When woodworker Jacob Bell’s garden gates broke in an autumn storm, he used his knowledge to craft some new ones. But where most of us would fit a simple shop-bought latch and a bolt to keep it secure, Jacob went further - quite a bit further.
He made, from oak and ash, a rack and pinion lock, complete with hand cranks, to open the gate – a device which would not look out of place on a hobbit’s front door or a medieval castle gate.
But given that Jacob is one of the top woodworkers in Britain, that’s hardly surprising. The 23-year-old, who lives in Winterton-on-Sea, was a recent finalist in the second series of Channel 4’s Handmade; Britain’s Best Woodworker.
If you haven’t seen the show, it follows the tried and tested format of selecting a group of gifted craftspeople and whittling (pun intended) their numbers down week by week to find a winner by setting them ever-harder challenges.
As in Bake-Off, or the Sewing Bee, there are expert judges and a comic host. It’s gentle, nice TV. People are kind and they make some amazing things that most of us can only wonder at.
“I watched the first series last year with my girlfriend and her mum - it was the best thing I’ve ever watched. I was hooked,” says Jacob. At the end of the show was the usual call-out for applicants – and Jacob was on it straight away.
There was a flurry of phone and video calls with the programme producers. He was given an audition – he had to make a birdbox on a Zoom call – and then came the news that he was in. It all happened pretty fast, he says. “I didn’t really have time to process it. I applied – then I was there!”
‘There’ is the beautiful, if damp, Glanusk estate, in the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales, and as soon as the contestants arrived at the end of April, the work began. For Jacob it was to last the full five weeks – a rinse-and-repeat cycle of three days filming and one day off.
“We turned up and the very next day they were filming the walking scenes [where contestants walk through the woods into the workshop] then it was shooting the first episode... then the second episode and then the third episode. It wasn’t until episode three that we went ‘wow, this is actually happening.’”
The superbly-equipped workshop itself was a treat, he says. “Tools to us are toys; and they were everywhere, as many as you need – as much as you could want.”
Once the competition started, Jacob stood out, not just for his lean 6ft-plus frame, shock of blond hair and cheerful demeanour, but his skill and eye for good form. Design guru Tom Dyckhoff, one of the judges, was particularly keen on his elegant mid-century pieces.
Jacob admits to being quite competitive; “I like to win things. But with something that big I wanted to get to the final – as soon as I got to the final I was like ‘I’ve made all of my builds, I’m not going to go home while everyone else is still having fun in the workshop – that was my win.”
During the show he won the Woodworker of the week twice – once for a stunning dining table (which is now in his house) and once for building an exquisite child’s workbench and tools. He also won immunity from elimination twice in the mini-challenges on each show, with a vase and wooden roses.
Despite the competitive nature of the programme the contestants are still friends. “We talk every day on WhatsApp,” says Jacob. “I went to Lauren’s barbecue and Russell’s wedding,”
He’s still in touch with Mel Giedroyc – in fact he’s making a bar for her.
His TV fame has made him a well-known face in Winterton, where he runs Winterton’s Furniture from his workshop and is also the primary school caretaker. “I get spoken to every time I leave the house. People will go ‘I saw you on the telly and I loved it.’
“I end up stopping and chatting, though sometimes I try to get through the village without being seen because I know I will chat and talk to them and they will regret stopping me!”
He runs a woodwork club at the school and would like to start an evening class if he could. His time on the show has also led him to realise that he enjoys company in the workshop, so is hoping that his business will expand and allow him to take someone on.
In the meantime, he’s happy enjoying life with girlfriend Boni, Alaskan malamute Lexi, his ukelele, bass guitar and Marvel films; but it is clear where his true passion lies. “I’m always thinking about woodworking!”
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