Technology for the manufacture of products from birch bark. Crafts from birch bark with their own hands. Laser cutting and engraving

How to work with birch bark?

I don't remember how it all started. I wanted to try my hand at working with birch bark. I looked on the Internet and on the market for products and decided on the goal: Embossing on birch bark. Where to start? I asked myself this question two years ago. Ventilated the Internet on this issue. Many sites talk about the types of birch bark processing: blanking, slotted birch bark, scraping the inner dark layer, weaving and embossing. Unfortunately, on the last question that interested me, I did not find anything intelligible, except for the manufacture and use of various primitive coinage in the form of stars and crosses.

I decided not to despair and solve problems as they come. After all, material is needed for work, where can I get it? Much has been written about this on the internet. Written - done: I took a cutter, a backpack and went away from the city to a birch grove. Fortunately, it so happened that the time was the most suitable, the end of spring, the beginning of summer. I do not envy those who caught fire with this out of season. There is a desire, but there is no material. Is it possible to harvest birch bark out of season? We will leave this topic for future research.

It didn't work the first time. The birch trees came across young, although the trunk was 15 cm in diameter (as stated in the sources), so friends are trees, to remove the skin from them, you need to look for more than 15 cm. The thickness of the birch bark depends on the age of the tree. Good layers were removed from trees from 30 to 40 cm in diameter. Unfortunately, I did not understand how to keep the front side (facing the bast) without mechanical damage. All the samples I took were scratched and, it seems to me, lost their artistic value.

Upon arrival home, I processed the samples, removed the dirt from the outside, cut out the diseased and damaged areas, and put them under the press.

The second point of preparation was the tape, which was supposed to mark the edges of future products. To mark the tape on the trunk, I decided to use electrical tape. It turned out to be a very successful move. Firstly, it turned out to be the same width along the entire length, and secondly, if you need to bypass “unsuitable” areas, this is easily coordinated by moving the tape higher and lower. I cut it with an ordinary clerical knife. In this way, 3.5 meters of tape was removed, which I later divided into two pieces of 5 mm each at home.

I think that it is necessary to warn beginner “scalpel hunters” that it is advisable to be in time before the midges (mosquitoes and midges) take off, or use mosquito nets and protective equipment because the work requires accuracy and attention, which of course cannot be found in oneself if everything around is squeaking, buzzes and strives to drink your proletarian blood.

One more thing about removing birch bark only from fallen trees. Of course, it’s bad to cut trees, but for a week I tried to find where there are birch fellings, but I didn’t find anything, except for a couple of burnt plantings, in which there was nothing to catch except charred stumps. On a note: the next year I went to see what happened to my patients - everyone is alive, healthy, of course, now their whitish camp is decorated with black stripes.

I chose the theme - Fishing. I picked up a beautiful photo in which I liked the silhouette of a man who caught a fish.

For good work, you need a good frame - a frame. I made several sketches on the topic, thought out the approximate layout.

Tried to execute a separate node. I used a small piece of birch bark. I drew the pattern with a soft pencil. He began to circle with a blunt awl, as described in the instructions on the site. I did not like. Tried a used ballpoint pen, an old one with a big ballpoint. On this device, and stopped. There is also a knitting needle! for punching deeper grooves and areas.

A little upset: the quality of the grooves left much to be desired. The material in them was wrinkled, cracked and villi appeared. Especially in those places where there were lentils (stripes) or defects on the birch bark. As they say, the first pancake is lumpy! Further developments have shown that not only the first one. Alas.

After tracing the drawing, I covered the birch bark with a stain, waited a bit until it was absorbed and wiped it with an effort with a cotton swab dipped in sunflower oil. The result amazed me - this is what I wanted to get.

performed the simulation on the computer:

I liked the result. I printed it on the printer and proceeded to the choice of material.

Despite the fact that the sheets were under pressure, when it was removed, the sheets still twisted. When trying to straighten them, the birch bark began to make sounds of obvious destruction, crackling. This was the first problem. I put it in warm water for half an hour. This gave the sheets flexibility.

The second problem was related to the choice of a suitable piece of birch bark, not one of them had a clean space of A4 size. I didn’t solve the problem, but simply “cave in”: I reduced the scale of the drawing template and tried to fit some of the defects into the composition to the maximum.

Pinned the sheet to the board with buttons. I translated the drawing using a regular pen according to the template and started embossing.

Problem number three. With a decrease in scale, some details became so small that their execution according to the chosen technique was not possible. Therefore, I had to leave the original version. Birch bark turned out to be a very unpredictable material. Therefore, before the final project, it is desirable to work out a couple of main points on the material obtained from the same piece. Pay special attention to small details and coatings, stains and varnishes, the last two can ruin a good job at the very last moment.

I embossed with the same tools described above: A ballpoint pen with finished ink, a knitting needle.

Ribbon preparation. Before use, I soaked the tape for half an hour in warm water, because. She, too, dried up from long storage. After that, along the ruler, cut off one of its edges. But not quite in a straight line, but taking into account the bends of the material, trying to save as much usable space as possible. As it turned out later, this is necessary for the quick marking of the lanes themselves. I used a compass to mark a strip of the same size. Having measured the required size on the compass, using the needle and the cut edge of the tape as a guide, I drew a line along the entire strip. I did not like using a knife when cutting the tape. The tape spun and spun as it wanted, and I did not have the strength to curb it. The scissors turned out great.

For punching holes, I just did not try anything. A hole punch, inconvenient, or rather impossible to get where you need to. Round punch - holes are obtained, which is necessary, but the gap after inserting the tape remains large. Found two ways. Either knock out two holes with a diameter equal to the thickness of the tape (not the width), and then connect the two holes with a cutter, or slightly flatten the round punch to an ellipse. I did the last one.

He covered the surface with a stain, and then wiped it with a cotton swab dipped in sunflower oil. This time I was not very happy with the result. The natural color was definitely more beautiful. Only the embossed surfaces had to be coated with mortar. As I did in the case of the experimental sample.

Another important discovery: Sunflower-oiled birch bark behaves completely differently when using embossing tools (awl, etc.). Tools leave a deep mark, but at the same time they do not violate the surface layer at all. Of course, it is not clear how the embossing will be tinted in this case ... the opening requires verification in battle.

When threading the tape, it was all twisted and confused. Therefore, after each threading, I began from the very beginning to look for the right side. I found two ways out, either to use short tapes (it’s easier to deal with them) or by threading the edge into the desired hole, do not throw it to the mercy of fate, but insert it into the next hole. Thus, at the end of the operation, you have an unraveled end inserted in the right direction.

When bending the tape over the edge, I found tears in those cases when there was a lentil on the bend, and only then did I understand why the craftsmen lay twigs of willows or roots along the edges of the work, then the bending radius becomes larger and the likelihood of the tape breaking decreases.

At the end of the braid, I made a big mistake, pulled a little harder than necessary on the tape and ... tore out a whole piece of birch bark. Friends, firstly, do not punch holes too close to each other, and secondly, be careful and gentle with birch bark, do not try to "shove the unpushed" it will not end in anything good.

And here is the result we got:

Good luck to you in your endeavors.

Birch bark is birch bark, which is one of the most sought-after materials among needlework lovers. With its help, you can make a huge number of useful things in everyday life, as well as decorative elements. The best birch bark crafts are obtained only with proper manufacture and putting the soul into work. Products from birch bark are quite difficult to make, but if you have certain skills in needlework, you can easily learn this.

Preparation for work

Before you make a birch bark craft, you need to properly prepare the source material. The attractiveness of the finished product will depend on its quality.

Birch bark can be prepared in several ways. Among them, it is worth noting cylinders, layers and tapes. The latter option is the most popular, as it is much easier to work with tapes. This is the one to choose for beginners. Do-it-yourself birch bark crafts can be made by first preparing the main material . To do this, you must perform the following steps:

Making crafts

The basics of birch bark weaving for beginners involve the use of perfectly prepared material. To do this, you can seek help from professionals in this matter or try to do all the work yourself. You can make many useful things from birch bark, such as baskets, boxes, sports equipment, furniture.

Basket for berries

Making this craft is the easiest and fastest. To perform the work, you do not need special skills, as well as expensive materials. All this makes it possible for beginners to try their hand at needlework and not be afraid of big losses of time and money.

In the process of making a basket, you will need the following materials and tools: prepared birch bark, glue, scissors, a simple pencil, ruler, hole punch, template.

The process of making a basket is simple and consists of the following steps:

If you don’t know what to give your loved ones for the holiday, then a do-it-yourself birch bark craft will help solve this problem. For children and adults, this will be a wonderful gift, and they will appreciate it.

Box weaving

If you want to decorate your home in an original way or create something useful in the household, then you should try to weave a birch bark box. It is made from thin layers of birch bark, which are pre-processed and cut into strips of the desired width. To make a box, you need to prepare: a sharp knife, an awl with a straight curved rod, pliers, 12 birch bark ribbons 45 centimeters long and 20 millimeters wide, paper clips.

A box is made in compliance with the following sequence of actions:

In the same way, you can make a bread box from natural material.

souvenir magnets

This version of birch bark crafts can be used not only as a decoration for your room, but also as a gift for your loved one. The finished product is beautiful and neat. To implement your ideas, you will need the following materials: thick cardboard, birch bark, glue that leaves no residue when dried, a hole punch, scissors, a sponge, acrylic paint, a sharpener, a birch branch, a small magnet.

Step by step master class:

birch bark panel

Properly and neatly made panels can decorate any room. It can be used for the original design of paintings or photographs. To make the craft perfect, you need to take the following for it: a cardboard frame, birch bark, tree bark of any dark color, a sheet of white paper, PVA glue, a simple pencil, scissors, napkins, a brush.

You can create a panel like this:

beautiful boat

With the help of this master class, you can make a beautiful boat that will keep well on the water and not get wet. The finished product will become your child's favorite toy, and he will not part with it even in his sleep. For the boat, you need to prepare the following items: layers of birch bark, a ruler, scissors, a template, a hole punch, a simple pencil, glue, wooden sticks, a small piece of plywood, seashells.

Lesson topic:

Preparation and storage of birch bark

(6th grade)

Kosolapovo 2017

Goals: 1. to form the ability to harvest and properly store birch bark at home.

2. to teach children respect for nature;

3. To instill love for work, a responsible attitude towards the world around

didactic:

To acquaint students with the technology of storage and collection of birch bark;

To form the skills of working with birch bark;

developing:

Develop motor skills of hands and fingers;

Develop such qualities as attention, observation, accuracy;

Develop interest in the subject of birch bark.

educational:

To instill love for native nature, folk traditions, work,

Develop skills for independent and team work.

Tasks:

to acquaint students with birch bark, with the traditional way of harvesting birch bark, its processing, storage;

present varieties of birch products;

cultivate respect for the nature of the native land.

to teach how to draw up a work plan for the TC, follow the technology, the sequence of the creative process.

show students how to work with birch bark, develop creative abilities.

Equipment and materials:

Presentation

Videos on the harvesting and storage of birch bark:

birch bark.

Plan.

1. Organizational moment. Introduction.2min
2. "Repeat" repetition of the material covered (10 min)
3. Learning new material

Birch bark preparation. (10 min)

4. - Storage of birch bark

- Video (2 min.)

5. Get some rest! (physical education minute 2 min.)

6. - Practical work in the exercise of using the elements of the technique of harvesting birch bark

7. Summing up the lesson.

8. Homework for the summer.

DURING THE CLASSES

1. Organizational moment(duty report) 2 min.

2. "Repeat" repetition of the material covered (Types of birches and useful properties of birch) (10 min)

Work on cards Choose the correct answer"(answers on questions):

1. How many years does a birch live?

100

200

2. What is the name of the birch mushroom?

fly agaric

boletus

chaga

camelina

3. What crafts do we not make at birch bark lessons?

tueski

amulets

cutting boards

bookmarks

3. Studying new material

Deciphering the topic of the lesson on slide number 7 (write the topic of the lesson in notebooks)

The story of the harvesting of birch bark. (10 min)

Teacher's story

birch bark

Birch bark is harvested at the beginning of summer, at the end of May - June, when the birch is full of juices, and the birch bark easily lags behind the rest of the bark.

The best time for harvesting birch bark is May-June(notebook entry)

If you remove it skillfully, without damaging the next layer of the bark -greenery , then this does not harm the tree, and in a few years elegant white clothes will grow on it again.

(Vocabulary work, notes in notebooks)Greenery - This is the inner, corky layer of birch bark.

Birch bark for crafts should be smooth, even, free of defects (swollen knots, cuts, cracks); horizontal stripes characteristic of birch should not be round. With a knife they make vertical and horizontal - when removing the layered birch bark, spiral around the trunk - to get a birch bark tape (bast).

Memo for the birch bark collector

birch bark - the upper elastic layer of birch bark, consisting of thin, smooth, easily separated layers.

It is light, plastic, well passes air, keeps heat and protects from water. The main advantage of birch bark over other materials is its availability and ease of processing.

A person who decides to start weaving from birch bark must remember a few rules.

Rule 1 : To prepare birch bark, it is not necessary to cut the tree.

If our ancestors cut trees for bark, birch and linden forests would have disappeared several thousand years ago. It is best to remove birch bark from birch trees intended for felling or cutting areas. Often in the forest you can find fallen birches, in which the wood is almost rotten, but the birch bark remains intact, or dead birches. Birch bark is removed from such trees at any time of the year.

Rule 2 : The age of the birch suitable for removal of birch bark is 15-25 years.

On such trees, the birch bark is soft, clean and not very thin. Trees that are 70 or more years old have bark with growths and cracks, which makes it difficult to process and weave birch bark.

Rule 3 : May-June is the best time for harvesting birch bark.

During the beginning of sap flow, it is easier to separate birch bark from birch. In winter and in dry summer, this is almost impossible to do. The birch bark is torn, broken and does not give in to efforts to separate it. Therefore, it is better to prepare birch bark in advance.

Rule 4 :

Removal of birch bark in one piece- along a length equal to the flat part of the trunk, a longitudinal incision is made in the bark, and a restrictive transverse line is drawn above it. Then, along the entire length, the edges of the incision are bent with a knife and separated around the trunk.

Rule 5 : Birch bark, harvested ahead of time, is stored in rolls or under pressure, while periodically checking for softness, dampness and overdrying.

- Practical work in the exercise of using the elements of the technique of harvesting birch bark

- Video "Birch bark harvesting" (4 min)

5. Get some rest! (physical education minute 2 min.)

Types of birch bark storage

1. Roll storage of birch bark . The birch bark is dried in the shade until the edges are twisted, then wound into rolls with the light side out. In one roll, 8-10 layers of birch bark are twisted. The roll is wrapped in paper and tied with twine. For convenience, the roll can be signed (color of birch bark, harvesting time, quality, quantity). Store on shelves and racks.

2. Storage of birch bark under pressure

Having laid sheets of birch bark with the inner side down on a surface covered with cardboard, they press the masonry with a board that completely covers it. A weight is evenly placed on top of the board.

Rule 6:If the birch bark is planned to be used in the near future, then it is better not to dry it, but, on the contrary, soak it in water - it will be softer.

Before starting work, the birch bark must be cleaned of moss, dirt and bark exfoliation. It is important to prevent growths and irregularities on the workpiece, otherwise the finished one will come out uneven.

4. Consolidation of the studied. Practical work

Preparation of harvested birch bark for long-term storage (2-3 years)

Clean thin (2-3 layers) chalk-like layer by mechanical removal with a cutter by scraping and peeling.

Birch harvest time?

March, April; Aug. Sept; May June.

Age of birch suitable for removal of birch bark?

5-10 years

15-25 children

70-100 years old

(independent work. Answers to questions)

5. Summary of the lesson

– Did you enjoy working with birch bark?
– What have you learned? What were the difficulties at work? (Each group speaks

The senior apprentice evaluates the work of each apprentice, voicing the quality of work, accuracy, indicates what they did better, puts an assessment in his statement.
Artists and technologists demonstrate and voice their work as a work plan for the next lessons.

Evaluation by the master of individual and group work.

6. Homework for the summer.

Conclusion:

– Today you have received the basic skills of working with birch bark, harvesting and storing birch bark at home.
The most difficult is behind, the most interesting is ahead.
Thanks for good job!
Let's see what work the students did last year and what results they achieved. Attention to the screen.

After harvesting the birch bark for the future, you need to take care of storing the birch bark. The birch bark tape removed from the trunk should be twisted into a ball and always with the white side up. If the strip is not twisted immediately, then it will no longer be suitable for work and the efforts spent on harvesting birch bark will be in vain. This is what concerns birch bark ribbons, intended mainly for weaving.
Another thing is if it is removed in layers. Layers of birch bark must be placed between sheets of plywood, and then another load on top. For what? Yes, so that the prepared birch bark does not curl during storage. Be sure to leave a small distance between the layers.

There are several requirements for the storage conditions of birch bark. One of them is a dry and ventilated room. In dampness, mold spots appear near the birch bark. Working with such natural material will not bring pleasure, besides, breathing mold spores is harmful to health. Another - you need to store birch bark in a dark room. Why? Because when birch bark is stored in the light, it brightens, that is, it loses its light.

Preparation of birch bark for work

Before you start working with birch bark, you need to prepare it. First, remove dust and debris. To do this, the inside of the birch bark is wiped with a soft dry cloth, and on the outside of the birch bark you can walk with sandpaper, and all the influxes and thickenings are pre-cut with a knife.

The next step in the preparation of natural material is delamination.

Simply put, birch bark should be divided into thin (1-2 layers) or thick (3 or more layers) blanks. To do this, a layer of birch bark of the required thickness is picked up with a knife and carefully separated. The thickness of the blanks depends on what kind of product we will make. Just remember that a very thin workpiece can break at the most inopportune moment.
Maceration birch bark, as a stage in the preparation of the material, is required if the birch bark has been stored for a long time or it is old.

Steaming necessary for thick birch bark to separate into layers. Then the layers are placed under the plywood sheet and a load is placed so that the birch bark is flexible and does not twist.
Soaked and steamed birch bark is easy to delaminate, becomes strong, flexible, easy to process and is not afraid of dampness and mold.

Coloring. The natural color of birch bark is very beautiful. Birch bark in its natural form does not really need to be stained. Products from unpainted birch bark are traditional and attract with their naturalness. But if you need painted birch bark, then you need to paint it. Before dyeing, the birch bark must be soaked in a solution of soap or baking soda in order to free it from tannins. Then the birch bark is placed in a hot dye solution for several hours. The color intensity depends on the staining time. Aniline dye stains birch bark layers well. The painted birch bark is rinsed and hung on a rope, secured with clothespins to dry. It's important not to overdry. Thin workpieces can simply be ironed.
Now that the birch bark is prepared for work, you can start. In working with birch bark, it is used: application,

blank
Birch bark is harvested during the hot summer period: from mid-June to mid-July. At this time, the bark exfoliates well from the trunk, while in winter it completely sticks to the cork layer. However, you can do the harvesting at a later time. Up to October, in the swampy area, birch allows you to remove the dark brown bark with some effort.
Ribbon
In the forest, a smooth birch without knots and cracks is selected. A vertical incision is made on it with a 4-6 cm knife to remove the tape. Next, the bark must be peeled off in a spiral around the trunk down. An experienced master removes a continuous tape 100 meters long. It is important to ensure that the depth of the incision is small, within the cork layer, so that the birch does not dry out and after 10-15 years a protective bark appears on it again.
Plast
To remove the layer, you need to make a vertical incision for the entire achievable height of the tree and peel off in layers of the same size, depending on how you plan to store the birch bark. You can pre-clean the barrel from the top white layer, thereby reducing the amount of work in the workshop.
Skoloten (cylinder)
It is more convenient to cut down a tree at a height of 1-1.20 meters. Next, identify all potential places for yourself. To remove the stalk, the same white-trunked birch is selected with the least number of knots, cracks and irregularities. Necessary tool: two-handed saw, axe, knife, sword (comb). To remove the stumps and file the tree into chocks of 2.50-3 meters. For the convenience of work, it is better to organize a place for removing birch bark at the level of the abdomen. The birch bark is removed by slicing it from the butt to the top (but vice versa is also possible). To begin with, an incision is made along the entire circumference of the trunk to indicate the length of the future skolotn. Further, the joint is inserted between the trunk and the cambium, and movements are made along the trunk, and the birch bark gradually exfoliates, this process is accompanied by abundant sap eruption. When, after difficult minutes of peeling, it seems to you that this is it, now it should completely leave the tree, grab the trunk with both hands and scroll the birch bark a little in a circle. If the birch bark has moved, then you need to carefully remove it from the trunk. And be careful, because on the trunk under the cambium there may be sharp bulges that will tear all the work done, or the thickening of the trunk can also spoil the skewers. Photos of the harvesting of skoloni can be viewed at this link.

Storage
Store birch bark in dark, dry and ventilated areas (attic, basement, shed, pantry). Birch bark immediately after removal from the trunk is twisted into balls, white side up. A tape that has not been twisted for several hours becomes unusable for work. A good rule when twisting is one ball from one birch. This will help when weaving in the workshop. However, if the birch bark is thin and the number of knots and cracks in the birch does not allow the birch bark to be removed in full growth, then balls can be twisted from ribbons of different trees.
Birch bark, removed in layers, is placed between two wide boards or sheets of plywood, and a load is placed on top so that the layers do not twist during storage and are suitable for work. It is necessary to ensure that there is a certain gap between the layers for drying. In balls and layers, birch bark can be stored for years. There are no special conditions for the storage of scraps.
Birch bark stored in damp rooms becomes moldy, which causes stains to appear on it. With long-term storage of birch bark in the light, it changes color, becomes light. Under such conditions, birch bark gradually loses its properties. Therefore, the old birch bark is soaked in water for a certain time, after which it can be used in work.

Treatment
First stage birch bark processing - removal of a thin upper thin white layer from the bark on the rough surface of the tree immediately after harvesting in the forest or in the workshop using an ordinary brush and knife.
Second phase - stratification of birch bark into layers. Birch bark is multi-layered and not all layers can and should be used in weaving. Therefore, it is necessary to peel off fragile top layers to the required thickness for each particular product, since a small salt shaker cannot be carefully made from thick ribbons, and vice versa, a large mottled will look like a paper envelope with a thin layer of material. From this we conclude that the stratification of birch bark is a rather complex and important stage in preparing the material for weaving.
Third stage - cutting of ribbons (bads) of birch bark. You can cut the material (birch bark or paper) in several ways: with scissors, with a knife and a ruler, with a tape cutter. It is important to note the following point - the smoother the material is cut, the more convenient it will be when working with it.

Weaving
There are two types of weaving: oblique and straight. The names are explained by the angle (in degrees) formed by the intersecting ribbons with respect to the horizon. Straight weaving is more difficult to work with than oblique weaving. The main type of weaving is oblique weaving, due to its better manufacturability and strength. The basic weaving techniques can be viewed in the "Master class" section.

Reservoir work
To work with the reservoir, it is necessary to choose birch bark with the least amount of inhomogeneities. Required tools: knife, awl. Additional material: the root of coniferous trees (pine, spruce), willow twig, bird cherry twig, birch bark tape. You will find some methods of working with the reservoir in the "Master class" section.

Tues making
Tues making is considered one of the most difficult in birch bark craft.
Tuesas are made sheathed and reversible. Sheathing tues usually consists of 4 parts of birch bark: skoloten, shirt and two belts, upper and lower. The reversible tues consists only of the first two. As a rule, the shirt is connected by a lock, although they made tuesas without a shirt, only with belts. The lock that connects the layer into a cylinder has many forms and principles of fastening. Tues can be braided both with the root of trees, and with birch bark, and with a ribbon of wicker, and with rope, and wire. In the villages, tuesas were braided only from above. From below the belt was held by the bottom. For beauty, the lower girdle is also braided.
In the manufacture of an eversion tuesa, the height of the cleavage must be greater than the height of the shirt. To bend the edge of the skewers, it is necessary to hold one edge in boiling water for several seconds, and then bend it over the shirt. Do the same with the other edge. In fact, everything is not so simple, and without a visual series, there is no way to explain the whole process of turning the skewers. Let this remain not a secret of the master, but a task for the authors for the future.
The bottom and the lid are made in both round and oval shapes. There are many ways to make lids, depending on the place of existence of the craft and trade. Suitable wood species, for example, spruce, pine.
In some form, you can see the schemes of locks, braiding, covers at this link.

Embossing

In order to make it more fun, embossed drawings are made on the tuesas, as grandfather Martyn said, depicting funny scenes from his village life on the Mezen. But embossed drawings are also made for beauty, so that the tuesok with buckwheat stands on the kitchen shelf and flaunts. Embossing, first of all, is beauty, relevance, completeness of the ornament. Ornament - the basis of the picture. In this regard, you can see the ornament on the trunks of Fatyanova M.F., Shutikhina A.V. and others, as well as look through books on ornament.

Thread
Birch carving is divided into geometric and floral ornament carvings. Cutting technology is determined by the hardness of the hand, the quality of the material and the quality of the tool. The pattern is cut in different ways - along the layer of the shirt, or already along the finished tues, although the second option is not technologically advanced. The most famous slotted birch bark is Shemogodskaya.

scratching
Birch bark is scratched, as a rule, with a metal tool - a knife, an awl, a needle. Autumn birch bark is used, which is removed from the tree with considerable effort. A thin layer of cambium remains on such birch bark, which is removed with a scratching tool during work.

painting
Painting on birch bark products can be viewed in the "Articles" section.

Tar dressing
Away from the villages, usually in the forest, small tar factories were built. At these plants, three liquid components were expelled from birch bark sheets: tar, turpentine and pitch. Tar was used to lubricate shoes, and was also used together with pitch in the construction of boats.
Three large clay vats were made to drive these three components. The vats were connected in series with a tube so that the liquid could overflow from the first to the last vessel. The first vat had only one opening for the connecting pipe. The second was intermediate, and therefore had an entrance and an exit. The third vat, in addition to the hole for the pipe, had a faucet through which the final product was expelled. Since this technology was recorded from the words of Valentina Dmitrievna Kuznetsova (Velsk), whose grandfather Pavel Kuznetsov was engaged in tar removal before and after the revolution, not the whole process is thoroughly remembered from distant childhood. Therefore, it is impossible to restore in which vat what was expelled and how it was merged.
To drive out the tar, the plant had seven horses on the farm, on which large carts of birch bark sheets were brought. They worked hard and hard. There was good earnings, so in the twenties the families of workers were dispossessed, and Kuznetsov's grandfather Pavel was once taken to the city and no one saw him again. The plant was located in the Velsky district, Shadrinsky village council, not far from the village of Makaryinskaya.
Under the first vat there was a furnace (is it known whether the furnace was under other vats?). This vat was stuffed to capacity with birch bark and sealed tightly. There was no access to air. Upon reaching a certain temperature, the birch bark turned into a dark liquid, which then overflowed into other vessels. This is the whole process.

Ship building

In different regions of the taiga belt of the Earth, birch bark is processed by the same methods and techniques that have not changed from ancient times to the present day. Therefore, it is not at all surprising that the half-timber from the Arkhangelsk region is similar in its manufacturing method to the Birch Bark Basket from the state of Alaska, and the century-old basket of the Khanty people is similar to the products of a modern master from the state of Maine. The birch bark boat from the Lower or Podkamennaya Tunguska is the same as from Lake Michigan in terms of characteristic features. They differ only in the way of decoration and ornament, which seems to be not surprising. Each nation has its own national identity and its own face.
The birch bark canoes of the Indians of North America made a huge contribution to the development of a new continent by Europeans. First, pioneers, then industrialists and merchants, and then settlers with missionaries moved on canoes along rivers and lakes. There was no more convenient and accessible means of transportation for the pioneers of America (see the full text of the article by the author Shutikhin A.V. at the address).

The sequence of manufacturing a modern birch bark boat can be viewed.

Below are photographs and diagrams of the sequence of manufacturing a birch bark boat.

		Photos from the American site http://www.acbs.org and others.

Main tool
Everyone who works with birch bark uses a certain set of tools. Is it the same for everyone? His list? Why are there differences in names, forms, material, etc.? Let's try to answer these questions.
The set, the number of the tool depends on what specific processing the master is engaged in. The minimum set of a braider is scissors (knife) and clips (clips, clothespins). If you want to simplify the process of processing the material, a knife, a ruler (rail), templates for cutting tapes, and a tape cutter appear. When weaving, a cat is used (kodochik, kochedyk, etc.) made of bone, wood or metal. With its help, the gaps between the woven tapes are widened, due to this it becomes easier to drag the tape of the outer layer.
The set of the master's tool that works with seam birch is expanding. This is an awl for piercing holes for stitching layers together, and a tool for harvesting and processing a pine root - a metal hook / bracket for pulling roots out of the ground, a tool for cleaning the root (several types of such a tool), a tool for delamination of roots.
The set of the craftsman who makes the tues is complemented by a punch - a tool for punching locks, a tool for working wood, a mallet is used to hammer the bottom into a skewer, chasing to emphasize the beauty of the tues and some other specific tools. As a rule, each master has his own special tool, so it is not possible to list all the devices.

List of the main tool:

Pictures of some tools:

Tin templates	Chasing from textolite	Chasing wooden
Chasing from textolite	Bone cats	Kiyanka
metal ruler	Needle file set	Knife
Knife	Scissors	Punch
Awl with a thickened sting	Awl with a thin sting	Flat chisel
Compass	Compass

Types of tape cutters
The tape cutter is designed for cutting birch bark in the form of ribbons (strips, stripes). Tape cutters can be conditionally divided into two groups: a tool for aligning a strip of birch bark from a ball and a tool for cutting strips from a layer. The difference is that the first tool cuts from two sides, and the second only from one. The tape is used for weaving large and complex items. The strips are used for weaving small products, prefabricated products (for example, sharks) and as auxiliary ones. The tape cutter can be made of two knives fixed perpendicularly on the plane for pulling the tape or at a certain sharp angle. The width of the tape sets the distance between the knives. A tool is also known, the cutting part of which is made of two pairs of sharpened washers rotating on an axis. Tape cutter for strips is performed both in desktop and manual form. One edge of the birch bark being processed touches the stop (wooden, for example), and the other side is cut with one or two knives that are in the same plane.
In the Velsk local history museum there is a tape cutter made in the form of a root spinning wheel, on the basis of which it was necessary to sit down, and the tape was passed through vertically fixed knives on a horizontal bar at chest level. The width of the tape was set by wedges, which were driven between the knives.

Clamp making
To begin with, I will list the clips known to me: paper clips and "crocodiles", clothespins, clips from tree branches. I know that one master forbade his students to use paper clips, but taught them to make and use their own. Now we will quickly do them. Cut a branch of birch or bird cherry of such a thickness that it will be convenient for use. It is better to make clamps of different sizes for large and small products. Cut the sticks from the branch so that there is a knot at one end. The length can vary from 3 to 10 centimeters. Sharpen the end of the stick opposite from the knot on one or both sides. Then split it with a knife into two equal halves to a knot. That's all.

Template making
Templates of various sizes are convenient to use if you do not have the opportunity to make or order a tape cutter yourself or order a metal master. Templates are made from tin. The tin that is used in construction is better, but you can also cut a template from a tin can by blunting the edges. In the absence of tin, for temporary use, you can make a template from cardboard. Below are the patterns for making the template.

Making stamps
Chasings can be made of a wide variety of materials: wood, metal, bone, textolite, etc. Metal chasing can be made in the shape of a flower or the sun. To do this, take a 150-200 mm nail. and with a file grind off the sharp end to a circle at the end. Then take a triangular file and mark the diametrical middle strip. Next, grind the end of the nail from the center to the middle with a needle file at an angle of 30 degrees. This can be done several times (6 or more). Then try to make an impression on birch bark. Chasings from another material are made using the same file and needle file, but an angle chisel, a knife and a drill with a wood drill can also be used.