| Project by Dick, & Barb Cain | posted 666 days ago | 852 views | 1 time favorited | 18 comments | ![]() |
A friend of mine smoked fish, he experimented with a lot of different species of wood, & was never satisfied. One day he questioned this older fellow who settled in this country from Finland, what kind of wood he used for smoking fish. He told him the wood he preferred was Tag Alder. He then tried Tag Alder, & from then on, that was his own preference also.
I have a lot of Tag Alder growing on my property, but I have never smoked fish with it. I prefer to use my Tag Alder to make rustic furniture, & things.
“TANGLEWOOD BRIDGE”, that’s what I call it.
I found three trees about 3” in diameter with equal arcs, or bends in them. It’s kind of rare to find things that are equal growing in the wild. After looking them over, I thought these would have the perfect curvature for making a garden bridge. So I gathered up enough other material to make this bridge. I kept adding pieces to it until it was as “Tangled” as I could get it.
When you first peel the bark off the wood, it’s pure white, but after being exposed to the air for awhile, it turns to rusty red, & so do your hands. I guess the tannin in the bark causes this. The red on the hands goes away after a couple of good washes, or if I happen to do the dishes. “Ha Ha”??
I sealed it with my own concoction of mineral spirits, marine spar varnish, & linseed oil. I think it works just as good, or even better, plus cheaper than the commercial brands.
-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1
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18 comments so far
dennis mitchell
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2933 posts in 796 days
posted 666 days ago
Thats pretty cool Dick! My what a tangled bridge you weave!
-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com
Obi
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2152 posts in 719 days
posted 666 days ago
I’ve often thought about smoking fish, but can’t figure out how to keep them lit. The Bridge is nice though.
-- http://ye-olde-cabinet-shoppe.com/
jockmike2
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4129 posts in 728 days
posted 666 days ago
Beautiful Dick and not nearly 94lbs, or is it? No kidding that is nice, that would look nice in anyones back yard. What is a tag alder anyway? mike
-- Mike. Profisher50@yahoo.com
jockmike2
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4129 posts in 728 days
posted 666 days ago
By the way Obi, I smoked catnip once, is it anything like smoked fish? Miike
-- Mike. Profisher50@yahoo.com
Dick, & Barb Cain
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5047 posts in 781 days
posted 665 days ago
Hi Mike,
Here’s a little info about tag alder.
BIRCH FAMILY (Betulaceae)
IND. STATUS: OBL
FIELD CHARACTERISTICS: A deciduous shrub or small tree occasionally reaching 10 m. in height. Leaves are alternate, simple, serrate to doubly serrate, and ovate to oval. Undersides of leaves are pale green or have a thin, waxy coating. Leaves are often hairy above with hairy veins beneath. Main leaves have 9-12 pairs of lateral veins. Twigs have sessile, woody, cone-like pistillate catkins. Staminate catkins are pendulous and usually clustered. Over winter, both types of catkins are conspicuous: last growing season’s pistillate catkins and the new staminate catkins that will flower in spring.
ECOLOGICAL NOTES: Speckled alder is the dominant in alder thickets of Minnesota and Wisconsin, and it may also be present in bogs and coniferous swamps on acidic soils. It occurs primarily in and north of the vegetation tension zone. Speckled alder is an important wildlife food plant, especially for beaver and white-tailed deer. Another common name is tag alder. A synonym is A. rugosa (DuRoi) Sprengel.
SOURCE: Gleason and Cronquist (1991); Swink and Wilhelm (1994); and Voss (1985).
-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1
Dick, & Barb Cain
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5047 posts in 781 days
posted 665 days ago
The Deer like the bridge.

Here’s a picture of a newly born Fawn, about 6’ away from the bridge. His coat was still damp. I took this with the telephoto lense. I was about 50’ away.
-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1
frank
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1387 posts in 688 days
posted 663 days ago
Hi Dick,
That “Tanglewood Bridge” sure is looking great and rustic.
I never have used Tag Alder, but around my neck of the woods there is a vine called Oriental Bittersweet which tries very hard to just take over and is quite invasive. This vine works at strangling the trees it comes into contact with, so most landowners are glad to get rid of it. There is a lady over in CT who has made a name for herself, making all types of rustic designs and furniture out of this vine.
Have a good day!!!
GODSPEED
Frank
-- --frank, NH, http://frank.wordpress.com/
Dick, & Barb Cain
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5047 posts in 781 days
posted 663 days ago
Thanks Frank,

That vine must be the same as the one that’s in Arkansas where my son lives. It winds around a tree & chokes it to death. I brought a piece home with me. It’s a long 1” spiral about 5 feet long, that was wrapped around a 4” diameter Pine. I tried to peel it, but the bark seems intertwined with the wood. The wood fibers intertwine in a beautiful pattern.
I finally made a hanging yard ornament, or ”Watcha-m-callit” Twister using my old failed CD disks.
-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1
pat sherman
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357 posts in 854 days
posted 655 days ago
dick, love the pics of the deer and your bridge.
and the whata ma callit. lol
-- pat,ohio...http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y198/patshwigar/
Dick, & Barb Cain
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5047 posts in 781 days
posted 649 days ago
Thanks Pat
-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1
oscorner
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4573 posts in 792 days
posted 649 days ago
I like the design you made on the sides of your bridge. It looks like it belongs there, too.
-- Jesus is Lord!
Cathy Krumrei
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239 posts in 668 days
posted 586 days ago
Dick didn’t you make an arbor out of this too? I am doing some backyard planning and I am adding another pond and making a smaller bridge between the two would be something I would like to do. Also I need a new arch for my flowers. Now with all this snow it delayed me from looking for some supplies! What did you use to attach it all? Thanks!
Krum
-- Cathy Krumrei (Krum) http://www.TheCarversCorner.com
Dick, & Barb Cain
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5047 posts in 781 days
posted 586 days ago
Krum
I’ll enter it as a project. I’ll go through my image files.
-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1
MsDebbieP
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11909 posts in 642 days
posted 586 days ago
your heart must have been pounding when you saw the fawn. What an honour.
Love the bridge. I don’t have a creek on my property (not even a trickle) but I could fake one just so I could have such a bridge to look at.
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
Dick, & Barb Cain
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5047 posts in 781 days
posted 586 days ago
Debbie
That creek is as fake as you can get. LOL
-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1
MsDebbieP
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11909 posts in 642 days
posted 586 days ago
see? I was so focused on the beautiful bridge I didn’t bother to look underneath.
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
PanamaJack
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4452 posts in 559 days
posted 542 days ago
I think I want to go and dig a real creek out in my back yard so I can make one of these. Nice job!
-- Carpe Lignum - Seize The Wood,
Dick, & Barb Cain
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5047 posts in 781 days
posted 542 days ago
Panamajack,
Just get yourself a pile of rocks, & imagine a creek like I did.
-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1