Wa-handles from a scavenged branch

[Atso_J]

Ran across a good looking branch at a local playground and couldn't resist picking it up as it was just 100m from home The diameter is just about perfect for wa-handles so I thought I'd give it a go as a learning project.

The branch as it was found and some brass tube for ferrules

Pieces winged to size

First one debarked and roughly shaped

It's not that long since I found the wood so it's not completely dry yet by any means. The wood feels surprisingly solid and not spongy or anything. I'll probably just do the debarking for the rest now and either leave in a warm dry place or bake them. Not really in a hurry since I don't have any suitable blades to put them on at the moment!

 

[Homechef]

Cool idea! Watch for splitting/checking on the ends of your pieces. Water will evaporate faster there. If you let them dry naturally, a little paint on the ends that you could sand off later will help. Or you could cut the pieces longer than you need, planning to shorten them once dried.

 

[Atso_J]

Cool idea! Watch for splitting/checking on the ends of your pieces. Water will evaporate faster there. If you let them dry naturally, a little paint on the ends that you could sand off later will help. Or you could cut the pieces longer than you need, planning to shorten them once dried.

I think there's some room for trimming in all of them. Thanks for the paint tip! I guess glue would work too? A tiny amount of glue is more easily available than paint.

 

[Homechef]

I don't know about glue...maybe. The goal is to slow the water loss out the ends closer to the rest of the wood. I'd give glue a shot if it's what you have . That's what this project is about with the found branch, stays on theme!

 

[Atso_J]

I don't know about glue...maybe. The goal is to slow the water loss out the ends closer to the rest of the wood. I'd give glue a shot if it's what you have . That's what this project is about with the found branch, stays on theme!

Yeah I figured the glue would seal the peripherals just as paint would. Well, I have a handful of those so might as well try different methods for comparison!

 

[Atso_J]

Batch numbered and weighed

1: 36g
2: 39g
3: 46g
4: 55g
5: 56g
6: 52g

I'm gonna bake them all tomorrow and see how they behave.

 

[Atso_J]

Lesson learned: They all split at ~100°C starting from the ends. However, they feel dry now and give a nice sound of hard wood.

The new weights after the bake

1: 33g
2: 36g
3: 41g
4: 50g
5: 50g
6: 47g

They were quite moist to begin with and mayhaps could have been dried in two stages for example 60-75°C for a bit longer first and then another round at 90-100°C later. Sealing the ends also sounds like an even better idea now. This is turning into more of a science project now so apologies for that!

Now off to find a new piece to work with. I promise this thread ends with a finished handle!

 

[icanhaschzbrgr]

I haven't tried it myself, but one common way of preparing wood is boiling it in salted water for a couple of hours.
But for a small pieces I think it's much easier to use microwave with low power settings.

 

[Atso_J]

I haven't tried it myself, but one common way of preparing wood is boiling it in salted water for a couple of hours.
But for a small pieces I think it's much easier to use microwave with low power settings.

Thanks for the tips! I got some new pieces to go with now. A couple are too small for actual use so they'll serve as experiments Probably gonna stick a couple in the oven with lower heat with and without the ends sealed.