Searching for the blanks of Kokeshi dolls, those little Japanese wooden toy dolls you see painted in traditional dress, sent the members of the folk art community in Eaglehawk on a world-wide journey.
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They were very pleased when they found a maker right here in Bendigo, one who was nimble on the lathe, could make them to specification and was pleased to be able to ramp up his hobby.
With a background as a fitter and turner, since Robert Trigg’s retirement woodturning is his game. He readily admits he is not going into ‘business’ mode any time soon.
The mechanics of building and operating a lathe is second nature to him, and he has happily progressed from the old primitive belt-driven lathe, to the modern electronic variable-speed-control version, and now swears by his user-friendly lathe.
“It’s a dream to work with and so easy to change the speed, as is so often required,” Robert said.
Spring pole lathes were in common use into the early 20th century, where woodturners who operated them were known by the term “bodger”.
I’m happy to teach anyone who wants to learn woodturning. It’s a craft for all ages and abilities, and budgets too.
- Robert Trigg
Using the pole lathe, woodturners would churn out chair legs and spindles by the hundreds.
A bodger would buy all the trees on a plot of land, place their lathes under a standing tree with a springy branch that was suitable to use as the drive mechanism, and mass-produce spindles and legs.
The bodger would sell them in bulk, for only pennies a dozen.
The bodger's job was considered unfinished because he only made the roughed out parts of an item.
That is how the term bodgy job came about – it means a person who leaves a job unfinished, or does it badly.
Today top line woodturners use electronic controlled machinery, and many hobbyists like Robert, are grateful for this fact.
“When my sister-in-law asked me to turn a few Kokeshi dolls, I thought it would be a challenge to see how it could be done,” he said.
Luckily she had some photos of what she had in mind, so I used those to draw the designs to scale.”
With a modest 12 or so in mind, Robert says after the first few were finished, he worked out ways to streamline his production.
To date he has given birth to over 30 of the sweet things, and with the March Eaglehawk Dahlia and Arts Festival a ways off, he expects to be making even more.
But while the turning is a passion, it is the types of wood, the gathering and seasoning of it, that has gouged a place in Robert’s soul.
With people around the region offering him trees that have blown down in storms, trees that need to be cleared or just a devoted gardener trimming a favourite, Robert never has to buy wood, or go to the trouble of cutting down anything.
It is all donated and recycled, shared among other woodturners, or stored at the club house for future use.
“Thankfully there’s no use-by-date attached to wood,” Robert said.
When asked which wood he likes best he seems to be deciding which of his children he likes best – an impossible task.
At one stage he couldn’t go past peppercorn and all its quirkiness and sheer bravado, as it reshaped itself during the natural drying process after it had been turned in its green state.
But then walnut’s smoothness and textures that appear in a turned bowl is impossible to resist.
And then there’s silky oak, elm, all the fruit woods with their fruity aroma, red gum, pine, even old pellets … you get the idea. Robert is a wood man of any type and degree.
“I love the scents of apricot and camphor laurel wood when you’re turning it,” he said.
“Red gum is very dirty and dusty to turn, but the payoff is the superb finish you get with the distinctive rich red colours.”
Robert is a member of the Bendigo Woodturners club, who meet regularly at their club rooms, and he says the group are as generous with their knowledge as you could wish.
“I’m happy to teach anyone who wants to learn woodturning. It’s a craft for all ages and abilities, and budgets too,” he said.
Like all skilled tradesmen, the design, execution, skills, finish and presentation are a natural for how he works. He even makes his own chisels and tools to suit his needs.
In 2014 Robert was encouraged to enter some of his work in the Australian Woodturning Exhibition in Melbourne.
It is a highly acclaimed and prestigious exhibition featuring work carried out by some of the finest woodturners in Australia.
“President of the Bendigo Woodturners, Jeff Willey, and some of the other members kept egging me on to enter. I was a bit reluctant as I had only been learning for a while. When you look at the restrictions and rules of what the judges are looking for it is quite daunting.
“I love the wood being allowed to do its own thing, but according to the guidelines, your turned pieces were not allowed to have holes in them. One of my bowls did, a tiny hole in the wood on the rim.
“But I was too new to worry, and wouldn’t you know, that bowl was awarded a prize,” Robert says.
He came home with three first prizes in all, and was amazed at his success. He entered in the same exhibition in 2015 and obtained a second and third in the sections he entered.
Sure Robert is proud to wear the bodger moniker, but there’s certainly no bodgy jobs coming out of his workshop.
