Thread: Dead Tree Branch Terrelis

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Has anyone made one of these?
I would like to know what I should soak them in to get them to bend like I want!
Sounds like a summer project anyway!

Grapevine is very bendable..you just soak overnight (or longer) in a big tub of water. Might add a capful of household bleach to keep the moldies (or mosquitos if you do this in summer) away. Not sure a dead branch would bend no matter what you soak it in. Green young branches however will bend. maybe you could bend them the way you want when they are green, then just let time and air dead-en them?

I know around the Pacific Northwest people will soak willow branches in the lake for a few weeks and then pull the bundle of branches out and weave them while they are still wet.

Originally Posted by Voodoo

I know around the Pacific Northwest people will soak willow branches in the lake for a few weeks and then pull the bundle of branches out and weave them while they are still wet.

That is what I am looking at...but we lack alot of willow trees around here!

I think the lack of materials in Colorado might keep you from doing the project ~ unless you can find a suitable substitute.

Jack, you can use any branch that is bendable and most of those you can find growing where it is damp and/or wet. I've used cedar and surprisingly, tag alders, with success.

There are some terrific books on making bentwood furniture or rustic furniture that go into some depth about wood selection. If you pick up an easy to read tree identification book, you'll be surprised at how many species of willow are actually in your area (beside the great weeping willow that everyone knows how to identify).

We've made chairs and an arbor and other doo-dads. A trellis is on my garden list. Last summer I made the mistake of trying to get a permit to cut willow on US Forestry property - what a fiasco! If you're Forestry is anything like our forestry, be sure to get permission form a private property owner and cut there.