| Project by frank | posted 466 days ago | 786 views | 1 time favorited | 10 comments | ![]() |
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Rustic Camp Serving Tray
So heres my version of a rustic camp serving tray, which I also found in a burn//junk pile, just waiting to serve up some delights at the end of a hard day of logging. The main tray body is of white oak, while the handle is of birch….

....I joined the birch branch through a knot hole in the piece of white oak, by using a type of joinery which I call ‘branch joinery’....

....the first step is to collect green pine saplings and green pine cones which are then heated up in the sun. As you can see in the photo I will wrap the green pine sapling around the birch branch just as if one were wrapping with rope…..

....next I will take the green pine cone which is oozing pine sap after being heated from the sun and I will pack the knot hole, where the green pine sapling has been wrapped and filled in. If the green pine cone is warmed up properly then it will be packed into the area of the knot hole very tight. The pine sap will fill the area as a type of glue and in no-time at all one will have a tight fit that will not come out. If there is a down-side to this process it’s that the green pine cone is full of that oozing sap which in turn can be a little messy out in the woods….on ones fingers and hands….

This type of ‘branch joinery’ is one I found out about, through just sitting and taking notes on trees while out in the woods….and then there are the many trials of trying that I keep on doing as such….
Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
RusticWoodArt
rusticwoodman@gmail.com
http://frank.wordpress.com/
—
”....work smart, work safe, and live, to work the wood....”
-- --frank, NH, http://frank.wordpress.com/































10 comments so far
RobS
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1231 posts in 1185 days
posted 465 days ago
A branch joinery tray…why knot? I like it, unique is always good.
-- Rob (A) Waxahachie,TX
MsDebbieP
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14096 posts in 1039 days
posted 465 days ago
this is wonderful! I love it
and the tutorial as pretty cool as well.
Awesome, Frank.. or “awe – lots”.
-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
trifern
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7890 posts in 646 days
posted 465 days ago
That’s one cool tray. Thanks for sharing Frank.
-- My favorite piece is my last one, my best piece is my next one.
Dick, & Barb Cain
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6991 posts in 1178 days
posted 465 days ago
That’s about as rustic as you can get, very unique Frank.
GOOD LUCK!
-- -** 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
jockmike2
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7222 posts in 1125 days
posted 465 days ago
Pretty neat Frank. First time in a while you’ve posted. I like what you wrote on Joes Poem yesterday. Very eloquent.
-- Mike. mwurm13@yahoo.com
SteveKorz
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2030 posts in 593 days
posted 465 days ago
OK Frank, that is one cool tray!
-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17) †
Colin
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185 posts in 799 days
posted 464 days ago
Fascinating story of joining two bits ofwood with a natural glue. I too wish you good luck
-- Colin, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. "Every craftsman was once an amateur"
Grumpy
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14852 posts in 730 days
posted 461 days ago
Great job Frank. Good luck in the contest.
-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python
BillF
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22 posts in 468 days
posted 460 days ago
Frank, I like going through your projects. Always unique and inspirational. Thank you for the lessons you pass on to us also.
-- Master of my domain (My wife says so).
WoodMosaics
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99 posts in 411 days
posted 407 days ago
If it works, it’s good.
-- It’s not so much what we know that causes the trouble, it’s what we know that’s not so.