How to do it

[Charles]

Ancient people made their own concrete and we can, too. Making concrete at home without ever having to buy a bag of concrete is simpler than you can imagine.

First you need to find the limestone required to make it, which can be found almost anywhere on the planet. To identify limestone is a simple process.

This is an example of what limestone looks like.





Pour some vinegar onto the rock and watch to see if it starts to fizzle, if it does you have found limestone.

The next step is to cook the limestone over a fire, which causes it to swell and become less dense. Allow the limestone to cool off completely.

Next after you have waited for the limestone to cool, pour water onto the limestone which will cause it to hiss and crack. The solid portions will turn into an absorbant poweder which you will mash up.

Then all you need to add is sand, which is found almost everywhere, and some gravel or pebbles. And you have just made concrete that you can use for building or any other project you may have.

[Charles]

How to make Bricks

First you will want to collect the soil or clay that you need. Dig down a few feet as you do not want to use topsoil for these.

Sift the soil to remove any small stones and debris that would cause the finished product to be weak and crumble.

Next add some water in small amounts and begin to mix it. You want it to have a consistancy of dough. Add some straw, grass or manure to help strengthen the mixture.

Take the mixture and put into molds and shake the mold to remove any air that might be trapped. Allow them to dry in the shade, if put in direct sunlight it can cause them to crack. The drying process can take a few weeks.

A simple wooden mold.




Once they are dry enough you can carefully remove from the molds and you have the bricks you need for construction.

I recommend building a simple kiln to fire the bricks to further strengthen them and give then a longer lifespan. (in a later post I will describe a simple kiln and temps needed to fire the bricks)

[Fredkc]

WhiteHaze;
These are very cool.
The kind of stuff you want to make sure and print out, too.

Fred

[Charles]

How to make a simple Kiln

A kiln can come in handy for makeing pottery for tableware or firing bricks that I mentioned previously.

To begin with you want to pick an area that is flat and level the dirt floor of the kiln. Using the dirt or clay bricks that you made, you will want to stack them in a shape and size that is manageable.

Keep in mind that you want air to draft in to fan the fire to get maximum heat. You will aslo want it to have a roof, so use your imagination when placing the bricks. The idea is to place the bricks in such a way that they retain as much heat and direct the heat back towards your product. You will also want to have some sort of shelf to hold the product you are firing. Usually a grate or metal sheet will suffice.

Once you have your kiln constructed, you will want to first fire it with nothing in it to cure the bricks you constructed it with. Start with split wood and start small, gradually building the fire and bringing the temp up slowly. Hard slow burning wood is recommended. It should take about 45 minutes to an hour achieve temps above 1200 degrees. Maintain that heat for atleast 4 hours and then allow the kiln to cool. Look for any cracks or imperfections in your bricks and construction. You kiln should now be ready to use for pottery or brick firing.

When you are ready to begin firing your pottery or bricks, start small with the fire. You want to place your pottery or bricks on the shelf and allow them to gradually heat up. Patience is key here and tending the fire is important. Again bring the temp up slowly until you feel you have reached maximum temp of the kiln. Allow atleast 4 hours of firing time at maximum temp and then bring the temp down slowly. Allow the product to cool very slowly or it could crack and be destroyed. Practice will make perfect.

[Charles]

This was done by one of our members Real Intent.

How to Make Soap


Making Homemade Soap Can Be Dangerous
Before we begin, let me stress that soap-making can be dangerous. Although it is easy to become comfortable with the process, you should only make soap when you fully understand the safety procedures.

Here is some general homemade soap information

Soap is made in two parts, lye and water, plus a mixture of oils. The two don?t combine easily, so they must be brought to similar temperatures. Lye and water get very hot when mixed, so the mixture must cool before being added to the oils.

The oils must be gently heated. The oil is nowhere near hot enough to cook with, but still, please do not start any fires. Every oil has a different saponification index, which is a measure of how much lye is required to turn that oil into soap. This means, if you run out of coconut oil, don?t go replacing it with olive oil.

Lye is VERY caustic, so don?t get any on your skin. It also gives off nasty fumes, so use goggles and very good ventilation or a respirator. Check out the Materials Safety Data Sheet on lye.

You will also need a mould. You could use a 9 x 13 cake pan, and line it with wax paper. I bought a used Rubbermaid bread box that is about 14? x 6? x 5?. This makes a big block of soap that is not safe to cut with a knife. I cut it with a guitar string wrapped around a couple of chopstick handles.

Homemade Soap: The Hardest Step
The hardest thing about soap is knowing when it is done. This is judged by a state called ?Trace?. This is when a dribble of soap kind of stays on the surface instead of sinking into the pot. Think honey on a counter top as it slowly flattens out.

Check online for all the soap info you could want, from a very active community. The book that I used to work out this recipe is called The Soapmaker?s Companion, by Susan Miller Cavitch. This is also where I found recipes for hand lotion.
recipe for homemade soap

Lye - Mix in large pyrex measuring cup, stir with a chopstick saved from order-in Chinese food. Again, DO NOT BREATHE THE FUMES. WEAR GOGGLES.

700 ml purified water
270 g or 91/4 oz lye (one small container)

Oils ?Mix in a big pot

Olive oil 955g 4.5 cups
Coconut oil 390g 500ml 2 cups
Grapeseed oil 515g 500ml 2 cups

Use the cheap pomace olive oil, virgin doesn?t work as well.

Let lye mixture cool to 110F. Warm oils to 110F. When both are at the same temperature, slowly pour lye mixture into oils. Mix with a stick blender until trace, periodically scraping sides and bottom of pan with a spatula. I mix with short pulses of the blender, and it only takes about three minutes.

The first time I made soap I used a whisk and my spatula, which I washed carefully later. Next time I used my Braun stick blender. Once I felt sure that I was going to make soap regularly, I bought a used stick blender at Value Village for $5.00 and dedicated it to soap making. If you use a whisk, you can look forward to hours of stirring. I also have a couple of thrift-shop thermometers, one for the lye and one for the oils. I have also heard of people making soap by feel. When the containers of lye and oils feel similarly warm to the touch, you are good to go.

At trace, add 10ml cinnamon oil. Mix as little as possible, just enough to combine. Theoretically, the soap can harden very quickly at this stage, trapping your spatula inside a giant bar. I have never had a problem with this recipe, though.

Pour into mould. Wrap with heavy blankets for 24 hours to keep the heat in and help the chemical reaction.

The next day, when soap has set, cut it into bars and store, separated nicely, on brown paper in cool place. Turn over after two weeks. Use after one month.

Share the suds.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005...omemade_s.php.

[Bethany]

Amazing stuff, thanks Whitehaze

[Fredkc]

Ok then. have the recipe for bricks, and soap...

now, if you come across a "recipe" for toilet paper

I shall be fearless, no matter what may come.



Fred

[Real Intent]

How to Flintknapp

1 Select the proper stone for shaping. Flint, chert, and other similar rocks can be knapped, as well as basalt, obsidian, lab manufactured quartz, toilet bowls, and some other minerals which have a smooth surface left after a fracture. Obsidian is very soft, and is easiest for the beginner to learn on as strength is developed. .

2 Select a stone that has few, if any, large cracks, fissures, bubbles, noticeable inclusions or other irregularities which would likely cause it to break or flake off in ways contrary to the shape you are trying to achieve.

3 Pick a stone large enough that you can recover from a mistake without losing the entire effort of your project, but small enough to easily create what you have in mind. *Incidentally, you may also wish to heat treat (cooking some quartzes, flints, fossil woods or fossil corals for many hours under the bed of a fire will change them from grainy to glassy) or water treat your stone (some stones, particularly opals, must remain submerged or can crack as they dry), both techniques used successfully by experienced knappers. With heat treating, bury your stones under two inches of dirt, then maintain a very thick bed of coals for at least four hours if heating flint pre-forms, more or less time is needed depending on the density of substance. Remove the fire or let it die down. Allow the stones to cool overnight before uncovering them, or they will explode on contact with cool air. Turn them over, then repeat the cycle until the stone turns glossy when you chip it. This takes lots of experimentation to master.

4 Sit comfortably. You can knapp on a table or bench, of course, but traditionally knapping is done sitting cross-legged, with the stone in one hand in one's lap. This method can be difficult for beginners. Experiment to find out which sitting position gives you the most control, especially with pressure flaking. I prefer to sit on a log. You may choose to use a board or large stone for a rest for your work piece if you are beginning with a large, heavy stone.

5 Some stones, such as flint, chert, and fossilized organics, will have a directional grain from either volcanic formation, or the natural striations of the now fossilized organic material i.e. wood. Give attention to these important features of the stone. During the process of breaking the stone to your will, give attention to the direction of these natural features. Some flints and most glasses will not have these. Agates and malachite will tend to. It is those stones which are internally featureless that are best for beginners, because you will not be restricted by direction in your stone, and may freely form it as you please, within reason.

6 Begin with direct percussion. Direct percussion is accomplished by taking a round, resilient material and directly striking the stone which is to be made into a bifacial object to remove material in the shape of long, sharp flakes. A fist-sized round stone from a creek or a billet made from a large, solid-centered antler( preferably moose. Elkhorn is hollow and second-rate) will work very well. With this technique it is more difficult to learn control than with finishing techniques such as pressure flaking. With stones that are irregular in shape or are larger than a couple of ounces, you will need to begin the reduction process with direct percussion. To make smaller to medium-sized arrowheads, simply take a large flake from a percussion project, dress and abrade the edge, and go directly to pressure flaking. The purpose of direct percussion is to thin the stone from the edges inward to achieve the required thickness to form a bifacial blade. Strike the stone at between a fifty to sixty-degree angle. Imagine that a blow straight down is ninety degrees, and a blow straight sideways into the pre-form you are forming is zero degrees. Then you can work out where sixty degrees is. Just hold a protractor upside down. This angle is ideal for removing large quantities of material without causing your work to either split, as with a more direct, inward angle closer to thirty degrees, or for the striking edge (or platform) itself to crumble, as with an angle striking closer to straight down.

7 The most important process in flint knapping is abrading the edge of your flint, glass etc. pre-form. EVERY TIME you have struck off a series of flakes on an edge, it is compulsory that you grind that edge down very dull again so that the stone can withstand the impact of the next series of percussions, or the edge will collapse or the entire piece of work will break apart. Again, this is THE MOST IMPORTANT feature of flint knapping. It is accomplished by grinding the edge of your flint in a sawing motion against another flattish sort of stone of slightly lesser hardness. Old grinding wheels work well for this, or any smooth hunk of limestone. This will make grooves in the rock or grinding wheel, a desirable feature. The result is a dependable platform able to take the extreme rigors of lithic engineering. If not done properly, you will never be successful at reproducing anything more than stone bullets.

8 After your pre-form is reduced so that it is about seven or eight times wider than it is thick (for a larger project), begin pressure flaking. Pressure flaking is achieved by placing your work into a fold of thick leather. Hold this in your hand, then place a pointed tool on the edge of the stone, and apply an inward pressure to the tool, focusing energy toward the palm, not away from it as with percussion, usually at a more severe angle of forty-five degrees. That's right! You will be working in the opposite direction than with percussion, giving attention to the face you can see when holding it. This pressure will remove a small, thin flake from the stone. The slower and longer you apply pressure, the longer your flakes will be. Longer flakes are desirable, as they continue to reduce the thickness very well. Up to 90% of your work may be pressure flaking, and only 10% percussion, so be patient and work with attention to detail. Do not forget to continue abrading the edge after EVERY series of flakes. Do not make 2 flakes in the same place without abrading. The closer you get to the finished product, the less heavily you will have to abrade, as you are working towards the final product of a delicate, razor sharp edge and point. The pressure flaker should be a half-inch by one foot wooden dowel, made of osage orange, hickory, ash, oak, any strong and flexible wood, never pine, fir, poplar or any softwood. It needs a sharpened copper nail set tightly in a hole in one end. Steel, iron, brass, and bronze are too hard to grip the stone and do not work for pressure flaking. They will crush your work rather than shape it. Aluminum is too soft and brittle. The copper nail or wire should be no less than 3/16" in thickness sharpened to a dull point, and should stick out no more than 1/2" as copper is soft and can bend too far to use if too long. Traditionally, a pointy deer antler tine was used and works almost as well as copper. You will have to sharpen the pressure flaker fairly often.

9 If you are worried about tendinitis from pressure flaking(read warning), you may participate in the indirect percussion method. The results are very different aesthetically, but it can be more effective in reducing the thickness of your biface. Again, place the pre-form in the folded leather, then place this between your feet on the ground, or knees, but preferably between the feet on the ground, for stability. Then use your pressure flaker like a nail punch on the edge of the pre-form, and strike the butt of the pressure flaker with a billet that you feel is heavy enough to work stone, but that you can confidently control. Be careful with severity of the blow as you near the completion of your project. It is a good idea to cut the pressure flaker you use for percussion down to six inches. If you can, make it out of a solid piece of 1/2 inch copper or antler. Taper the tip over a length of about 2 inches to a fairly blunt but narrow point, one that focuses energy but doesn't pinpoint it. This process takes more practice, and you will have more failures as you learn it. But it works equally well as pressure flaking when mastered, if not better, and will save your elbows potentially massive damage. Then you can finish the face and edge with minimal pressure flaking.

10 With every series of flakes taken from an edge, alternate the face from which you remove material. If you struck or flaked in one direction with one series of flakes, grind down the edge and turn the pre-form over and remove material from the opposing face, same edge. Alternate edges, also! Try not to work the same edge twice in a row, rather go from one edge and back to the other so as to maintain consistency of material reduction. However, you can, and will often find it necessary as you learn, to work the same face from opposing sides in order to remove stacks of material caused by poor angles of previously applied force or natural inclusions in the material.

11 Repeat until you have shaped your flint into the shape you wish. Make the final run of pressure flakes and do not abrade. Leave the raw, sharp edge for use as a tool.

12 You may put the finishing touches on a point by notching the base or forming a stem at the base. This can be done by pressure flaking the notches or the stem into the base of a finished tool, but be sure to dull the base and notches so they don't cut the string you will use for binding it to a handle or shaft. Leave the edges sharp, however! Or, you can leave the plain base without altering by notches or a stem. Use an abrading stone on the base to dull it so it may be placed and tied in a wooden shaft or tool handle.

Tips

Remember to use material not grainy, rather smooth in texture when broken.
Work from edges leaving the middle of biface thicker to reduce breaking the piece in half.
Buy a good book on this technique, such as: Primitive Technology II: Ancestral Skill by David Wescott ISBN 1586850989

Warnings

Always use eye protection. Breaking rocks causes shrapnel to fly at impressive velocities in all directions.
A note on respiratory protection. DO NOT flint knap indoors. There is a lot of dust made from flint knapping. The dust from the flint is hazardous to the lungs over time (and also the surface of the eyes). Any siliceous or glassy substance fractures on the molecular level, and is 70,000 times sharper than honed steel. Therefore the dust that is produced is microscopic versions of the large razors struck off during lithic reduction and is insidious. It is because of this that the dust masks from the hardware store do NO GOOD for protection, the dust will pass through unimpeded. A very expensive specialty mask may be bought, such as those used in glass or boat hull factories, and still there is a chance of overexposure if used indoors, much less the danger prevalent to others who may be present. Purchasing such a mask can be avoided by simply going outside where there is a strong breeze, away from structures, walls or anything restricting natural air flow. Prolonged exposure to dust from flint knapping even over a few years WILL cause a condition known as silicosis, where the alveoli, the sacs of the lungs, become highly scarred and are unable to fill with air. It can also cause a buildup of scar tissue on the exposed corneas. So just stay outside. It's that easy. I highly recommend that you have a large, high power box fan or the sort blowing beside you at all times.
Warm up your elbows before knapping, literally. A warm, wet towel works very well. Tendonitis, or tennis elbow, is a concurrent problem with pressure flaking. It usually manifests in the arm holding the pre-form, and is a result of the angle of the elbow necessary to work stone. The tendonitis caused by knapping does not easily heal and can be debilitating. Mine is and I'm only 31, and many of my friends also. How I have learned to avoid this problem: make your pressure flaker long, at least a foot, if not two, for leverage against your hip, and try to let your other hand rest against the inside of your leg. Try not to flex the elbow of the hand holding the pre-form; rather, use the inside of the leg adding wrist strength as a stabilization method. Hold the pressure flaker just above center, because the wood will flex and work for you.

Things You'll Need

Leather Leg protection
Eye Protection
Several round hammer stones varying is size from 2 to 4 inches
Copper-ended billet (weighted at copper end) or antler billet (moose is best)
Pressure flaking tool (large wooden dowel with large copper nail in end, or sharp deer antler tine)
Abrading stone
Sizeable piece of chert, flint, obsidian, toilet bowl, cullet glass, fossil organics etc.
A 1/4 inch thick leather pad 12inches x 12inches for hand protection during pressure flaking
A high power fan
A comfortable stool
Pants that will go over the tops of your shoes

Sources and Citations

http://www.flintknappingtools.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flintknapper
http://www.msu.edu/~doneycar/flint.html

[Janos]

Great stuff, Whitehaze!

The only addition I could think of, would be a few good sized pics to embed in the thread. Such as what limestone looks like, maybe a close up picture of a quarry, etc.

[Charles]

How to make your own Toilet Paper (just for you Fred)


Start by making the pulp for your toilet paper. This is the slurry that you will dry in sheets. Get some soft wood, such as pine. (For obvious reasons, using hardwoods is not the best idea.) Cut the pine with a band saw until you are left with very thin pieces and lots of sawdust.

Put the sawdust into a blender. (You might not want to use a new appliance to make your pulp.) Add some cotton fibers. It might be hard to cut cotton balls into small pieces, so use something looser. Try different fibers, such as polyester or even silk, if you?re feeling adventurous. Pour a few tablespoons of moisturizing hand lotion into the mix and finish it up with a little water, just enough to let all of the solids move around.

Blend the mixture into a slurry. Don?t worry about overdoing it; the puree setting is just fine. All of the fibers, pulp and lotion should be mixing together, the pieces getting progressively smaller. If the solids are clumping up, add more water.


Pour the slurry over a screen. The water will fall right through, leaving a sheet of toilet paper. You can go as thick or as thin as you like, and you can use a round or rectangular screen; the point is that it?s up to you.


Put the screen on a cloth or paper towel, then place a heavy, flat object on top of your sheet of toilet paper. This will get the majority of the water out. Transfer this semi-dry sheet to another flat surface and repeat until you have made as much toilet paper as you?ll need. Stack your sheets after they?ve dried completely.


Experiment until you have found the right recipe and procedure to give you the desired results. Try adding more lotions or less water. If you prefer fragrant toilet paper, add a perfume of your choice.


http://www.ehow.com/how_4514690_make-toilet-paper.html

[Charles]

Great stuff, Whitehaze!

The only addition I could think of, would be a few good sized pics to embed in the thread. Such as what limestone looks like, maybe a close up picture of a quarry, etc.

Yes I will do that for sure, I just happen to live in a limestone rich area!

[Real Intent]

The Toilet Paper Plant



No, it's not really called the Toilet Paper plant but you can guess why; it's perfect if you're caught in the woods without a bathroom. The bottom leaves are quite huge, approximately 18" long. It's real name is Common Burdock. Purple bur-like flowers appear in late summer-early fall. It is often confused with a thistle plant.

[Charles]

The Toilet Paper Plant



No, it's not really called the Toilet Paper plant but you can guess why; it's perfect if you're caught in the woods without a bathroom. The bottom leaves are quite huge, approximately 18" long. It's real name is Common Burdock. Purple bur-like flowers appear in late summer-early fall. It is often confused with a thistle plant.

My arse isnt that big, and it is delicate I need Angel Soft quality rofl!

[Real Intent]

My arse isnt that big, and it is delicate I need Angel Soft quality rofl!

Use Mullein instead then you big baby! It's leaves are very fuzzy and soft. But don't come crying to me if you get fibers stuck in your butt!

[Charles]

whitehaze fell out of the chair in fits of laughter!

[Janos]

The Toilet Paper Plant



No, it's not really called the Toilet Paper plant but you can guess why; it's perfect if you're caught in the woods without a bathroom. The bottom leaves are quite huge, approximately 18" long. It's real name is Common Burdock. Purple bur-like flowers appear in late summer-early fall. It is often confused with a thistle plant.

Burdocks are soft and fuzzy, unless they're in post flower, then they have green or brown burrs (seedpods.) Hence the name, bur-dock. It's literally sort of a Burred dock. 'Dock' being a type of plants, such as curled/yellow dock and sorrels (Rumex crispus, or Rumex acetosa, which are yummy and edible and very good for you. Burdock isn't really in the family of docks (Rumex), but it does kind of look like one when it's small. Either way, it's good, and good for you.

What you've got a picture of there is most likely an Arcticum lappa. Great Burdock (4 - 9 ft tall, long-stalked). (Common Burdock is smaller (3 - 5 ft tall, short-stalked) and called Arcticum minus)

Burdock is a very good wild edible, and one that is proliferating near you.

The tender young leaves can be added to salads, or boiled i several changes of water.

Roots of FIRST year plants can be boiled 30 minutes, after removing the thick and inedible rind, in 2 changes of water. Serve hot with butter.

How do you know it's a first year plant? Because they only send up those huge spiked stalks the 2nd year. If it's just a bunch of leaves coming out from a root in the ground with no big central stalk, it's a first year plant and OK to eat the root. (Nothing is wrong with the 2nd year root, per se, except that it turns extremely woody, and you'll never be able to eat it.)

You can also eat the white pith (no yucky bitter green rind) from the young leaf and flower stalks of Arcticum lappa. (Great Burdock)

Here's the breakdown from a field guide, seasonally: SPRING - leaves and leafstalks, EARLY SUMMER - roots, SUMMER - flowerstalks.
(Roots primarily, It's roots have also been used for centuries by the chinese in healing. It has also been recently studied in anti-cancer trials. It is a very versatile plant.

So whilst you are gathering those big ol leaves for other purposes, be sure to gather some fresh young ones as a snack, and if you have a spade with you dig the root out. Use the hole left for whatever you need to, do the same with the big leaves, and take the root back home with you for a fantastic addition to your wild food pantry.

[Aquarian]

Ok then. have the recipe for bricks, and soap...

now, if you come across a "recipe" for toilet paper

I shall be fearless, no matter what may come.



Fred

Hi Fred and everyone,

Using facecloths to wash with might be the ultimate solution.

It's soft and reusable for years. Washable with the soap you make with the above recipe. Hang in the sun and it's sterilized.

Aqua

[Janos]

Use Mullein instead then you big baby! It's leaves are very fuzzy and soft. But don't come crying to me if you get fibers stuck in your butt!

Dry the leaves and use to make mullein tea. Mullein is the main ingredient in cough syrup, and the one ingredient that actually works. To get rid of a phlegmy cough, crumble some dried leaves into a cup pour hot water over, let steep 5 minutes, and then strain. Drink as is. Do that several times a day, and you'll kick that cough and be right as rain. I've recommended this to hundreds of people, and never had one yet who failed to get extremely positive results if they followed the directions as instructed.

Other parts of this plant are also useful, but not recommended unless you are knowledgeable about the plant in question.

[Ami]

I really like burdock root. I buy fresh burdock root at the grocery store & it tastes kind of like a earthy fibrous potato/parsnip...it's hard to describe taste, lol.

I try to eat most of my fruit & veg raw & burdock isn't bad eaten that way but it's really nice chopped up & thrown into soup or stir fry.

I also buy it dried at the Chinese pharmacy to use as a tea. If you make it strong, it's taste reminds me of Chicory or Coffee.

The Chinese believe that it helps purify your blood & detoxify your liver. I don't know if it works or not as I have fairly good eating habits to start with but my gut feeling is that it does help.

I would think as far as using it as toilet paper it would work very well. Supposedly the leaves can be used for burns... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burdock

I'm going to plant some out in my container garden in the next few weeks, for food purposes that is

[Witchy]

sssoooooooooooooo funny

[Charles]

Wood ash and its uses

1- Enrich compost. Before the organic compound get applied to soil, enhance its nutrients by sprinkling in a few ashes.

2- Block garden pests. Spread evenly around garden beds, ash repels slugs and snails.

3- Control pond algae. One tablespoon per 1,000 gallons adds enough potassiumm to strengthen other aquatic plants that compete with algae, slowing its growth,

4- Pump up tomatoes. For the calcium-loving plants, place 1/4 cup right in the hole when planting

5- Make soap. Soaking ashes in water makes lye, which can be mixed with animal fat and then boiled to produce soap. Salt makes it harden as it cools.

[Charles]

How to make compost

[Janos]

This reminded me of something I discovered the other day. 'ASH WOOD', and it's uses. I'll have to re-find it and post here.

POST UPDATE:

Ash wood is incredible, and has many uses. It's also been used for things such as bows, tool handles, etc.

http://www.ehow.com/ash-wood/

See also:

http://www.thewoodbox.com/data/wood/ashinfo.htm

I also think that ash can be cut down and it will grow back several times, making it PERFECT for planting strands to be cut down and harvested for all kinds of projects.

I'll post that info when I find it.

[5thElement]

Worm bin composting is a handy way to reduce your waste (and garbage bill) along with the getting fresh renewable compost. Several links on the how's & why's below:
http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/Easywormbin.htm
http://cityfarmer.org/wormcomp61.html
http://www.savvygardener.com/Feature...omposting.html

5th

[Modwiz]

This reminded me of something I discovered the other day. 'ASH WOOD', and it's uses. I'll have to re-find it and post here.

POST UPDATE:

Ash wood is incredible, and has many uses. It's also been used for things such as bows, tool handles, etc.

http://www.ehow.com/ash-wood/

See also:

http://www.thewoodbox.com/data/wood/ashinfo.htm

I also think that ash can be cut down and it will grow back several times, making it PERFECT for planting strands to be cut down and harvested for all kinds of projects.

I'll post that info when I find it.

We have a lot of Ash growing here in the Catskill mountains. It does have a certain "weedy" quality to it and is a robust tree with beautiful straight and clean wood.

I like to say there's nothing like a good piece of ash.