Where do yout get wood for Pioneering MB projects?

[Knot Head]

I like knots. Imagine that. I guess it's from my interest in fishing, boating, etc.

 

I made a flagpole for the troop we use on campouts from lumber yard 2x2's that the boys lash together and anchor. This gets them to do a sheer lashing and a couple of knots. The boys have really gotten into this. Subject to SM approval I'd like to add a "gate" since that could incorporate sheer, diagonal & cross lashings. This way the scouts reinforce first class lashings they have learned on every campout. I figure a gate beats lashing two poles together for no purpose which is what they do now.

 

Also I've love to counsel pioneering. This summer I plan to observe the pioneering MB at summer camp then perhaps offer it back home. That looks like fun.

 

So my question is....

Do you know of a good place to get somewhat "natural" looking wood for lashings as opposed to lumber yard stuff, or does it matter? Natural "looks better" and I guess the troop could collect pieces of wood and rough them down for the project. I've never done that (zero woodworking skills) but perhaps some of you have.

 

Anyway looking for the wisdom of the board to offer up some ideas on how or where to get wood for pioneering stuff. Thanks!

 

 

[Gold Winger]

Find a developer who is clearing land and ask him if you can take some of the thinner trees. He might already have a sub-contractor who is taking the wood so might wind up talking to a couple people.

 

Do you know someone who has a cabin in the mountains?

 

Farmers?

 

 

[AnneinMpls]

My grandpa tells me that back on the farm, they would maintain a stand of willow - very fast-growing, good for wet ground - so that they would always be able to cut whatever diameter staves they needed.

De Kluis - the Belgian Boy Scout camp we used to go to when I lived there kept a huge shed full of wood for pioneering.

Our Girl Scout council here has basically outlawed *all* lashing as not environmentally sound. Goofy in the head, they are.

Anyway, plant some willow. It's what I would do if I had a patch of ground.

Anne in Mpls

[Knot Head]

Thanks. I've got access to loads of trees and wood on the ground.

 

Time permitting I'll see if I can find some suitable wood in the forest by summer camp. If not I'll go the lumber yard route with 2x2's for this first year and work on it going forward. Good idea on the summer camp. I'll call our council guy Monday and see if he has any idea.

[Trevorum]

Depending on your area, try tree farms. These places routinely thin their even-aged stands and have lots of surplus pine saplings.

[AnneinMpls]

Does anyone know whether wetlands regulations would prohibit using not well drained land to grow willow staves?

I havn't heard anything in the news in thre last few years about wetlands - it used to be a hot topic around here.

[Its Me]

 

I called our council guy and followed what he said.

 

He said Google the closet Farm supply store. They will carry 2"-3" diameter x 6.5' long, treated pine fence posts. Use these as your poles. I paid less than $2.50/ea and bought 20 pieces. You will need 1,200' of 1/4" Manila rope. Just buy the whole big box at the hardware store for $60.00. For wiping the ends I got fancy and went and got actual waxed wiping line from a boat supply store. It was a modest improvement over hemp twin sold at the craft store.

 

Measure out 30' and 20' and 15' and paint the ends different colors.

 

If you are the MB counsler you will need to provide / make available materials to build a scale model of a monkey bridge or tower.

 

 

 

[Horizon]

We keep a supply of the big poles they use for holding up trees when landscaping. They are 2-3" in diameter, round poles of very splinterry wood. They look a little more real than the 2x4s, IMHO.

 

Check your gardening department and see what they have, you can also check with the local nursery as well.

[anarchist]

Knot Head,

 

depending on the area you live in there are usually several places to extract "labor only" staves. Old farmsteads, working farms, country roads, timbered (clear-cut) wood lots, contruction sites. A few calls and maybe a visit to introduce yourselves is usually all it takes.

 

some farmers have old fence lines being damaged by saplings that they just have not had time to "get to" and would welcome a troop cutting forty or fifty trees down, some road ways five to ten years after being built have lots of two, three even four inch trees that the land owner would love for someone to clean out...some farms have ponds/small lakes with dam embankments that are being over-grown by trees that eventually have to be removed (trees undermine the dam structure)- and its all free for a troop Saturday and some light work.

 

a little bit of a drive around should show you local possiblities. If you have a place under cover a rack can be built to store the staves up off the ground and out of the elements, in which case the pioneering "kit" will last for years.

 

Rope to use is hemp that has some tar worked into it...check old fashion hardware stores and again, if taken care of properly will last for years. You can splice rings and grommets and cut and mark 10 ft, 15 ft, 20 ft, 25 ft hanks (using different colored whipping string for each length makes identifcation of the rope you need a cinch!)

good luck its one of my favorite scout skills!

anarchist

[Gonzo1]

For whipping the ends of rope, try waxed dental floss.

It's small, inexpensive and comes in a handy carrying case.

Plus, it's great for the actual intended use, flossing your teeth!

 

[Joni4TA]

I don't really know where they came from but our Troop has a bunch of 6 foot natural looking cedar fence posts, like they use for range fencing with barbed wire here in my neck of the woods (rural south texas). Our troop made a monkey bridge out of these cedar posts a couple weeks ago, but they ended up lashing 2 of the 6-footers together to make them 8-9 feet long for the A-frames at both ends of the bridge. It worked well!

 

I sort of consider the monkey bridge one of the ultimate pioneering projects, so I am figuring if these cedar posts worked with that, they'll work for any project. Also, they don't rot very fast like other untreated wood.

 

So I agree with the farm or fence supply suggestion.

[Scouter&mom]

Our troop uses bamboo!! It's lightweight and fairly sturdy. You would have to plan your sizes for a tower or monkey bridge, but you would with wood too. It can grow to 3-4" in diameter.

 

Bamboo is a noxious weed. It was planted many places (here in the South at least) as screening plants back in the 40's and 50's, and has gone wild taking over large areas. It is hard to kill, and many landowners wouldn't mind you cutting some. My mother has some on a farm that she has paid to have sprayed by crop duster and it still keeps growing and spreading. We cut poles each time we are there to keep the troop supplied with pioneering material. Take a ride and look along field edges or near where houses were, then go ask the landowner.

[scouter.in.Texas]

If you're anywhere near the logging industry, talk to them. We were actually encouraged by them to thin out smaller pine trees from their older stands of lumber. We made a campout of it and ended up with dozens of prime pioneering poles. It was a classic win-win, and on top of that, the boys take pride and ownership in having cut their own.