About Us

A bit of history

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The Oxford Dictionary would tell you that a Bodger is a person who “repairs something badly or clumsily”.

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But not that long ago the word Bodger had another meaning, the “Bodgers” of Britain were proud woodturners working away in the countryside of Buckinghamshire, between London and Oxford.

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The bodgers were skilled and inventive woodworkers spending decades mastering the skills and techniques to work and turn green wood on a pole-lathe, a treadle-powered lathe (an ancient and simple device that would turn billets of wood at speed allowing their turning chisels to elegantly and quickly remove/shape wood for chair parts)

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The Bodgers would work Beech, directly from the woods, using a saw and axe to shape ready for turning. They then formed chair legs and spindles to be sent to furniture manufacturers to be paired up to with other chair parts.

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Modern days

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Today the Bodgers are a group that are made up of pole-lathe turners and green woodworkers from Britain and around the world. We have organised an association dedicated to a community made up of professionals, hobbyists, and all those interested in crafts and heritage skills that use green wood or work within woodland settings.

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We are lucky to not only have incredibly talented pole-lathe turners and green woodworkers in our midst, but our community includes a diverse range of spoon carvers, bowl turners, chairmakers, basket/whisket makers, coracle/boat makers, blacksmiths/bladesmiths, leather workers hurdle makers and charcoal burners to name but a few.

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A Bodger is once again a word associated with skill, technique, and craft using green wood.