solomon Posted May 12, 2012 Hey all I read a topic about making didgeridoos, pipes etc which I now can't seem to find. Have also been reading The Great Cacti: Ethnobotany and Biogeography - David Yetman. He talks about chairs, doors and even a church made using cactus trunks. Recently been cutting back some of the older stems on a Salvia Divinorum and saved some of the thickest woodiest stems for making into something if they dry out fine. At the moment I am looking at using the wood from Brugmansia sanguinea, Artemisia absinthium, A. vulgaris, Various plums, Salvia divinorum, Withania somnifera, Acacias, of course this will be trial and error to see what can and can't dry out fully and hold its shape Wanted to start a thread about using branches, trunks, roots of ethnobotanicals for anything. Boxes, flutes, pipes, any sort of art. Anything. Post pictures and ideas! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sallubrious Posted May 12, 2012 I know that many woodturners and cabinet makers love Acacia and plums have excellent wood too. They say the best boomerangs are made from Acacia, my son wants a boomerang so I've had my eye out for a piece with a suitable bend. Carnegia gigantea grows a woody heartwood as it get older so I suppose there would be a few of the longer lived cactus that could be used to build something. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CβL Posted May 12, 2012 If you make any nice instruments centi, I would be interested. :D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mira Posted May 12, 2012 This reminds me I've been meaning to ask PH if he made anything out of Catha edulis when his mature trees were drowned by his neighbor. Some older references I found mentioned that it was prized for its dense wood. So how about it PH? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bogfrog Posted May 24, 2012 I have a cholla (cactus) wood rain stick. It was EXTREMELY satisfying pushing the cacti spines back into the wood. Cant remember what species of cacti it was from but it came frm coro cacti. I'll snap a pic next time I have a camera handy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planthelper Posted May 24, 2012 hi! catha edulis, is said to make quite fine wood, and if i remeber correctly, it get's turned into spoons and other small wooden items. i did not cut back the drowned catha edulis bushes for quite a while, and when finaly i did do so, the wood was already attacked by various fungi and other wood destroyers. in short i never used the wood. i still got some catha stumps, i will have a closer look, again. acacias produce often, excellent wood, it's hard, but workable. you know, how one likes as a kid to pic up sticks, hmm at least i loved wooden sticks...., well, anadenanthera colubrina makes excellent straight and very, very strong sticks. it's a very dense wood, yet it grows very fast. wild dagga, leonotis leonurus (thick base of the stem) is said be turned into pipes / shilums, as it's a bit hollow on the inside already. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zaka Posted May 25, 2012 (edited) Irie, wild dagga, leonotis leonurus (thick base of the stem) is said be turned into pipes / shilums, as it's a bit hollow on the inside already. Reminds me of papaya (leaf stem) pipes made in the same way. Many ethno woods are traditionally used to make things as well as having a cultural medicinal use..... One that comes to mind is, in Jamacia wooden stafts and pipes made from their national tree, "Lignum Vitae".... Coconut Chalices.....is another... I've carved many woods, most have some sort of medicinal use... Respect, Z Edited May 25, 2012 by Zaka Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marcel Posted May 25, 2012 Tulsi wood is used to make japa beads in India. I've had a little go at carving the thick woody trunk of regular basil too. Would love to make a flute out of something spiritually significant one day. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Seldom Posted May 25, 2012 nice. i've got some drying in front of me right now, back to front jacksonia, eucalypt and acacia better photo of the jacksonia http://oi40.tinypic.com/2q04u35.jpg making didjs is going to make up a large part of my life, i think it's ethnobotanical in itself Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planthelper Posted May 25, 2012 (edited) hi! rainy day here so i did some craft. you guy's inspired me to do a project (using wood from ethnos), i had planed for a while. i turned a mimosa tenuiflora (former hostilis) stem trunk, into a nulla nulla. here is a pic, i just finished the project. edit, two war clubs links: http://www.kumeyaay.info/museums/weaponry/warclubs.html http://www.nma.gov.au/collections/highlights/19th-century-north-west-new-south-wales-aboriginal-artefacts-collection Edited May 25, 2012 by planthelper 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Auxin Posted May 25, 2012 Ooo, the op mentioned Artemisia vulgaris. When I pulled mine out (3 year olds) the bases looked all nicely funky so I let them dry and shaved them into shapes on my bandsaw. Got very cool gnarled blobs of yellow wood. So if your artsy dont let those go to waste. The yellow will likely slowly fade in direct sunlight. Not the stuff for flutes and pipes but a freaky blob can be fun at times. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
