We are moving over to a new blog spot @ www.northernexposurebushcraft.co.uk

NORTHERN EXPOSURE BUSHCRAFT IS MOVING ITS BLOG SITE.

We are moving over to a new built in blog spot on our website @ www.northernexposurebushcraft.co.uk

See you there, and happy posting.

Woodsmans guide to burning wood.

Alder:  Poor heat output and short lasting.  A low quality firewood.  Produces nice charcoal that burn steady and is useful for homemade gunpowder.

 

Apple:  Great fuel that bums slow and steady when dry, with little flame, sparking or spitting. It has a pleasing scent.  It is easier to cut green.  Great for cooking.

 

Ash:  Considered one of the burning wood with steady flame and good heat output.  It will bum when green, but not as well as when dry.  Easily to saw and split.

 

Beech:  Similar to ash, but only burns fair when green. If it has a fault, it may shoot embers out a long ways.  It is easy to chop.

 

Birch:  This has good heat output but burns quickly. The smell is also pleasant.  It will burn unseasoned.  Can cause gum deposits in chimney if used a lot.  Rolled up pitch from bark makes a good firestarter and can be peeled from trees without damaging them.

 

Blackthorn: Burns slowly, with lots of heat and little smoke.

 

Cedar:  This is a great wood that puts out a lot of lasting heat.  It produces a small flame, a nice scent, and lots of crackle and pop.  Great splitting wood.  Best when dry but small pieces can be burned unseasoned.  Good for cooking.

 

Cherry:  A slow burning wood with good heat output.  Has a nice sent. Should be seasoned well.  Slow to start.

 

Chestnut:  A mediocre fuel that produces a small flame and weak heat output.  It also shoots out ambers.

 

Douglas Fir:  A poor fuel that produces little flame or heat.

 

Elder:   A mediocre fuel that burns quickly without much heat output and tends to have thick acrid smoke.  The Hag Goddess is know to reside in the Elder tree and burning it invites death.  Probably best avoided.

 

Elm:  A variable fuel (Dutch elm disease) with a high water content (140%) that may smoke violently and should be dried for two years for best results.  You may need faster burning wood to get elm going.  A large log set on the fire before bed will burn till morn.  Splitting can be difficult and should be done early on.

 

Eucalyptus:  A fast burning wood with a pleasant smell and no spitting.  It is full of sap and oils when fresh and can start a chimney fire if burned unseasoned.  The stringy wood fiber may be hard to split and one option is to slice it into rings and allow to season and self split.  The gum from the tree produces a fresh medicinal smell on burned which may not be the best for cooking with.

 

Hawthorn:  Good firewood. Burns hot and slow.

 

Hazel:  An excellent fast burning fuel but tends to burn up a bit faster than most other hard woods.  Allow to season.

 

Holly:  A good firewood that will burn when green, but best if dried a year.  It is fast burning with a bright flame but little heat.

 

Hornbeam:  Burns almost as good as beech with a hot slow burning fire.

 

Horse Chestnut:  A low quality firewood with a good flame and heating power but spits a lot.

 

Laburnum:  Completely poisonous tree with acrid smoke that taints food and is best never used.

 

Larch:  Crackly, scented, and fairly good for heat.  It needs to be seasoned well and forms an oily soot in chimneys. 

 

Laurel:  Produces a brilliant flame.

 

Lime:  A poor quality fuel with dull flame.  Good for carving

 

Maple:  A good firewood.

 

Oak:  Oak has a sparse flame and the smoke is acrid if not seasoned for two years.  Dry old oak is excellent for heat, burning slowly and steadily until whole log collapses into cigar-like ash.

 

Pear:  Burns with good heat, good scent and no spitting.  Needs to be seasoned well.

 

Pine:  Bums with a splendid flame, but apt to spit. Needs to be seasoned well and is another oily soot in chimney wood.  Smells great and its resinous wood makes great kindling.

 

Plane:  Burns pleasantly, but is apt to throw sparks if very dry.

 

Plum:  Wood provides good heat with a nice aromatic sent.

 

Poplar:  A terrible fuel that doesn't burn well and produces a black choking smoke even when seasoned.

 

Rowan:  A good firewood that burns hot and slow.

 

Rhododendron:  Old thick and tough stems burn well. 

 

Robinia (Acacia):  Burns slowly, with good heat, but with acrid smoke. 

 

Spruce:  A poor firewood that burns too quickly and with too many sparks.

 

Sycamore:  Burns with a good flame, with moderate heat. Useless green.

 

Sweet Chestnut:  Burns when seasoned but tends to spits continuously and excessively.

 

Thorn:  One of the best firewood. Burns slowly, with great heat and little smoke.

 

Walnut:  Low to good value to burning.  It a nice aromatic scent.

 

Wellingtonia:  Poor for use as a firewood.

 

Willow:  A poor fire wood that must be dry to use.  Even when seasoned, it burns slowly, with little flame. Apt to spark.

 

Yew:  This burns slowly, with fierce heat. The scent is pleasant.  Another carving favorite.  Note that every part of this plant, except for the fruit contains poisonous taxines.  Death to livestock after ingestion of this plant is well documented and here are reported cases of suicides from ingestion of leaves.  Sawdust is dangerous if ingested or inhaled.  The Romans reported death after ingestion of wine stored in Yew vessels, yet Yew cups, bowls and plates are still very popular - not that this makes them any less poisonous.  Taxines are carried in smoke and the safety of using this wood for cooking or heat is questionable.

 

Rhymes

 

These hardwoods burn well and slowly,

Ash, beech, hawthorn oak and holly.

Softwoods flare up quick and fine,

Birch, fir, hazel, larch and pine.

Elm and willow you'll regret,

Chestnut green and sycamore wet

 

Beechwood fires are bright and clear 

If the logs are kept a year. 

Chestnut's only good, they say, 

If for long 'tis laid away. 

But Ash new or Ash old 

Is fit for a queen with crown of gold.

Birch and fir logs bum too fast 

Blaze up bright and do not last. 

It is by the Irish said 

Hawthom bakes the sweetest bread. 

Elm wood bums like churchyard mould, 

E ' en the very flames are cold. 

But Ash green or Ash brown 

Is fit for a queen with golden crown.

Poplar gives a bitter smoke, 

Fills your eyes and makes you choke. 

Apple wood will scent your room 

With an incense like perfume. 

Oaken logs. if dry and old. 

Keep away the winter's cold. 

But Ash wet or Ash dry 

A king shall warm his slippers by. 

 

Beechwood logs burn bright and clear, 

If the wood is kept a year

Store your Beech for Christmas-tide,

With new-cut holly laid aside

Chestnut's only good, they say

If for years it's stored away

Birch and Fir wood burn too fast,

Blaze too bright, and do not last

Flames from larch will shoot up high,

And dangerously the sparks will fly....

But Ashwood green, 

And Ashwood brown

Are fit for Queen with golden crown.

 

Oak logs will warm you well 

That are old and dry 

Logs of pine will sweetly smell 

But the sparks will fly 

Birch logs will burn too fast 

Chestnut scarce at all sir 

Hawthorn logs are good to last 

That are cut well in the fall sir 

Holly logs will burn like wax 

You could burn them green 

Elm logs burn like smouldering flax 

With no flame to be seen 

Beech logs for winter time 

Yew logs as well sir 

Green elder logs it is a crime 

For any man to sell sir

 

 

Beechwood fires burn bright and clear

If the logs are kept a year

Store your beech for Christmastide

With new holly laid beside

Chestnuts only good they say

If for years tis stayed away

Birch and firwood burn too fast

Blaze too bright and do not last

Flames from larch will shoot up high

Dangerously the sparks will fly

But Ashwood green and Ashwood brown

Are fit for a Queen with a golden crown

Oaken logs, if dry and old

Keep away the winters cold

Poplar gives a bitter smoke

Fills your eyes and makes you choke

Elmwood burns like churchyard mould

Even the very flames burn cold

Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread

So it is in Ireland said

Applewood will scent the room

Pears wood smells like a flower in bloom

But Ashwood wet and Ashwood dry

A King may warm his slippers by.

 

Pear logs and apple logs 

They will scent your room 

And cherry logs across the dogs 

They smell like flowers of broom 

But Ash logs smooth and grey 

Buy them green or old, sir 

And buy up all that come your way 

They're worth their weight in gold sir

 

 

Logs to Burn, Logs to burn, Logs to burn,

Logs to save the coal a turn,

Here's a word to make you wise,

When you hear the woodman's cries.

Never heed his usual tale,

That he has good logs for sale,

But read these lines and really learn,

The proper kind of logs to burn.

Oak logs will warm you well,

If they're old and dry.

Larch logs of pine will smell,

But the sparks will fly.

Beech logs for Christmas time,

Yew logs heat well.

"Scotch" logs it is a crime,

For anyone to sell.

Birch logs will burn too fast,

Chestnut scarce at all.

Hawthorn logs are good to last,

If you cut them in the fall.

Holly logs will burn like wax,

You should burn them green,

Elm logs like smouldering flax,

No flame to be seen.

Pear logs and apple logs,

They will scent your room,

Cherry logs across the dogs,

Smell like flowers in bloom

But ash logs, all smooth and grey,

Burn them green or old;

Buy up all that come your way,

They're worth their weight in gold.

Paul Kirtley - video on safe water

For most of you Paul Kirtley is a legend in bushcraft and bushcraft education, check out some of his new videos on YouTube , his safe water video can be found at this link and is essential if you need to source water in the back country.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtkPb3OqizU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

for some great articles please take a look at his site at www.paulkirtley.co.uk

Self -build Prospector canoe

For some time now, I have been looking into building a Prospector style canoe. There seems to be two methods of build. The first method is the most desireable, the strip build canoe, using Cedar. I have found that Cedar strips for this type of build are expensive, and also if you live in N.Ireland, very hard to purchase, without excess handling charges and shipping fees. All said and done it does make for a beautiful canoe. I contacted The Newfound Canoe building workshop in the USA, and was able to purchase the instruction video and plans. they were very helpful and answered any questions on building the project. you can easily find there website, the contact is Michael Vermouth.

The second method I found was the stitch and glue method, using marine grade ply, or wbp Grade ply. The overall end product is very sturdy, and like the cedar strip method, gains it's strength and rigidity from the fibreglass encapsulation. Although the ply method is more easy to construct, and much cheaper, it does not have the same smooth appearance of the cedar strip canoe. The ply version, is more angular in the hull shape, but if done well can look quite nice. Plans for the prospector ply canoe, can be bought from the selway fisher website, again easily found online. selway fisher, have been going for a long time and the designer has many projects to choose from. Plans and instructions can be bought online. For anyone who wants to build there own canoe, the links are as follows.

http://www.newfound.com

http://www.selway-fisher.com/

As far as epoxies go, MAS Epoxies seem to have the best reviews.

http://www.masepoxies.co.uk/

Make sure you take suitable precautions when using any epoxies, it can be hazardous stuff to work with, some getting allergic reactions or skin irritations, so read up on the safety notice supplied, or check out the FAQ's on working with fibreglass epoxies online.

I hope this helps

Shiver

Tensile tent or new hammock concept you decide

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqImIChxJ-E&sns=em

New tensile tent designed by an architect, really sweet idea, your comments please.

Hulafors and traditional swedish budget Bushcraft knifes

Just spotted two knives and thought I would share,

Traditional style bushcraft knife

http://www.militarymart.co.uk/index.php?_a=product&product_id=1838

Hulafors heavy duty bushcraft knife

http://www.axminster.co.uk/hultafors-craftmans-knife-heavy-duty-gk-prod900499/

Pretty good bargain for about £5 .... Would be good as a budget knife, or as a spare in your pack for rough work. 

Hammock makers  ... pay attention!

Hi guys, just found a good supplier for stainless steel rings and stainless - galvanised gear and im posting the details for you. He has an ebay shop and he supplies stainless wielded rings in small or large quantities  ... check it out !

Stainless fittings and fixtures

EBAY STORE -  Itsareal1@ebay.co.uk  (Stainless and Galvanised Fixtures and Fittings)
tirbach@btinternet.com
Marine grade Stainless

Link 50mm stainless ring marine grade
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5mm-x-50mm-Marine-Stainless-Steel-Round-Ring-316-A4-Webbing-Harness-Strap-/390584595449?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_BoatEquipment_Accessories_SM&hash=item5af0a7f3f9

Chris and Jan Taylor

Tirbach. Y Ffor
Pwllheli
Gwynedd
Wales
LL53 6RF


Also check out the Ebay shop:

Buckles and webbing emporium

Ebay Username - Scamps75

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/bucklesandwebbingemporium

This guy scamps75 has all kinds of nylon catches, slider catches nylon rings and beeners heaps of shock cord and bungee cord, webbing for kit and extra wide 2 inch starps for tree huggers, a hammock makers paradise!

Ripstop Nylon in various colours

Here is a link I found - ripstop polly roll at the 60inch wide 10 meters -

2 rolls of this is about enough for x3 hammocks (double skinned)

CAMO - 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10mts-60-waterproof-camouflage-rip-stop-nylon-fabric-/140960410674?pt=UK_Crafts_Fabric&hash=item20d1e52c32

GREEN -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10m-60-waterproof-BREATHABLE-heavy-OLIVE-nylon-fabric-/140960306994?pt=UK_Crafts_Fabric&hash=item20d1e39732

I have used camo ripstop on the inside of one of my hammocks and a plain Black or green on the outside, making it reversible to blend in to my surroundings.

Chat soon

Shiver