fun little carving project

[forginhill]

Recently watched a video by zedoutdoors on carving wooden beads. If you have a minute it's worth watching. So I tried my hand at carving a few. In the video, Martin Hazell uses a bamboo skewer for poking out the pith and finishing the bead. I forged a small awl from a section of old chainsaw file to help with cleaning out the pith. Anyway, I find it very relaxing to make these and thought some of you all would like to try it too. Cheers...

 

[Zingmo]

Did you use elder? I am sure that there are many other hedgerow plants with the right mix of pith and wood. Buddleia perhaps?

Z

 

[forginhill]

I live in a desert, so no elder around. I've been trying alternatives and found two other possibilities. The ones I made in the pic were from a type of pine. If you ended up not having the perfect wood around, you could always just drill the holes.

 

[Fraxinus]

You could heat up a skewer and form a hole that way too if you have no awl or drill to hand.

Rob.

 

[forginhill]

Excellent idea, Rob. Especially if you're sitting around a fire already.

 

[forginhill]

Used the beads and carved a mini spoon to make a key chain...

 

[crosslandkelly]

Nice job, they look great.