Woods 20-6-2012

[Kepis]

Had another very enjoyable day in the woods with Hugo & Rockmonkey today, no special cooking treats, although, Hugo did bring along a huge Apple Pie that was split three ways, very tasty it was too - thanks mate.

Had a bit of bushy day, RM did some on his new handle for his spoon knife, very good it looks two with the contrasting materials used, no photo's, as im not going to steal his thunder on it, so we did a bit of carving,

bit of pyrite hunting and at last Hugo found a huge piece of it

i made a small bullroarer from a piece of Hazel and then made the cord to go with it from some nettles

also made myself a spoon and made a start on a set of chopsticks

Also messed around with some Magnesium shavings and a ferro rod

[video=youtube;6AtyRFb5MFU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AtyRFb5MFU[/video]

on the way back we came across a load of Common Spotted Orchids

as well as a whole host of other goodies such as Salad Burnett & Wild Thyme, not long after these pics were taken we headed down slope and back towards the cars and home.

Great day out with great company as always, roll on next week

 

[Hugo]

Enjoyable as always mate, liking the apple pie, I'll finish my three spoons tomorrow morning before I pack my gear for the weekend camp, I do like a bit of sanding in the mornings.

 

[Rockmonkey]

Spankingly good day out guy's as always.
Nearly finished my spoon knife, so will show soon! Probably whilst you two have deserted me for the weekend!!
Thanks for bringing the Apple Pie Hugo! Mmmmmm, better than smoking!!, I think!
Have a good weekend guy's, and think of me whilst you are doing Bushy stuff!!!!
RM

 

[Man of Tanith]

Thanks For Sharing!
bullroarer looks like a fun project

 

[Kepis]

Cheers Sam, Bullroarers are great fun to make and use, Rockmonket made a srat on one today out of some gorgeous spalted Beech, you will have to have a go, if you do, let us know how you get on?

 

[Man of Tanith]

Added to the ever growing to do/to make list
along with handling a new obsidian blade i got hold of, making sheath for Ulu, kuska's bowls and various other stuff
sometime i think i need another me to get it all done

 

[Kepis]

I know exactly what you mean Sam

 

[Hugo]

Join the Queue Sam, ever bulging to do list, my latest is to make myself a double layer hammock from ripstop nylon, hoping it will be delivered early next week so I can make a start.
Always got a kuksa, knife, spoons on the go.

 

[Dannytsg]

Looks like a good time. Thank for sharing.

 

[Simon1]

Very nice thanks for sharing!!

 

[Hugo]

Well I almost finished my three spoons that I made on the day, need to let the timber dry out before a light fine sanding then a little walnut oil. Hear they be.

 

[Kepis]

Looking good batman, here's the one i started, still not happy with it

 

[Rockmonkey]

Mmmm, Nice work there mate!.
Have finished my handle, but all my photo's are too large to post on forum!, just trying to work out how to compress jpeg file so i can show my handle work!!
Have a good weekend!
RM

 

[Kepis]

Mmmm, Nice work there mate!.
Have finished my handle, but all my photo's are too large to post on forum!, just trying to work out how to compress jpeg file so i can show my handle work!!
Have a good weekend!
RM

If you use something like Photobucket on the web it will resize them for you as you upload them, there are tweaks you can make in the upload settings for it

 

[Swallow]

Kepis, when carving spoons, cups, bullroarers etc. do you avoid greenwood? If not how do you avoid splitting as it dries out.

I watched Peter T carve a cup the other weekend, but I think that wood was a bit seasoned, not sure how much.

 

[Kepis]

Kepis, when carving spoons, cups, bullroarers etc. do you avoid greenwood? If not how do you avoid splitting as it dries out.

I watched Peter T carve a cup the other weekend, but I think that wood was a bit seasoned, not sure how much.

Nope, i use greenwood as much as possible as it's easier to carve, to stop the splitting, just make sure you remove the central pith or growing pointand the chances of a split are drasically reduced, burls and the like are a different matter though, a good way to stop green wood splitting is to keep the work piece in a ziplock so it dries very slowly

 

[Hugo]

Swallow mate, Peters cup was made from an birch burl, they don't split as the grain is swirly if you know what I mean.
Reminds me, we left a lot at burls at camp, I need on for a project.

 

[Swallow]

One reason I ask is the council arrived to carve up (and presumably woodchip !?) a cherry tree that had fallen over across the road. They were pretty cool about giving us the big bits but not the small branches for some reason we could not figure. Pity we didn't see it before they arrived and get to it with the laplanders. Anyway there's a nice piece we did get about 6" round and shade over a foot long which might make some interesting bowls. I wasn't sure whether to season or go straight in and whether to avoid using the charcoal burn out technique as it might overdry the wood. Thoughts?

@Hugo
I think I know what you mean. I couldn't tell how long that was cut before we got to it.

 

[Hugo]

Cherry will split if it has just been cut, good idea is to leave the piece you are working on in a plastic bag along with some wet shavings, I also soak a piece of wood for a few days and leave it in the bag to help keep the cherry from drying out.
The first two kuksas that I made have cracks in them as I left them indoors after carving, big mistake, lesson learned.