Wood hunting in the UK! The more holes the better, teredo and all!

[SADS 669]

Looks like it's going right over my house...again ha ha.

I am hopeful it will squeak a little east....giving us lesser winds.

 

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[huntsman53]

Looks like it's going right over my house...again ha ha.

I am hopeful it will squeak a little east....giving us lesser winds.

Maybe it is time to frame over the outside of your' house, add some rebar and pour concrete to completely encase your' home. Don't forget to add some air and drain pipes with plugs and an escape hatch or two. Better yet, get BVI to come and help you move it to the North Carolina mountains.


Frank

 

[SADS 669]

Mailed a piece this morning......let me know when it reaches.

 

[huntsman53]

Mailed a piece this morning......let me know when it reaches.

That is super nice of you Kevin! I would imagine that there is a lot of extra wood laying and maybe even sticking around (as in wind blown through trees, homes and just about anything else) after the Hurricane. A lot of folks around here check out lake shores for drift wood after big storms.


Frank

 

[SADS 669]

I just sent him a corner of destroyed old house nearby

 

[CaptEsteban]

You would love what we call , " Pecky Cypress ."

 

[OldHammerer]

Mailed a piece this morning......let me know when it reaches.

You're a true legend Kevin! It's not here yet but it will probably take a week or two, I'll let you know when it gets here and when I get back from Taiwan at the end of November I'll see about forging you a dive knife (which will be a first for me!)

Thanks again!

 

[OldHammerer]

You would love what we call , " Pecky Cypress ."

Wow! I've never heard of that stuff but you are right it would be amazing to work with, I'll get googling.

 

[CaptEsteban]

It is gorgeous once finished & " clear-coated." Here is a video showing a custom table being made.

 

[OldHammerer]

Here's that driftwood knife handle I posted finally finished and on a blade. I take it you can't take this one diving then, Kevin? Might be good if you fancy some finely sliced kelp! Failing that I'll knock you up something a bit more heavy duty after November.

 

[SADS 669]

Hammerer,

You should read this little story from my web site ( scuba hermit) I don't do very well with pointy sharp knives but I'll try to be careful...ha ha

There I was bombing ( English for going fast for any West Atlantic readers) past the Pilgrims steps in Plymouth not a care in the world trying to see how fast I could make the rubber boat go. The little rubber duck had a wooden floor that took two lifetimes to fit and the teeny weeniest engine you could imagine, a 40 hp Army green "thrashed to death" Johnson.

Anyway, back to the story, because I felt guilty about not paying the proper respects to the steps that so many immigrants to the States used all those years ago I decided to go back and walk up them and then back down to the boat just to say "I had". Great idea in principle but not so smart for the "rushed" dive instructor.

I tied the boat up and shot up the steps and back down again only to see the boat drifting off towards the open sea, so in true fashion I jumped in and chased it. This would have been ok if I had thought, decided or even went ahead and put my dry suit on first, but no I was fully clothed in my regular " before the dive" gear. When I eventually caught the boat and got in, I was not a very happy or warm Individual to say the least.

However, after arriving at the dive centre ( we used to keep the boat at the accommodation barracks.) and a couple of cups of tea I was warm and dry again and off we went to the James Egan Lane. This wreck is a Liberty ship that was struck by torpedoes and even though it was sinking and the crew abandoned it, the old girl refused to sink and motored around a bit wrecking the lifeboats which were full of crew as it did so. It was towed to shore in an effort to salvage it but this is where it did eventually sink and is now a great wreck dive in 22 meters.



"Down we go" ( sounds like a submarine movie........) sorry back to the story, I had a great dive, mainly because I always do, and of course there are no bad ones. On my return to the wubber boat I had the brain wave at the anchor line to use my knife to reset the little wire thingy on my depth gauge that shows how deep you have been. Now, for a clever, calm, sort of normal person this would be easy, set the gauge, put the knife away. Oh no, not me, I promptly decided that it would be a great idea to slip while doing it and put the tip of my knife through my dry suit and into my leg.

For anyone who has done something similar you will know that at 20 ft depth blood looks green, which is cool. unless of course it's your blood. Also I hasten to add my right side is now icy cold ( for the second time today) because "idiot boy" is now wearing a dry suit with a hole in it. I ask you, would you dive with me? I do however break off the tips of every single, solitary, stinking, stupid one of my dive knives now. I shake my head every time it reminds me how dumb I WAS, note the emphasis on was, yeah right.

 

[OldHammerer]

Hah! That was a good read SADS, I'll be sure to take it into account when making the knife, if I weld a spoon to the end you won't have to worry about a repeat mishap! Just reading some of your other stories now, makes my 8 years potholing around the world look like a day at the library!

 

[SADS 669]

Thanks for the offer of the spoon, is there any chance you could get one of those combined knife, fork and spoon thingy's from the camping store and weld that on instead....just a thought?

 

[BillA]

wormy wood from Costa Rica

Hi OH,
Watching this thread for a while and encountered a piece perhaps worth messing with, its ~15" long x ~3" dia with lots of holes of different diameters; will send some photos when I figure out how to do so.
My real question is how to treat/cure salt-water driftwood that is salt saturated and full of live critters??
I have a piece of 8" burl which I have been soaking in fresh water for 3 weeks, changing the water daily. it is still leaching (tannins ?) turning the water yellow/orange. I suspect better results might be had for you if the salt is removed before drying - so we are talking some weeks/months before you will get anything. My water is free so I can just dribble some into a plastic bucket. PM me your address.
I live on the beach in sw CR (Drake) so I see lots of driftwood, much of which has been/is being hit by borers. The diameters vary between 3/4 and 1/8" and sometimes are a single size throughout, the wood is often unk but hardwoods predominate just from durability.
I live some distance from a town with a Post Office, and go out seldom. If you can find out what the regs are re shipping driftwood into the UK it might save us some frustration.
Bill

 

[SADS 669]

Put it in your toilet cistern, gets new fresh water, every flush.....