Basswood- The Bark and the Wood

We planted some grapes a few years ago. They now need something to climb. I've been looking around for ideas and remembered a type of fence described to me by some friends upon their return from Sweden. The fence is very simple and has roots in the very ancient times of the Stone Age. The fence is made with all materials that are at hand. I made ours out of Ironwood saplings and the inner bark of Basswood that's it. No nails or store bought string. All you really need is an axe but we also made use of a small bow saw and a sledge hammer. To make a nice looking fence cut all the posts to the same height as well as the diagonal members. This helps get the layout right. I think that this fence proves that "primitive" man was far from it. This is a very clever use of materials, that is born from direct knowledge from living within the environment. Here are some more examples of the fence know as gardsgard.

Basswood logs split very easily. So besides using the inner bark for the fence I'll use riven boards for birch bark and bent wood box tops and bases. I will be going into production of these later in June and need some material for them. I spent yesterday peeling inner bark, splitting boards, and finishing up our fence.

I had a great day on Saturday sharing spoon carving skills with folks. I wish I took more photos but I always forget. These folks did a great job and had fun.