How do I harden willow wood? | Discord Woodworking | Page 1

narrow eagle Oct 28, 2024, 2:20 AM

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Hi! I just joined and I'm hoping to get some advice for a project I'm doing . I'm hand-carving a hair stick—I did several practice attempts out of whatever wood I could find in my grandparents' wood shed and they turned out pretty easy as I got to know how to use my knife and the wood, but I only have one piece of the wood I want to use for the end goal—willow.

I was able to carve it easily enough, and now I'm belatedly realizing that it's probably too soft for everyday wear.

I selected willow due to emotional significance (so many fond childhood memories), but I need a way to increase its durability. Does anyone have any advice?

I want to also add beaded danglies to it and perhaps treat it with beeswax (the experimental one I treated with it turned out BEAUTIFUL).

Thanks so much! Please ping if you respond. ❤️

(Reposting from where I posted it before cuz I realize this is the better place for it. Sorry!)

mystic lagoon Oct 28, 2024, 2:34 AM

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has it been fully dried?

narrow eagle Oct 28, 2024, 2:38 AM

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mystic lagoon has it been fully dried?

I think so. I kept it in a cool dry garage for over a year before I even touched it.

mystic lagoon Oct 28, 2024, 2:40 AM

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how thick was the piece?

narrow eagle Oct 28, 2024, 2:50 AM

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I wanna say it was about 4cm thick

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with bark

bright bridge Oct 28, 2024, 4:03 AM

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Bark on or off? Branchwood can be unpredictable. If nobody here has good advice for you I would check the places where spooncarvers hang out, they work with green wood in small dimensions like this.

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Can we see a photo? That sounds like a neat project

hardy rune Oct 28, 2024, 4:17 AM

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So.. what exactly do you mean by "too soft"? Overall strength is low and you're worried it'll snap, surface damages easily, ????

narrow eagle Oct 28, 2024, 4:19 AM

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bright bridge Bark on or off? Branchwood can be unpredictable. If nobody here has good advice ...

Ooh, spooncarvers? That's a great idea!

But yes, it's branchwood and had bark on, but I used a makeshift froe and mallet to get the bark off and used a piece that was fairly straight and even.

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Photo incoming!

narrow eagle Oct 28, 2024, 4:19 AM

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hardy rune So.. what exactly do you mean by "too soft"? Overall strength is low and you're...

The surface damages easily. It shouldn't snap, since it won't be under too much force.

narrow eagle Oct 28, 2024, 4:27 AM

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bright bridge Can we see a photo? That sounds like a neat project

First image is all the practice ones on the bottom and then the top has, in order, my first, the willow, and the one I did right before the willow.

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The last three images are all the willow at diff angles

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I tried to keep some of the original shape of the wood intact in all of them because wood is so pretty.

hardy rune Oct 28, 2024, 4:42 AM

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You'd want to try it on a scrap piece, but a drying oil (Tung, etc.) might give you a surface finish you're happy with, while also soaking into the wood, fortifying and hardening it somewhat as it cures

#How do I harden willow wood?