Trug.

Sometime ago, while returning from shopping, we called in to see friends Wendy and Rob who were busy in the garden. Wendy was busy picking flowers and vegetables and said that she wished she had a Trug to carry them all. I remembered the name and the fact that they were mainly found in the South of England. The ones I remember were made of strips of very thin and pliable interwoven wood which allowed a nice curve to sides and ends. Later when I looked it up, Trugs seem to come in all shapes and sizes.

TRUG

noun

British

noun: trug; plural noun: trugs; noun: trug basket; plural noun: trug baskets

1. a shallow oblong basket made of strips of wood, traditionally used for carrying garden flowers and produce.

    

   I decided to see if I could make one of the simpler forms as a present.

This is JT Mark1. The sides are made from Western Red Cedar off-cuts, hanging around in the shed, and the slats from Tasmanian Oak. The handle is just a dowel rod as it was easy to do.

I knew that the hoop handle could be made by steam bending the wood but as I didnt see myself going into a huge production run, a different method was used. In the past I have made formed pieces by glue laminating very thin sections of plywood together. This handle is made of four layers of 1.5mm thick timber clamped around a former.

Trial fit before cutting down to the correct height.

This is JT Mark2. This handle was a great improvement to the look but there was still something not quite right. Then I realized that it was the dark timber sides.

This is JT Mark3 and I'm very happy with it. The sides are now pine and as a result the Trug is slightly lighter in weight.

Now I am just waiting for all those big orders to roll in.