Knowing its a natural

Sometimes I like to carve.

I had to cut down this tree/scrub in my garden as it was almost dead. Turns out it is Common Dogwood (Cornus sanguinea), a dense wood that is ideally suited to make bows and spears from. It is so heavy it sinks in water.

I cut a big fork from it, mouldy and mossy. After debarking, I found the wood to be perfectly OK.

So I used the templates of a design I gave to John "Gamekeeper" Webb a while ago, the "Lead Launcher". The design is supposed to be cut from two pieces of 18 mm plywood, then epoxied together. But I carved it in one piece out of the big frame.

The wood does not take well to staining, and the grain is boring. So I coated it with black paint and poly, then polished the entire thing until it shone like Japanese laquered bowls.

Feels great in the hand!