bog wood

blowin · bog wood

The very heavy , dark wood which is extracted from peat bogs .
Fascinating stuff . Does anyone work with it ? If so , would you be prepared to divulge any tips of the trade ?? Wink

Anywhere you can buy it in its rough form ? I'm thinking of interesting shapes , rooty bits which can just be revealed rather than carved ? I gather a guy has a field full somewhere just outside Swinford ?
There are loads of stumps just protruding out of areas of quite deeply cut-away turf bog . Obviously a good age but any idea how I can tell how old without carbon dating ? ( Where and what cost for that ? ) .

I have tried looking up eg the growth rate of bogs but am having trouble figuring out which type of bog it is to start with .
Sorry about all the Q's . Any clues ?

quarryman

ESB power station on the way to Belmullet. They have loads they want rid of. Give them a call and you might get lucky.

blowin

Would you believe it ! I've known quarryman for over 2 years and I've been looking for bogwood for the same period ---- but never thought to ask him in person ! Thanks for the tip , q Smile

GB

Most bogs have been dated already so if you know the name of the bog just type it in and hay presto, age of wood. The wood haveing been killed and preserved at the start, the age of bog is age of wood.
Just remember to dry the wood REALLY well. It takes ages but makes working it much easerer. And you know where all the cracks are BEFORE you start rather than them opening up just where you dont want them.
We took the bog train a few years ago and there were whole TREES of the stuff Shocked

And I did think if you could get the stuff out how cool it would be to lumber it and dry it and make a ffloor of the stuff. Think how neet it would be to have an 8000 year old floor Cool

Sad to say, I have no idea how you would go about getting such large timber out of a bog Sad

blowin

Thanks for that Wink

I have found out that trying to get it out by chainsawing it into lumps trashes the chain teeth in no time . The sparks are pretty tho' !
I note what you say about the cracking as it dries but would you scrape / pare off the softer / outer wood-pulpy stuff as soon as you can , or leave it on as a kind of buffer ?

blowin

If anyone has a mind to Google this subject , I found that searching on " Bog Wood " threw up a lot of religeous stuff .
" Bog Oak " gave the desired result .
Oak , Deal and Birch are all valid forms of Bog "Oak" .
Or so it would seem .

blowin

Some of this stuff is the home of nature spirits or divas of the bog . Something like that . So it is said .
Work on it for long enough and that almost becomes plausible . If you believe in that sort of thing , of course . Cool

blowin

GB

I dont know if this will help but its all I found with a quick search during breakfast Wink

http://www.wesleyjohnston.com/users/ireland/geography/bogs.html

blowin

A very ( ! ) belated thanks for that reply . It doesn't appear to give the age of the bog but I will get to it somehow .
Meanwhile I am stlill looking to find someone who has any depth of experience in working with this amazing stuff . In particular , what is the best way to seal and polish it ? I have found that a blend of beeswax and Linseed oil works well -- gives a nice shine without stickiness provided that you get the proportions right . Work it in with a medium/soft brush while heating it with a hair-drier .
I am sure that is not a traditional method !
Burning damp turf in the range produces a fair amount of liquid tar/oil in the tray below the oven . What effect would that have if painted onto the bog wood ? ( Very natural but pretty horrible and tacky I would imagine ! )

GB

I used teak oil on mine, it worked a treat, gave a lovely muted shine and felt great when rubbed. Thats one of the nice things about bog wood, its so tactile Cool

wayland

Are you still messing with this stuff Blowin?