Old English Crafts: The Clog Block Maker

Part of the Sam Hanna Film Collection, this film features the work of Sam Smalley, a Lancashire farmer, as he makes clog blocks with the help of his daughter Emily. They cut down an alder tree, then measure and saw tree trunks into logs. The logs are then 'riven', with his daughter bringing down a large mallet onto the head of Mr Smalley's carefully placed axe to split the wood into workable sizes. The riven wood is shaped with a stock knife, and the clog blocks are stacked up to season before Mr Smalley is seen holding a finished block that is ready to be made into a clog sole.