Thanks bushy.

I agree to go to furniture places to get scrap wood, but somehow here they already get to the trick and are selling their scrap for $$$.

I am hoarding almost every scrap I found that have a bit of grain on them..

Ya do wha'ca gotta do and actually when you're out there huntin the wabbits you can look for dead wood to take home too. I've always got my eye out for something I can take home and run through the band saw. I've got some nice bowl turning wood that way. Heck a knife handle doesn't take much wood to complete. Even bushes might have some promise if they're big enough in cross-section. Drift wood on the beach of the lake or the ocean, a thrown away packing palate. There's a guy here that makes spoons out of tree limbs from his back yard.

Suzanne wrote:

There's a guy here that makes spoons out of tree limbs from his back yard.

He's obviously never run into eucalypts.
They dont call some of them iron bark for nothing.

I have actually hoard some burls when I am out hunting, the biggest problem is that often the insides are rotten out.
What I found to be sound I took home and paint the ends so it dry out evenly.
The problem with these pieces are most of the time they are cracked inside, so they must be stabilized before you can work with them.
I wish I have access to some large banksia nuts, they are awesome after stabilized with poly urethane resins.

LOL I also have made many spoons using firewood.. it is the best idle time in the bush.. making toothpicks out of a tree branch is very soothing

good to have a decent knife to do it with..lol

I'll keep my eyes open for some of those big banksia "flowers" and nuts Gelan...I come across them from time to time mate.

Thanks VInce, Much appreciated!

:)Suz-do you have any "scotch broom"(weed)in your area?I cut one out of my yard last year that I will call "old growth"and wow is it hard!It was about 4" thru on the main stem-I thought that my chain saw was running the chain backwards as it just kinda gnawed its way thru!I really hate the stuff because unchecked it takes over.It might be worth looking into for small carving projects.Another thing to look for in your area is "yew" wood-hard as he11 but strong and flexible,the oregon NDN's used to make their bows from it.

And then there's "gorst"...Real pretty yellow flowers, but......

Have you ever tried using an old bowling ball to make a knife handle?
I have seen pistol grips on an old .45 colt and a stack set of pieces for a knife handle. They looked good but the knife handle looked a bit strange to me at first. It was a bit less conservative than my likes but it was functional.

Scotch broom is so invasive they should pay people to get rid of it. Nope never cut into any. Bushy I think gorse and scotch broom are the same? I hate seeing hillsides covered in it. I've heard of yew wood but don't know what it looks like, I should look that one up. Ok they say it's the hardest of the softwoods, most larger dia. trees have hollow interiors, has a nice fine grain, but with some knots and irregularities, evergreen with a redish peeling bark (from the photo I saw).

Scotch Broom has a dark, small leaf with yellow flowers on the outside. Gorst (or gorse) has a grey/green sprig with thorns that sting when you are pricked by them and the yellow flowers are inside the plant. I can't tell you how many tourists I have seen TRY to pick them...

That sounds like some fun stuff BushM. (watching the tourists) OOooo they're so pretty! Lets get a nice bunch! YEOW! How funny. Like watching first-time boaters drown their tow vehicles? In San Diego one day they decided to take that big square rigged boat (can't remember the name) out of Mission Bay for a little shake-down cruise and everybody with a boat got in the harbor to sail with her. My brother and my dad went out in a home-made dingy and bout swamped the thing in the mess of churning water that crowd made. Anyway the real entertainment was watching the boat ramp activity. Buncha swearing goin on there, with the giant choppy swells making it impossible to load a trailer. The TV news got my brother and dad on camera when talking about the crazy people in small boats. Oh yeah it's the Star of India and they had just restored some of it, wanted to turn it around and let the dock batter the other side of it for a while. Better to watch from a distance.


ok I'm through
Suz

"ok I'm through"

No yer not. yer just takin' a deep breath.

PaulS wrote:

Have you ever tried using an old bowling ball to make a knife handle? I have seen pistol grips on an old .45 colt and a stack set of pieces for a knife handle. They looked good but the knife handle looked a bit strange to me at first. It was a bit less conservative than my likes but it was functional.

Bowling balls are made of resins, there are a lot of knife scales that are made of similar material.
No I have not used bowling balls, unfortunately they are rare item here.
Heck even 10 pins bowling is quite rare nowadays..
Lawn bowling uses different type of balls LOL.

I am planning to make jeans and cloth resin micarta one day, they will be good for my guns and knives..