Wood, cordage etc

[Kiamyr]

And does Hazel have anything running through the centre? I've no camera at the moment so it's a bit of a pain

 

[gregorach]

The bit of hazel I picked up the other week did have a small amount of pith in the center - assuming I got my identification right. Nothing like the amount of pith in elder though.

 

[Kiamyr]

Is the Elder pith white and pretty soft?

Also, while I have this thread started, what's the etiquette when it comes to going out to local woods and chopping some branches off trees and so on?

 

[rich59]

Is the Elder pith white and pretty soft?

Also, while I have this thread started, what's the etiquette when it comes to going out to local woods and chopping some branches off trees and so on?

I was playing with a number of piths this morning, including elder. Beige and moderately stiff was the elder pith I was playing with. But piths generally are probably variable depending on the age of the wood, history of getting damp etc..

My personal etiquette is to only take stuff that is dead, and that usually means lying on the floor. Also not to leave any sign that I have been there.

 

[Kiamyr]

And where do you get a decent piece of wood as it seems hard to find some dead piece on the floor that's any way decent

 

[rich59]

And where do you get a decent piece of wood as it seems hard to find some dead piece on the floor that's any way decent

I know the feeling. I recently wanted to try the near impossible task of bow drilling to make fire with Oak. I got some decent but too thin wood that was dead while being a lower branch on a tree. I got some thicker wood lying on the ground, but found it was too rotted to achieve the task.

Mostly it is opportunistically. My garden provides me with elder and buddliea and climbing rose. My neighbour occasionally donates me some dead flower stems such as mullein. A branch might fall off a tree out in the street. Someone may be pruning a tree. Then there is the christmas tree.

My local park is a possibility. You can keep an eye out for what you might want and ask the park keeper. He might even point out a heap somewhere.

Skips are pretty good for chunks of discarded timber used in construction.

Some people have access to wooden pallets.

Waste ground is fair game if it is not a recognised woodland and you leave it looking OK.

Come to think of it - scraps of wood from things like a loft extension, replacing a daughter's bed etc seem to provide me enough wood for most of my needs. You need a place to store it though.

 

[Kiamyr]

Thanks for all that Rich.

Discarded timber used in construction might be a good bet for myself. There's a good bit of woodland around where I live but I rarely find anything decent.

 

[rich59]

Oh yes,

Another source of wood is your local garage - most sell bags of split logs for a few pounds. Or maybe the DIY/ garden superstore.

 

[Kiamyr]

Cheers, thanks for that.

 

[Kiamyr]

Saw a good few perfect pieces for my bow drill yesterday morning, pity they weren't dead