As it's not technically *knife* related...

C

CaffeinatedViking

Joined
Mar 15, 2007
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38
Hey, all. Newbie here. It'll take a sec to get to my point, so be gentle.

I've been wanting to gain experience in woodworking before I venture forth into the Great Beyond that is blacksmithing. I can whip up shelving, replace stairs, make headboards, etc etc. For about over a year now I've been wanting to take things in the weapon direction, as I was inspired by various war clubs I've seen in the "Knives" annuals and other sources, as well as the work of Jake Powning. So I started collecting usable-looking pieces from the trees I've taken down in my backyard, being mostly silver maple and black walnut.

Unfortunately, I left a lot of my specimens on the back porch where they endured multiple weather changes before it occurred to me, "Oh wait, maybe I should be keeping them in the attic!" (which is ideal curing space, believe me). I really want to work with the stuff I've collected, but some of it has small/medium splits or fractures in it. Nothing too deep (as far as I can tell), but I don't want to take any chances by making something really nice-looking and then having it shatter upon use.

My question (yes, there actually is one) is this: Can anyone recommend a product or give their 2 cents on what I could do to save my wood? It'd be much appreciated.
 
Welcome to Bladeforums!

moving-van.jpg
 
Yeah, cut it down close to the sizes you want and stabilize it. I've got some maple from last spring that's about due to be cut up, I think...
 
PimpinSquee said:
stabalizing the wood with nelsonite in a vaccuum chamber should work.
Click to expand...

That sounds cool. Show us some images of the stuff you have stabalized, and how it looks after it's been finished on one of your knives.
 
"stabalizing the wood with nelsonite in a vaccuum chamber should work"

Thanks for the tip. *chuckle* Unfortunately, I have nooo clue how to go about doing that. Is it difficult? And are there any other ways of insuring the wood's integrity?
 
To keep the end splits down while the wet wood was air drying, some water based acrylic house paint on the ends would have been the route to take.
Now that it is dry, do a search here for stabilizing wood, and do some reading.
There's a lot here to read, and a lot of different methods.
Or you could send some wood off to WSSI...
 
howiesatwork said:
To keep the end splits down while the wet wood was air drying, some water based acrylic house paint on the ends would have been the route to take.
Now that it is dry, do a search here for stabilizing wood, and do some reading.
There's a lot here to read, and a lot of different methods.
Or you could send some wood off to WSSI...
Click to expand...

Yeah, I didn't find out about the acrylic paint trick until after the wood had already been seasoning for a while. I is dumb.

Thankyouthankyou for the tip about WSSI. I'd never heard of 'em before. I may go that route.

Also, for anyone else who feels like they can give me some pointers, a reminder: I'm wanting to fashion war clubs, so most of the wood I have seasoned/seasoning already is BIG. The largest piece I have so far is a baldcyprus branch (I think) that's almost as tall as I am, which is 6'3 (I'd say the branch is about 5'). Other pieces are smaller, but still around the size of large axe handles in length. I'm gonna take some pics soon and post links here so ya'll can see what I'm talking about.

Also, Jake Powning suggests butcher's wax and a few layers of linseed oil to seal and polish the wood (which I've held off on, so as to get more info on the process). Will this get me where I want to go, or is further stablization necessary? And should I carve/alter the wood completely before stablizing and sealing, or can shaping be done afterwards with no problem?
 
One thing to note if you plan to stabilize anything, or send it to be stabilized is that the wood has to be dry first, THEN you can stabilize it.

Get out your acrylic paint, paint up the ends, toss 'em in the attic and forget about it all for a year or more

While you wait for the wood to dry, you can start on the 'smithing! :)

-d
 
deker said:
One thing to note if you plan to stabilize anything, or send it to be stabilized is that the wood has to be dry first, THEN you can stabilize it.

Get out your acrylic paint, paint up the ends, toss 'em in the attic and forget about it all for a year or more

While you wait for the wood to dry, you can start on the 'smithing! :)

-d
Click to expand...

Well, most of the wood I've collected has already been in the attic for over a year, and seems pretty bone-dry (our house was built in 1920 and had crap for insulation until we started working on it this past Winter. The attic really is like a kiln during the Spring/Summer). Any way to tell if there's moisture left inside? I suppose I can wait until later; I'm just really excited at the idea of actually getting to work with the stuff.
 
Just to keep this thread from dying before I find out what I need, how do I tell how much, if any, moisture is left in the wood before I start work on it?

And should I wait to work on it (carving, etc) until I stablize it/have it stablized, or can I do that beforehand without there being any problems?
 
GibsonFan said:
I haven't tried it yet, but here's one tutorial that looks pretty promising. Well-written and you don't need much gear to do it:

http://www.northcoastknives.com/northcoast_knives_tutorials_hints_tips3.htm
Click to expand...

I have tried this technique with marginal success-but I might try it again before I completely write it off as a failure-I used maple burl and after the treatment,I let them sit for about a week,ground one side flat,let it sit overnight,and it warped.I tried re-grinding with the same results.
 
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