29 June 2014

Wooden Pebbles (or What to Do with Cut-offs and Poisonous Wood)

I acquired a few black locust logs, forgotten in the forest after sawing. But black locust wood is slightly poisonous, can irritate the skin and so it isn't suitable for spoons. What else can be carved from such wood, that would show the grain nicely, but have a simple shape? Pebbles, of course!


Black locust wood reminds me of fiberglass: it contains hard, almost translucent fibers arranged in layers. At first it was greenish, but the color later changed to yellow and brown.

This pebble is from a walnut cut-off (left from this spoon). It is too roundy, so I could not carve it in usual way, it kept slipping off my fingers. So I used Dremel and sanding bands instead of a knife.

This is (probably) zebrawood. When I ordered olive wood, I received this cut-off as a gift, but it was too small for a spoon. The wood has an unusual plywood-like smell and very big pores.

The last pebble so far is from plumwood (both heartwood and sapwood are visible).

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