood is split and shaped by hand; bodger uses a pole lathe to turn the wood; water drained from beech trees is collected in a bucket and used on a grindstone to sharpen hand tools; turned wood is collected and stacked; wood shavings are used in an open fire, the bodgers sit around it and water is brewed for tea. Shots in the small workshop in Turville include: workers cutting a tree trunk and splitting wood by hand; carrying it into a small workshop, where it is cut with the assistance of a power saw; the wood is then shaped by hand and with a treadle lathe. Shots in the mechanised workshop include: wood to be used as the chair seat is cut and shaped with the assistance of powered machinery; components are cut to correct lengths with the assistance of machinery; wood is cut by hand and intricate designs are shaped by hand; chairs are assembled by hand" (EAFA Database).
Amateur Cinema