Latest project

R

rcoulas

Joined
Jul 23, 2005
Messages
141
I don't post here often but when my latest project turned out much better then expected I felt I should share in case anyone was thinking of trying this out. The hawk was bought from TOTW, it came unfinished and unassembled. First off I filed and sanded the head to remove the casting marks. It was then cold blued and rubbed with steel wool, then it went in a 3:1 mix of water and bleach for 30 min. Then was buffed with steel wool again. The haft was sanded with 400 grit paper then 0000 steel wool and burnished with canvas. The stain was made with vinegar and nails soaked for a week. It was applied then dried with the heat from a hair drier and rubbed with steel wool and burnished with canvas. This was repeated 3 times. Then finished with 5 coats of 2:1 boiled linseed and turpentine. Each coat was burnished between coats after drying for at least 12 hours. I can't believe how well the vinegar solution worked on curly maple.
 
Last edited:
c2eb41561ddd42aa6aaeff88e273ea02.jpg
 
I just hope the color is stable and doesn't fade. I found very little info about how it works on wood with low levels of tannins.
 
If I found a handle for my bit.... how much would you charge to do this? I love the look you achieved
 
Honestly it is very easy. Find some rusty nails or some deoiled steel wool and soak it for a week or two in a couple of cups of vinegar.
 
garry3 said:
Heck ya! Curly Maple is just classy. Good job.
Click to expand...

It's also one of the most often poached woods around these parts. Poachers come out onto public land and fell huge old maples only to take a few feet of the curly maple from the stump. The rest of the hundreds of years old tree is left to rot on the forest floor. Receipts from state and county forests help fund schools. When thieves steal the most valuable timber they are stealing from you & I.

I would encourage each of you to stay away from curly maple. Just as sales of ivory motivates elephant poachers, sales of curly maple motivates maple poachers. This is a serious problem in my area - Maple Valley, WA.

Curly%20maple.jpg


Curly%20maple%202.jpg


Please don't use curly maple.
 
I dont get why maple gets 'curly', is it an age thing or like burl wood, accidental? how can poachers know from the outside that it will be curly maple Inside... thats just weird.

sorry for sidetracking your thread :)
 
It's typically found on large old maples. Poachers chip some of the bark off with an axe. If they see the curly wood then they take it. In an area where poachers work you'll see numerous trees that have been sampled along with the remains of those trees they've poached.
 
Square_peg said:
It's also one of the most often poached woods around these parts. Poachers come out onto public land and fell huge old maples only to take a few feet of the curly maple from the stump. The rest of the hundreds of years old tree is left to rot on the forest floor. Receipts from state and county forests help fund schools. When thieves steal the most valuable timber they are stealing from you & I.

I would encourage each of you to stay away from curly maple. . .

Please don't use curly maple.
Click to expand...


There are wood poachers around here too and I share your disgust.:mad: Poachers will steal from both public and private land. I know first hand of people who have had Black Walnut being stolen. However, I buy wood from a local guy who has been in business for over thirty years. I trust that his logs were obtained honestly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top