Start
The whole procedure begins with choosing a suitable tree. Some people prefer to use freshly cut or fallen trees, others choose only living, growing ones.
But there is one common point - the tree with the least number of black spots on the bark, the so-called odorants, is selected.
They try to collect material from the south side, where the bark is most layered and easier to remove.
The nuances of caring for wooden utensils
Note! Containers cannot be placed in dishwashers; mugs and cups will become rough and lose their original shine.
It is necessary to properly care for this type of cookware.
Wash wooden objects with warm water and soap with a soft sponge. Do not use hard brushes, abrasive powders, melanin, or aggressive detergents with oxalic acid and alkali. After each dishwashing, the water is allowed to drain, then the mugs, cups, and saucers are wiped dry. Products with colored painting are protected from direct sunlight.
It is important to wipe wooden cups dry and store them in a ventilated area.
Since ancient times, not only the secrets of craftsmanship, but also the care of mugs and cups made of wood have reached us:
- Rubbing alcohol or vinegar helps get rid of the smell of drinks, then rinse the surface with cool water;
- tanning films from coffee and tea disappear when containers are soaked in cold water;
- stains on the varnish are removed with fresh onion juice, the discolorations are rubbed with a cut half, left for 5–10 minutes, then the onion is washed off.
By following simple rules, you can preserve the aesthetically attractive appearance of wooden products for many years and increase their service life.
Material procurement process
And so the tree has been selected, at the next stage it is necessary to correctly collect the material and deliver it to the place of work with it.
- Shallow cuts are made with a knife on the selected tree.
- The peeled part is carefully pryed off with any suitable tool, most often a spatula is used for this purpose.
- You should not expose a large area of bark on one tree, as this can lead to its illness or death.
- The resulting birch bark material is stacked face to face and back to back.
- It is bandaged and delivered to the place of further use.
- While the birch bark is pliable and not dry, it is split into strips or layers.
Harvesting can be done in several ways:
- Ribbons
- In layers
- Cylinders.
The easiest material to work with is tape; the tapes are intertwined in a certain sequence and create the desired product. This is exactly what a novice master should turn to.
There are two types of tape weaving:
- Straight
- Oblique.
Tea cups
A fishing cup is a small bowl without a handle. They are painted under Khokhloma. Chinese ones resemble small bowls; they have a small rim that makes it easy to hold the container. Modern cups are made in the shape of porcelain ones. Tea pairs made from dense breeds differ in appearance only in color.
This mug has good thermal conductivity, which means the cup will remain cold for a long time, and the tea in it will cool down for a long time.
Important! For stylish designer dishes, instead of a saucer, a wooden round stand is made - a ring-shaped processed cut.
Preparing material for work
The removed pieces of birch bark cannot be used immediately. It must be subjected to special processing. Proper processing of birch bark for crafts consists of the following steps:
- The first step is to clean the birch bark from dust, plant debris, dirt, as well as various irregularities; cleaning is carried out with fine-grained sandpaper.
- Moisten the underside using a sponge or soft cloth. It is important to carry out the procedure extremely carefully so as not to damage the material.
- Soaking birch bark in salt water for 2 - 4 days, the exact period depends on the age of the tree and the thickness of the material; the older the tree, the thicker the workpiece, the longer the soaking process takes.
- The soaked material undergoes delamination; it is disassembled layer by layer into thinner pieces.
- The last stage consists of drying, straightening (an iron is used for these purposes) and sorting by shape and appearance.
Now, knowing how to properly prepare birch bark, you can move on to making crafts from it.
Beer mugs
A traditional feature of the dishes is considered to be an expanded bottom, but often craftsmen imitate the shape of a barrel. Norwegians produce cylindrical containers, covered with openwork carvings on the outside. Durable mugs are made from solid oak and acacia. The wood can be cut and does not crack.
Wooden beer mugs are popular among the male half of humanity.
Important! For production, dried, dense wood is used. After turning, the surface is ground and impregnated with varnish that hardens in air.
Tools
There are no special tools for working with birch bark material. Each master experiments and independently selects what will be more convenient for him to work with and sculpt masterpieces.
However, there are a number of tools that almost everyone uses.
- Knife or utility knife
- Scissors
- Clips or clothespins
- Ruler or corner
- Pencil
- Awl
- Hole puncher
- Staples
- Chisel
- Glue
- Dry, clean, soft cloths
Main manufacturers of wooden mugs
Note! Online resources offer original handicrafts; such dishes are made in a single copy and will make a wonderful gift.
The secrets of craftsmanship are passed on from generation to generation, and centuries-old traditions are observed.
Russian crafts, observing centuries-old traditions, are reviving small factories. Unique mugs and cups made of wood are produced by the following companies:
- "Dobroparov" - a manufacturer of goods for baths and saunas, offers massive mugs for beer, kvass, and other cold drinks with a capacity of 0.5 liters made of solid wood and individual strips with metal hoops;
- “WOODEN TABLEWARE”, the Republic of Mari El specializes in cups and mugs made of solid wood with a carved or burnt design;
- The “Good Tree” factory, Gorodets, offers a large assortment of mugs made of oak, ash, linden, birch;
- “ArtConcept”, Ryazan, a famous manufacturer of mugs for cold drinks with a carved thick handle;
- “Siberian Birch Bark” (Lukoshko 70) makes fragile souvenir mugs with a capacity of 300 and 500 ml with carved linings.
Wood products are safe to use, aesthetically attractive, and have a number of advantages in mechanical characteristics.
Art craft workshops are famous for their cups with and without handles, mugs with a volume of 150 to 400 ml, glasses with traditional Khokhloma, Gzhel, and national motif paintings:
- “Gorodets Painting”, the factory was created 60 years ago, the craftsmen use a variety of paints, shades, shapes;
- “Khokhloma painting”, products made in the style of the Golden Khokhloma of the 18th century;
- “Khokhloma patterns”, unique piece production;
- "Kursk Art Painting Plant", a branch of the Academy of Arts, offers original works;
- “Painting of the Peoples of the North” makes dishes with ethnic patterns.
Wooden utensils are the key to a healthy diet; the main thing is to properly care for such kitchen utensils.
The manufacturer of traditional Finnish kuksa mugs is Finn-Savotta, founded in 1955.
Products in the Viking style are made in China; the Crafts Fair offers original works made using barrel technology from individual planks. Norwegian craftsmen are famous for artistic woodcarving; they produce containers with and without handles from wild jujube, hevea, and tropical acacia.
Wood products are safe to use, aesthetically attractive, and have a number of advantages in mechanical characteristics: durability, thermal conductivity, strength.
Wooden utensils are durable and strong. It is not afraid of food acids, alkalis, and does not crack from hot tea or coffee. Wooden mugs are comfortable to hold in your hands and provide aesthetic pleasure.
The quality and service life of products depends on correctly selected wood.
Birch bark crafts
In the old days, birch bark was used to make original shoes - bast shoes, kitchen utensils, and small jewelry.
Currently, its use has expanded significantly.
- Kitchenware
- Bijouterie
- Caskets
- Souvenirs
- Book bindings and bookmarks
- Flowers
- Toys and much more.
Now you can find many instructions for birch bark crafts of any complexity, both for experienced craftsmen and for beginners or children.
Just remember, the white side of the workpiece always remains inside the product, it should be hidden from view, because... Over time, it loses its appearance, becomes dirty and unattractive.
More complex composition
Children's creativity is absorbing; the soft and unique birch bark gives great potential to the craftsman and a sea of possible options for creating an original composition, for example, animal figurines.
Basket
How to make such a craft from birch bark with your own hands? The basket is one of the simplest crafts; it does not require special skills or special tools in its production, the main thing is to carry out all the actions extremely carefully and without haste.
- It all starts with preparing the workplace, material and necessary tools.
- A square is cut out of a birch bark blank, the size is chosen at will, but at the initial stage 15 - 16 cm will be enough.
- Next, two diagonal lines are drawn on the prepared square.
- At the next stage, identical cuts are made on the workpiece from the corners along the drawn lines; the depth of the cuts should be at least 3 cm. It is worth remembering that the larger the cuts, the deeper the finished product will become.
- The sides of the workpiece are smoothly bent towards the middle.
- Next, the hole punch comes into play; with its help, holes are made along the perimeter of the walls of the basket and at the bottom at the base of its future handle.
- The handle of the craft is cut out in any desired shape; for this, another piece of birch bark is taken.
- Using PVA glue (or any other) it is glued to the side walls; for stronger fixation, the joints can be secured with special clamps or clothespins.
- Thin strips are cut from birch bark strips so that they fit into the holes left by the hole punch.
- Such thin strips are woven around the entire perimeter of the product.
- The finished product is set aside for several hours until the glue has completely dried.
- If desired, the finished basket can be wiped with oil and wait until it is absorbed; this procedure will give additional shine and a sunny tint to the birch bark.
- All! The product is ready for use.
Handmade birch bark crafts have a special warmth and attractiveness and leave almost no one indifferent.
Where is birch wood used?
The color of birch wood is the lightest of all. It is usually white with a yellow tint. Heart-shaped rays are visible on the radial split. They are usually shiny and short. The texture is uniform and fine. At the same time, it cuts well.
However, there are special measures to preserve the shape of the product. So, dried birch must be soaked in vegetable oils. This will help preserve the product longer.
The physical characteristics of birch wood indicate that it is a rather fragile material that is susceptible to changes under the influence of moisture. This is why birch is rarely used for wall cladding; in construction, solid birch is given the role of flooring.
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In applied arts, various products are made from it, however, only in small forms. Maximum use of birch wood is possible when sawing it, then plywood is made from sawdust by pressing. Birch is also used in the manufacture of skis, knife handles and ax handles.
Products and counterfeits
The softness of birch is used by all masters of decorative and applied arts. Dried pieces of wood of any shape are sanded well, and then whole panels are cut out using a cutter. After this, the finished product is dipped in hot oil and kept in it for at least 4-5 hours.
The bark is also used very actively in creating crafts. Birch bark is removed from a fallen tree at the end of spring. At this time, its inner side (which is considered the front side by the craftsmen) has a golden hue. The birch bark is dried naturally, possibly under pressure, and then, if necessary, it is laminated.
Thick bark is used to create flat crafts, and thinner birch bark is used to make three-dimensional products, for example, tues. Such crafts are usually durable and at the same time have amazing properties. For example, a birch bark container can store milk for a long time, and at the same temperature at which it was poured into it.
Artwork made from Karelian birch wood:
Reviews from craftsmen who work with wood are often positive. So, Yuri from St. Petersburg says the following. It is easy to make crafts for the kitchen from birch. They turn out beautiful; if you bleach the birch, the product even looks aged. Irregularities after the knife can be easily corrected by changing the design of the product. I try to always have a supply of birch for crafts.
It is easy to work with birch, the products turn out beautiful and, if dried correctly, will be durable. This wood is great for beginners. All crafts also have a special aura.
Furniture board
Gluing parts of birch into one common piece is called a shield. Typically wood waste is used for this.
Shields are:
- multilayer,
- three-layer,
- economical.
Their use, and therefore their production, is determined by their thickness.
Sufficiently thin panels are used only for inserts into the main body of furniture. More durable boards are used to create decorative planes. For seat backs, sheets are used that have been pressed in a special way in metal forms.
Furniture board made of birch, provided that sufficiently environmentally friendly glue is used, has a number of significant advantages. Among them are strength, safety and shape retention throughout the entire period of use.
Birch wood furniture
Considering that birch is highly susceptible to rot, most often when creating furniture it can be used as a base for plywood or as crafts for decorating soft or wooden products. At the same time, to create veneer, you can use any type of birch wood, you just need it to be dry and disease-free.
Almost all furniture in the mid-price category is made from plywood of varying thicknesses. It can be:
- Tables, chairs.
- Kitchen sets.
- Hall or any other walls.
- Dressers, drawers, doors.
- Stair steps.
Higher quality plywood makes it possible to produce fairly strong structures that can last a fairly large number of years without contact with moisture. Although this period is still incomparable with the years of operation of wooden products.
But in the production of decorative overlays for furniture, it is preferable to use Karelian birch wood (it is as strong as possible). Another valuable property of birch is also valuable here - the ability to accept any color well, which allows using birch wood to create an imitation of products from more expensive types of wood.
Array
Several stages of proper processing, as well as following special drying methods, can significantly strengthen the structure of solid birch. This tree has antibacterial properties, which, together with the generally recognized positive aura, make it possible to make a wide variety of furniture from solid birch.
The smooth texture of birch and its good natural color make it possible to use solid wood without painting, but only with the application of a protective layer. Sometimes birch wood is bleached, thus emphasizing its interesting texture. If the solid wood is painted, it can imitate different types of wood.
Karelian birch is used to make various products and good furniture. It is believed that a bed made from solid wood can last at least 30 years, and a set, for example, for a children’s room, even longer. Other types of it can also be used as solid wood, but then the service life of such furniture will not exceed 10-12 years.
Sergey from Tomsk, a specialist in furniture making, says that expensive and high-quality furniture can be made from birch: I make boards from solid birch myself, dry them, and then use them in the production of furniture walls. The products turn out beautiful, their cost is several times cheaper than from other solids, and the strength is quite acceptable.
When properly processed, wood eliminates all its shortcomings and quite expensive, beautiful and durable furniture, as well as doors, tables, chests of drawers and stairs, can be made from its solid wood.
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Round timber
In this form, birch wood is used not only for firewood.
Round wood is used for:
- railway maintenance;
- manufacturing parts of horse-drawn carts;
- securing roofs in the mining industry;
- arrangement of cages for birds and animals.
They make from round timber:
- Stakes. Their thickness should be from 5 to 8 centimeters with a length of 2.5 to 3 meters. The stakes are installed to support shields that protect roads and railways from snow.
- Shafts, spreads, beds of thin round birch timber are the side parts of horse-drawn carts. The thickness of the round timber in this case usually does not exceed 11-15 centimeters. The length depends on the tasks assigned to the cart.
- Mine racks. This is a round piece of birch, sharpened on one side, like a pencil. It easily enters the mine rock and is able to withstand heavy roof loads. The length of the round timber depends on the thickness of the coal seam, and the standard width should be a minimum of 12 centimeters, a maximum of 35.
- Poles. They are made from thin round birch wood to be used in cages, for example, for parrots. You can also make a fence from poles. The poles should be free of knots and fairly thin. The thickness of one pole is from 1 centimeter and should not exceed 10.
There are no great quality requirements for round timber. It is important that such timber does not have large knots, wormholes and rottenness inside the trunk, as well as cracks. Also, the round timber should not have much curvature.
