I’ve been looking around at some of the items that can be made from wood and was pleasantly surprised by some of the items that have been made. Wood is a very versatile substance which can be used in a multitude of ways.
Today, I was in the woods and a man rode past on a wooden bike. Sounds like the start of a joke but I can assure you it isn’t. Every part of the frame was made from wood. It had ordinary bike wheels on, an ordinary saddle and a rear brake. It looked so rickety I thought it would just fall apart but it held my weight easily. Some pallets for the wood, scrap wood, screws and nails and it was all done.
This guy wasn’t local as he lived somewhere in Norfolk and he had many items made of wood. He carved wood as well to make cups, bowls and plates. He also had a trailer for the bike made of wood which he didn’t bring with him. He used it to store his forage and any other items he found on the way.
He made items for friends out of wood but apparently most of us want something that looks nice where he made functional items that didn’t always meet our visual standards. His bike was a perfect example of that. Fully functional but looked like a two year old had been involved in the manufacture and had the final word on building it. Front forks were two different woods, different length and different shape.
I’ve looked at building with pallets but this guy has tried to build everything he uses from recovered wood. He has beehives, treehouses, chicken coops, duck houses, sheds all built from recovered wood. He has built his own bows and crossbows, bolts, arrows, etc. A couple of boats completes the set. He says most of the wood comes from pallets but much of it comes from windfall and reclaimed furniture. It was the bike that convinced me. If you could make a bike from windfall and pallets you are not going to be short of building material.
And, of course, if it all goes wrong you can burn your goods to keep warm. Which kind of raises the main issue with everything being made from wood.
Some older English cars were made of wood. A lot of small planes were made entirely (structurely) of wood. I remember from school textbooks that oak was called the “iron” of farmers. I once had a 100+ year old oak barn siding board made of oak that would dull my power saw blade when I tried to cut it and would stop bullets I fired into it.
Wood is a very useful material. We can build Log Cabins, Ships, Furniture, and many other wonderful things. It will be of Great value after a Survival situation has arisen. Many booby traps can be fashioned from it, fish traps and a myriad of other devices and buildings. Kenneth Eames.