Salt water chunks

[poley]

I dont have access to much other than driftwood, being on a subantarctic island, and it has been underwater for years, by ther time it gets here,and the atmosphere is 60% humidity too.Species hard to ID, asoften attractively stained, and weathered, too. My practice has been to sit them above the block heater for a week or so, turning them over, then turn, the centres are often still wet with salt water. I wonder whether they will take up much water when I return home (to Australia) and split. Has anyone experience with driftwood & dunnage from the sea?any advice on soaking times, presumably huge to get it out of a 200 mm diam piece?So far 3 months, the bowls, candlrsticks are all ok. Thanks in anticipation...

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Huon in my nostrils
ahhh.

[cliff cook]

G`day Poley,
The only thing i could suggest is you get in contact with someone in the conservation dept of the Western Aust maratime muesem in Freemantle as they have the experiance of preserving timber that has been underwater for a long time.
cooky

[poley]

Thanks, cooky, I do have some acquaintances in a conservation dept, I shall contact them. When I was in Stockholm, 1976, they had just raised the Wasa, after 400 years on the bottom of the estuary, and she was being sprayed with fresh water, for months!
I put one 500 gm piece in the microwaveas a trial, on defrost for half an hour, was too hot to touch, lost a lot of weight,but still wet in the heart..

[Harry]

Hi Poley
I've been collecting and using "driftwood" from our local beaches for about 10 years. It is mainly Coastal Teatree:
Melaleuca quinquenervia,Leptospermum laevigatum, I'm not sure at the mo which it is and I suppose it's not really driftwood in the true sense as it doesn't drift much but has been dragged onto the beach from where its been standing by the combo of big tides and big seas scouring away at their sand dune surrounds and depositing them on the beach where they are stripped of their bark, sanded alar naturel and bleeched grey white by the sun and salt - just the way I like them. When this species falls natually to the ground it rots and breaks down very quickly, if left on the beach it doesn't rot neally as quickly, in fact the salt preserves it for years before eventually breaking down under the harsh conditions served up to it, 0-40+ degrees heat, baking sun, wind swept sand, two high tides a day etc. Being a oily wood it still retains elasticity and I have used it with this characteristic in mind. I use it as is, in fact I don't like to alter its look much at all, I'm happy letting it take considerable control over the form of the finished piece as any adulteration to the found piece seems to take away some of its magic, even applying an oil (Linseed) takes away its bleeched look. I have collected "true" driftwood before and much relies on the type of wood in the beginning to have succesfull results. Softwoods would have to be risky from the start except for some Cedars and if your lucky enough some Huon, Hardwoods would probably provide better turning timbers but I would say your success is going to be governed by how long the wood has been in the sea and its ability to cope with that and other elements. Be careful of your hand tools and machinery, keep them well oiled or protected as salt will badly effect them very quickly (I have separate tools). I've heard from a timber millist that he won't touch Pine that has stood on sand as it draws up silica that blunts his blade quicker than hardwoods would. Finally, for mine, try and retain some of the "drifwood" feel, with its natural charateristics.

I hope this is some help with what you are doing, all the best and kind regards.

Harry