A ''spanbaum'' ("wood shaving tree"), variously referred to in English as a hand-shaved tree, wood chip tree or span tree, is a handmade ornamental tree which is usually part of a pyramid ornament. They are mainly manufactured in

woodturning Woodturning is the craft of using a wood lathe with hand-held tools to cut a shape that is symmetrical around the axis of rotation. Like the potter's wheel, the wood lathe is a mechanism that can generate a variety of forms. The operator is kno ...

workshops in the

Ore Mountains The Ore Mountains (, or ; ) lie along the Czech–German border, separating the historical regions of Bohemia in the Czech Republic and Saxony in Germany. The highest peaks are the Klínovec in the Czech Republic (German: ''Keilberg'') at ab ...

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

in eastern

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Their method of production is known locally as ''Spanbaumstechen''.

Material

The choice of material is especially important. Only lime wood with a straight grain is suitable.

Manufacture

To make the ''spanbaum'', first of all a conical blank of the tree is turned and a small disc is made for the base. The conical blank is clamped in a vice and the branches carved symmetrically using a chisel, shaving by shaving, on all sides. 2014-12 Spanbaum.jpg, A ''spanbaum'' Spanbaum1.jpg, A ''Kräuselbaum'', a type of ''spanbaum''

External links

* * Culture of the Ore Mountains Woodcarving Christmas decorations {{Ore-mountains-stub