Treen ware

[zimmerstutzen]

I have always been a bit intrigued by treen ware. So little of it survives. So I have started making some. Mrs. wanted some wooden containers similar to needle cases but about twice the volume. So I made a few and I am surprising myself with how well I am getting the tops to fit. Even made a few bowls. Handles for things etc. Normally, I would not turn a piece with knots. The bowl below was made with a piece of Red Elm tree removed from the grounds at Wheatland, President James Buchanan's home outside of Lancaster PA.

 

[old ugly]

nice job

i made a treen plate a few years back. my advise, don't treat your plate with olive or vegitable oils as the oil will go rotten after a while. some will argue with this but it is true. i used circa 1850 when i did mine and it is still fine.
is good for your cutting boards too

 

[zimmerstutzen]

nice job

i made a treen plate a few years back. my advise, don't treat your plate with olive or vegitable oils as the oil will go rotten after a while. some will argue with this but it is true. i used circa 1850 when i did mine and it is still fine.
is good for your cutting boards too

Thanks I knew about the vegetable/olive oil problem. Even coconut oils go turn rancid in less than 4 years. Many of those commercial preparations are just USP mineral oil repackaged at a higher price. There is one special product called salad bowl finish which gets more like a varnish but is food safe. Never used them

 

[George]

I have always been a bit intrigued by treen ware. So little of it survives.

Very nice job. You might be interested in this. William Clinkenbeard arrived at
Strode's station on the Kentucky frontier in 1779. He said, "The women the first spring we came out followed their cows to see what they eat, that they might know what greens to get. My wife and I had neither spoon, dish, knife or anything to do with when we began life. Only I had a butcher knife."
He explained that their first dishes came from a local turner in exchange for meat and tallow; their landlord sold them a cooking pot for “four dollars and a French Crown.” At an interview many years later he said, “A parcel of those dishes out of buckeye, new and shining, and set on some clapboards in the corner of the cabin, I felt prouder of in those times, than I could be of any dishes to be had, now.”

Spence

 

[Kansas Kid]

Looks to be nicely done, good work.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

I have seen a guy making oblong "dough bowls" using hatchet, draw knife, a adze and scorp. He is good. He can knock one out in about 30 minutes.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I have always been a bit intrigued by treen ware. So little of it survives. So I have started making some.

That's some nice stuff. I get a lot of mine from Allegheny Treenware. You might check them out for ideas. I've always treated my stuff with mineral oil, as food oils can go rancid AND can attract little rodents to nibble on the wood...

LD

 

[Coot]

I have seen a guy making oblong "dough bowls" using hatchet, draw knife, a adze and scorp. He is good. He can knock one out in about 30 minutes.

It takes me a couple of hours to saw & carve a yoke. A gutter adze, a large drawknife, a bowl spoon and a very small drawknife are the primary tools. Carving around the neck opening takes a bit of time with the little drawknife.