Experience, efficiency and enjoyment.

[Sheffield Tony]

Remembering that this would be coppiced wood, fairly modest size (6-8" is enough). Easier to cut. If the trees are planted densly enough you will hopefully have quick regrowth, straight grained and more flexible. The initial riving of the billet can be done very quickly. If you see the chaps in that video using the drawknife, they are not paring away tentatively, but ripping most of the waste off in a single stroke before rotating the workpiece for the next stroke. Not only quick, but it tends to follow the grain better for easier turning and a stronger chair.

The great thing sbout this way of work of course is that all the waste stays in the wood to compost back down as part or the ecosystem.

 

[AndyT]

Indeed, let's not lose sight of just how sustainable such a system was and could be still.
Coppiced wood is as near as you can get to a free, renewable material.
Doing most of the work in the woods meant no wasted energy hauling waste material off elsewhere to become a disposal problem - it all stayed on site. The impact of a few men living in a simple shelter would have been negligible too.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Phil, back on page 8, before something like a digression, I quoted evidence that a bodger selling a gross of chair legs was expected to include the stretchers as well.
As there were three stretchers to every four legs, a gross of legs was actually 144+108=252 individual components.
252 was rounded to 250, but the calculation is sound.

Thank you for the explanation. So "gross" actually had very little to do with the price.

 

[nabs]

In some Sheffield trades, a dozen was fourteen items. One for losses and breakages, and one for the hardener to break for examination of the fracture. The other twelve were all available for sale.

I think there were quite a few other 'qualified dozens' about, too. Isn't a Baker's dozen thirteen?

a deeply unfair practice that was not abolished until the 20th century, having been introduced by an 18C scissor maker - Jonathan Watkinson - who insisted his workers create 13 items for every dozen he paid for. This was commemorated in a song called 'Watkinson and his thirteens':

http://printprotestpoetry.group.shef.ac.uk/?p=189

 

[Jacob]

There are loads of 5 string banjos out there from about £150 new but some of them are rubbish. The build quality tends to be OK but the sound can be really bad. Either try a reliable old school music shop or just take pot luck. Avoid Barnes and Mullins, Tanglewood cheapos, though their better ones probably are better. Countryman seem OK I've been lucky with several.
Mel Bay Banjo method by Neil Griffin is good. There's a lot more to 5 string banjo than bluegrass and there are masses of books

Currently have a Tanglewood TB18-5 cheapo, which is very nice to play. Highly recommended!