best wood for a bender tent

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Dec 25, 2013
1
0
merseyside
hi guys,im looking to make a bender tent to last over summer,was wondering what tree would be best to use ie hazel,ash etc.i want it to be approx 6 ft high with another foot sank into the ground and approx 8 ft in width so these are gonna have to be 16 ft long and at least 60 mm in the ground.cheers for any tips in advance....hi-de-hi.
 

mrcharly

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jan 25, 2011
3,257
44
North Yorkshire, UK
How do you get 16ft from that?

Your bender profile is semi-circular, so 1/2 x 3.14 x 8 = approx 13ft, even allowing for the bit in the ground.

Finding somewhere to build it might be as much of a challenge as finding the wood. Takes a fair bit of wood and you'll be restricted to what you can get locally. 'Anything bendy in the right diameter and length'
 

Silkhi

Forager
Mar 28, 2015
202
7
N Yorks
I used to make something very similar weaving in bracken (eek cancer!) to make a very solid weatherproof shelter. I used Hazel for the most part but anything available/to hand for the areas that don't need to bend quite so much. I can't remember exactly but there was a lot of birch in the area - I think I used thorn stripped brambles too - not for supporting structures ofc.
 

Bishop

Full Member
Jan 25, 2014
1,716
691
Pencader
Hazel and take plenty of cordage, washing-line,garden-twine, paracord it's all good and brush up on your knots particularly Shear Lashing as it's unlikely that nature will provide poles perfect for the job so you'll probably have to join several together to make the main arch for such a large construction.
 

skate

Nomad
Apr 13, 2010
260
0
East Devon
Hazel or willow. They are the two traditional trees used. The better you get at constructing benders the less twine you will use.
 

cranmere

Settler
Mar 7, 2014
992
2
Somerset, England
That video is a good example of my grumble elsewhere. Excellent information but should have been half the length and left out all of the verbal rambling, repeated actions and irrelevant content. Bah humbug! (Not enough coffee yet today).
 

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