Just made some birch bark pots as a gift for a couple I know and their new baby (skinflint that I am).
I'm a bit rubbish on posting pictures and such like - can anyone help me out. How do I upload pictures I have on file onto posts? I can see that there is an option to 'insert image' along the toolbar at the top of this box but how on earth do I make my jpegs into url's?
In the meantime, some tips for working with Birch Bark at this time of year would be to ensure that the Birch log has been slightly warmed before attempting to remove the bark (stand it near a heat source if it's a freshly cut log and still quite sappy or pour on warm water if it's slightly older).
Be patient when removing the bark. As soon as you start to pull at it too much it will just tear off unevenly. 'Fist' it off in the same way that you might take the hide off a deer or use something wedge shaped with a blunt tip to ease it off gently and evenly all round. You can use a sharp blade to cut into the wood itself in stubborn areas meaning that the bark comes away with some of the log attached - this you can carefully shave off after the bark comes off completely.
Use a light grade sandpaper to rub any lumpy and stiff areas on the outer bark down to the same thickness as the rest of it before you make anything with it.
Of course, I'm really talking about removing the bark from a freshly cut log. I know some people take it carefully from a living tree but I always go for something recently felled and use the rest of the wood for making bowls, spoons etc. Make friends with a forester rather than cut stuff down willy nilly though.
The only thing I make from old Birch bark is tar, tinder, tiles (anything that begins with 'T' by the look of it).
