A few things I've made over the last 7 years or so-wood & bark

[Hill40rt]

Apologies to those who are already familiar with my craft work, having seen it on other websites. There just seem to be quite a lot of new names on here so I thought I'd post some of it up to give folk I don't yet know an idea of what I've done.:ashamed:

These were whittled from ash, rowan and hazel and all about 1.25-1.5 inches in diameter
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x125/stalch/donetotems.jpg
All gone now, either sold, traded or given away. Never done any for about 4-5 years now, it's funny how different ideas catch your (well mine anyway:o) imagination and then you lose interest and do something else:confused2:

This was a splinter of oak I found on a wander in my local woodland, beneath a storm damaged tree;
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x125/stalch/4copyresized.jpg

I kept it on a shelf in my garage for a couple of years, before one day starting to whittle it. After a couple of weeks, mainly with a chip carver, it turned into this;
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x125/stalch/firegod2copyresized.jpg

It's just a bit of carving/whittling, it doesn't have a use, other than maybe a paperweight.

Then there's the classic spoon carving "phase" I've carved literally dozens of these, indeed I burnt a couple of dozen before Christmas, as there simply was nowhere to keep them and no one wanted them.
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x125/stalch/newestpicturesofitemsforfestival005.jpg

This is a canoe cup, carved from a piece of birch, still got this one;
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x125/stalch/PB210002.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x125/stalch/PB210008.jpg

So that's the bones of the tree but I've also done a bit with the skin too;
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x125/stalch/PC170010copyresized1.jpg
The big bucket is a mix of ash and wych elm bark with cordage made from wych elm bark, while the tall container is ash bark, sewn with spruce root and then sealed with spruce resin and charcoal tar, with a coating of beeswax inside to make a water carrier. The cordage on that one is honeysuckle bark.

The brown ones at the front are birch bark, with beech lids and wych elm bark cordage.

Hope you like them

best wishes

Steve

[Ehecatl]

Amazing Steve.

Thanks for sharing

M@

[butchthedog]

Wow Steve, they are good mate.

[Silverback]

now there's talent T^

[rawfish111]

*removes hat* Great work! T^

[jus_young]

Nice stuff there mate.

[ian c]

Very nice i like to see things that others make, thank you.

[Realearner]

Lovely work there very impressed. Ever thought of doing tutorials, or running courses?

[Hill40rt]

Thank you very much for the kind comments.

I've run courses for the local Forestry Commission and conservation group, on bark container making,from standing tree to finished container but the whittling side of things is literally, chip away and see what comes out really.

thanks again

Steve

[fish]

your kohlrosing is awsome!

[snowleopard]

That wood work is amazing, my spoons are very crude in comparison!!!

[Realearner]

Thank you very much for the kind comments.

I've run courses for the local Forestry Commission and conservation group, on bark container making,from standing tree to finished container but the whittling side of things is literally, chip away and see what comes out really.

thanks again

Steve

Do you still run courses, and if so where?
Would love to learn about the use of bark for containers.

[David_JAFO]

hello,
T^
Regards
David

[Olly]

That's some beautiful stuff, love the spoons and the bark containers.

[JonnyP]

Thats some stunning work there chap, but as someone that carves spoons and knows about the care that goes into each spoon made, I find what you say incredible. Why would you burn something that has had all that work put into it..?



Then there's the classic spoon carving "phase" I've carved literally dozens of these, indeed I burnt a couple of dozen before Christmas, as there simply was nowhere to keep them and no one wanted them.

[Hill40rt]

Thats some stunning work there chap, but as someone that carves spoons and knows about the care that goes into each spoon made, I find what you say incredible. Why would you burn something that has had all that work put into it..?

You're right Jonny, they do take hours to make and a curious amount of your soul goes into them but.....

Well, to be honest,it's actually really easy,as after a while, you just run out of space.

I had a one of those big "bags for life" from Tesco's ( the woven ones) full of the thing's, hanging on a nail in the garage for about 3 or 4 years.

I couldn't sell them,(although I might have been able to shift a few at a craft fair I suppose) I couldn't even give them away eventually, as I'd already given pretty much everyone I knew a couple or more, over the years.

I found that I couldn't motivate myself to carve anymore, as long as this bag of 'kindling' was hanging there doing absolutely nothing, I really couldn't see the point of adding to it.



I carved my first spoon for at least 3 years, last Saturday, though as soon as I finished it, it was given away to the lad who leases the woodland it came from.

It's the same with leatherworking, knife making or any other craft really, if you can't sell, give away or trade what you are making, you end up stowed off.

thanks for the kind compliments

all the best

Steve

[Hill40rt]

Do you still run courses, and if so where?
Would love to learn about the use of bark for containers.


I'm sorry I missed your reply!

I've not run a container course for a few years now, but there may be a possibility of running a couple at Cowclose wood( see this thread-http://www.naturalbushcraft.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?5416-Volunteers-Invited-19th-20th-amp-21st-April/page2 ) this year, it all depends on whether Gary, the tenant, get his bushcraft/wild camp site off the ground.

Sadly we're a few hundred miles apart, so it's unlikely I'll get a chance to show you the makings:(

I think Eric Methven,one of the other volunteers who also ran courses for the FC with me, did a load of photographs during the last course I did but I don't recall ever seeing the tutorial he had planned:confused2:

best wishes

Steve

[Hill40rt]

I was digging around my photo's and found these:

They're bull roarers, actually quite easy to make once you know how
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x125/stalch/diy%20stuff%20for%20site/P1190006.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x125/stalch/diy%20stuff%20for%20site/P1190004.jpg
The main thing is to keep them thin, no more than about a quarter of an inch thick, at least in my experience
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x125/stalch/diy%20stuff%20for%20site/P1190003.jpg

The other "trick" is to use as thin cord as you can get away with.

Here's how they work;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvNR9Xo8z3M
No, it's not me in the video, I'm much shorter than him.;)

cheers

Steve