Woodworking

Woodworking is a craft activity that became available with the introduction of the Academy of Artificers. Various tools, from pens to walking sticks, can be created here.

Skills used

• crafts.carpentry.furniture
• crafts.carpentry.turning
• crafts.carpentry.whittling
• crafts.arts.design
• crafts.arts.painting

Where it is done

The main doors to the Academy of Artificers is on the south side of King's Road in Sto Lat. Travel south twice and east once to enter Stapleton's Student Supplies. One step south brings you to Academy Legibles where the south door has no knob.

You need to (syntax knock) knock on the south door with a wand, rod or a staff to enter Gildworthy's Workshop. Be sure to hold the wand, rod or staff or you'll be reminded to hold it. To find which items are which, for example wands, just locate wands which will find for example thin sticks if you have any. There is a skillcheck involved with the appropriate skill to the item in the magic.items.held branch - if the door just quivers without opening, improve your skill or try another type of item if you have a better bonus in that other skill. Roughly a 150 bonus should do the trick.

Inside Gildworthy's Workshop, you will find the all important lathe and all the tools and wood rivings required to craft items from wood, stain them, and polish them to a fine finish. Although not in the workshop proper, inks can be purchased just outside in Academy Legibles.

Only the first step needs to be done in the workshop itself, assuming you take the other consumed components (sponge, wax) with you.

How it is done

Bodging

The process of creating a useable wooden object from a wood riving is called bodging. Although it is a three part process, only the first part is actually bodging.

Syntax:

turn item from <pattern | book> using <riving> on lathe
shave <wooden object> with drawknife
sand <wooden object> with sand paper

Turning on a lathe uses the skills crafts.carpentry.turning and crafts.arts.design; shaving with a drawknife and sanding with sandpaper use the skill crafts.carpentry.whittling.

Staining

To stain wooden objects you will need the following:

• a scrap of sponge (consumed)
  
• a bottle of ink (consumed)
  
• a suitable wooden object to be stained
  

Syntax:

pour <ink> on sponge
stain <wooden object> with <sponge>

Repeat stain as required and sponge will be discarded as the wooden object is completely stained.

The skills crafts.arts.painting and crafts.arts.design are used for staining

The quality of the staining will appear in the item description as:

• Poorly
• Patchey
• Neatly
• Smoothly
• Expertly

Polishing

After a wooden workpiece has been turned, shaven, and sanded, it can be finished with a bar of wax. It may also be stained before the wax is applied.

Syntax:

polish <wooden object> with <wax>

The skill crafts.carpentry.furniture is used for polishing with wax.

The item description will show the quality of the polishing work.

• Polished to a appallingly poor sheen
• Polished to a poorly applied sheen
• Polished to a shabby sheen
• Polished to a patchy sheen
• Polished to a lustrous sheen
• Polished to a gleaming sheen
• Polished to a beautiful sheen

Wood types by difficulty

The quality of the wood affects the price and the difficulty of item creation. Low-quality wood is &&&&&&&&&&&&+400 $1 per foot, medium-quality wood is &&&&&&&&&&&&+800 $2 per foot, and high-quality wood is &&&&&&&&&&&+1600 $4 per foot. The value of the finished item appears to be directly proportional to the cost of the wood, all other things being equal.

Type of wood	Quality
Apple	Low
Ash	Low
Beech	?
Birch	Low
Blackthorn	Low
Cedar	Low
Cherry	Low
Chestnut	Low
Cypress	Low
Ebony	Low
Elm	Low
Hawthorn	Low
Hazel	Low
Holly	Medium
Ironwood	Low
Larch	Low
Linden	Low
Mahogany	Low
Oak	Medium
Olive	Low
Pine	Low
Rowan	High
Sycamore	Low
Walnut	Low
Willow	Low
Yew	Medium

Workpiece types by difficulty

The initial "bodger's book" provides patterns for five workpiece types to be crafted from wood rivings. Each type has its own specific properties. They also vary in difficulty of producing a truly high quality workpiece.

Workpiece types ranked from easy to most difficult:

Item	Required riving length	Page in book
Fountain pen	1 foot	4
Wand	2 feet	3
Walking Stick	4 feet	6
Staff	6 feet	2
Flute	2 feet	5

Workpiece results

Flute

Weapon type: None
Weapon quality: N/A
Finished length: 2 foot
Weight: less than a pound

The quality of the workpiece shows in the item description as:

• "This is a somewhat misshapen <wood> flute, which doesn't look like it could produce anything more musical than the average house brick."
• "This is a rather wonky <wood> flute."
• "This is a slim <wood> flute, smooth and simple."
• "This is a <wood> flute, which will probably make a fairly musical sound."
• "This is a slim and elegant <wood> flute, rather well made."
• "This is an elegant <wood> flute, quite well made."
• "This is a beautiful <wood> flute, clearly made by a master artisan. The holes are perfectly positioned, and the mouthpiece is adorned with tiny intricate vines and flowers."

Although even a poorly made flute can be tuned and played, only a well made flute will have a chance of producing what might be called music.

Pen

Weapon information: Pen (woodworking)

The quality of the workpiece shows in the description as:

• "Referring to this length of rough, splintery <wood> as a pen is a courtesy at best. It looks as though the wood-turner chewed it to shape with his teeth, and then smeared it with an uneven coating of grime from the forge."
• "This is a rough <wood> stick, of uneven width. It would probably function as a pen, but not well."
• "This is obviously a pen, and it would probably do well for any normal purpose, but it's not exactly comfortable to write with."
• "This is an ordinary-looking pen."
• "This is a slim <wood> fountain pen, smooth and unadorned."
• "This is a sturdy <wood> fountain pen, smooth and unadorned. It sits neatly and comfortably in the hand."
• "This pretty, slender <wood> pen sits lightly in the hand, the delicate shaft and responsive balance leaving no doubt that it will write beautifully for a skilled writer."
• "Slender but still authoritative-looking, this beautifully made <wood> pen seems almost as though it could write nothing foolish or untrue."

Before the pen can be used to write, it must be fitted with a pen nib and the pen must be dipped in ink. The quality of the nib will also show in the pen description.

Syntax:

• ATTACH <nib> TO <pen>
• DIP <pen> IN <bottle of ink>

Staff

Weapon information: Staff (woodworking)

The quality of the workpiece shows in the description as:

• "This crudely carved <wood> stick probably wouldn't break if you hit something with it, but it certainly wouldn't impress a demon."
• "This is a five-foot length of <wood>, of uneven width. It's apparently a staff."
• "This is obviously a staff, and it would probably do well for any normal purpose, but it's not entirely straight."
• "This is a sturdy <wood> walking staff, smooth and unadorned. About two-thirds of the way up, the wood has been subtly shaped for ease of holding."
• "Slender and wieldy, this staff is six feet of <wood> shaped and balanced to be almost perfect for a long journey complete with bandit encounters."
• "Slender and wieldy, this staff is six feet of <wood> shaped and balanced to be almost perfect for spellcasting or banishing demons the violent way."

As a standard staff, these can be used to octograve.

Walking stick

Weapon information: Walking stick (woodworking)

The quality of the workpiece shows in the description as:

• "Referring to this length of rough, splintery <wood> as a walking stick is a courtesy at best. It looks as though the wood-turner chewed it to shape with his teeth, and then smeared it with an uneven coating of old tea and vinegar. There's a lump on the top that might be a penguin, if the penguin had been rolling around in a tar pit and then waddled through the Green Slab offices on publication day."
• "This crudely carved <wood> stick probably wouldn't break if you leant on it, but it would quite likely give you splinters. The lump on the top might be a bird, but it's equally likely to be a jellyfish."
• "This is a three-foot-long length of <wood>, of uneven width and topped with a plump, rounded lump."
• "This sturdy three-foot length of <wood> would do perfectly well as a support when walking, but the carved owl perched on the top lacks artistry."
• "This is a sturdy <wood> walking stick, topped with a rounded knob upon which perches a carved owl."
• "This is a sturdy <wood> walking stick, topped with a smoothly rounded knob upon which perches a cleverly carved owl."
• "This is a slender but sturdy <wood> walking stick, topped with a smoothly rounded knob upon which perches a beautifully carved owl."
• "This is a slender but sturdy <wood> walking stick, topped with a smoothly rounded knob upon which perches a beautifully carved owl. Her huge, rounded eyes seem to hold a great deal of wisdom, and her beak is slightly parted as if to let out a soft hoot."

Note that walking sticks can be used to octograve and to knock on the wood workshop's door. Walking sticks are also shorter and lighter than the standard staff. On the other hand, the weapon type is mace, not polearm.

Wand

Weapon information: Wand (woodworking)

The quality of the workpiece shows in the description as:

• "This crudely carved <wood> stick probably wouldn't break if you prodded something with it, but it certainly wouldn't impress a demon."
• "This is a foot-long length of <wood>, of uneven width. It's apparently a staff."
• "This is obviously a wand, and it would probably do well for any normal purpose, but it's not entirely straight."
• "This is a sturdy <wood> wand, smooth and unadorned.
• "This is a sturdy <wood> wand, smooth and unadorned. The base has been subtly reshaped for a good, comfortable grip."
• "Slender and wieldy, this wand is a foot and a half of <wood> which tapers in gentle recurving arcs towards its tip."
• "Slender and wieldy, this wand is a foot and a half of <wood> which tapers in gentle recurving arcs towards its tip. The tip itself has been cleverly carved to resemble a faceted crystal, and the grip sits firmly and comfortably in a wizard's hand."