Carpenter

Both hands on the plane, the carpenter leans his weight into the stroke along a board held in the bench vice. He wears a checked shirt, a leather apron and grey trousers, sleeves pushed above the elbow, hair and beard gone grey. A wide saw and an axe hang from the sides of the bench; a mallet, drill bits and an oil can lie on the top. Curled shavings cover the brick floor beside a tool crate, a bundled cord and sawn offcuts.