Peggy's Basic Stash of Stuff

Instead of cleaning out my work area as I had set my goal to do, I was sitting in the mist of this disaster area that I call a studio & getting set to pack basics to travel out of town to teach for another Gourd Patch. Hummm, what should be considered a basic stash of stuff? or for those that don't know me:

YOUR beginning tool box for gourd crafting can come out of you kitchen & junk drawer.

Many of the ladies in our Palmetto Gourd Patch have been working with gourds for a long time & have [as I have] accumulated a wide variety of toys & gadgets[ known to some as tools] that have served them well in working with our favorite natural canvas: the gourd. These were/are just the beginning of my stash of stuff when I started out & I keep all of them to this day. What would you add?

A good gourd mask; for disposable masks, the 3M with the air vent is an excellent choice.
A respirator is a better choice for safety, but they tend to be hard to fit & pretty warm to wear. The big box stores usually carries them: Ace Hardware & ACO ...sometimes Harbor Freight. Harbor Freight is offering a new neoprene mask that I love, fits right to you face, adjustable Velcro straps and doesn't steam your glasses & has replaceable filters.
An Exacto knife is a must for all gourd tool boxes. This is used for cutting, trimming & cleaning, etc. These can be easily found at craft stores, Wal-Mart, hardware stores or online [ ya might want to have some band aids handy too :-)
Copper or stainless scrubber ..these are the cheap easy way to clean the skin of a gourd. The dollar store is a good source for these as they are cheaper there, but can be found in the house wares dept of any grocery store
Old paring knife. Doesn't even need to be sharp, cleans gourds skin off of a soaked gourd & use the tip to remove crud at the stem
Old stiff bristle tooth brush. Gets into nooks & crannies when cleaning your gourds & stems. Don't forget that if you have taken the time to keep the stem on & have cleaned your gourd well, the stem needs it too. [ can also be used when painting for fly specking...really ]
Mr. Clean eraser these get pencil as well as many other marks off the gourd way better than any thing else I have used [ don't forget to wet them first. guess how I found that one out...sigh..]. House wares department of just about any store carry them
Grapefruit spoon, oyster shell, canning jar inner lid, horse curry loop comb ..all good starting tools to clean the inside of your gourd.
Pencil [mechanical works better for me as I am impatient & tend to break a lot of lead] & a bendable ruler for marking patterns & measuring to mark for holes, etc. on you gourd
Large piece of Rubbermaid shelf liner this helps grip/hold your gourd in place while working whether, on a work top or your lap. Dollar store is a good place to find this
Painters tape used for many things; holding a pattern on while transferring, drawing straight lines, marking for cutting or sawing & many, many more. Available just about any place that sells paint. Drafters tape can also be used, but is way too expensive.
Masking tape so many uses from transferring a pattern to marking off areas of your work on your gourds.. To holding pieces together while the glue dries
Awl or very shape punch to help make or start holes
Hand drill or push drill & an assortment of drill bits. I have several, but one of my very favorites is the friskers one .They have it in with the sewing stuff at most Michael's stores
Press &n Seal my favorite way to transfer patterns. Can even be burned through!
Scissors that can cut about anything. My favorite are my Friskers kitchen or gardening scissors as I can re-sharpen them. I cut every thing from gourd shards to wire with them ;-) , but you can find the ones that are suppose to be able to cut through pennies at places like Harbor Freight. BTW..if you do cut through a penny with them...they are ruined for anything else... my kids taught me that one....sigh....
Saw ..I started with a little hand saw by Exacto. It didn't't take me long to save up my pennies for a power mini jig saw. They saved my hands & many gourds !!!

From here I go to tools. Ahhhh, tools! Power Tools....a girl can never have too many!!! The more the merrier!!!!

Later, Peggy

Sand your gourd before wood burning it. The wood burning fades and this helps with the fading. It also gives the gourd a better surface for burning.

Sand your gourd before applying dyes. It keeps the rough spots from "showing up" and brings out natural "good" stuff to show up. Great for light applications (see through)

The following was donated by Peggy Ash

When making birdhouses & bird (squirrel) feeders, I came up with a variety of ways to hang them. One was with wire that I always have on hand for a variety of projects. It didn't take long for me to discover the 'good & bad' side of this.

Good: easy to find, cheap, easy to work with..

Bad: rust marks on gourd over time, creeks when blows in the wind and with the motion it will cut into the gourd.

Solution: I found that the plastic tubing I had from other projects [such as gourd fountains] threaded through the holes drilled for the hangers worked as a silencer & a cushion . You simply thread the wire or leather lacing through the tubing.

Another use for the extra tubing that accumulates is that it can be used as a [1.]pine needle guide when doing pine needle coiling, [2.] a protective sheath for sharp tools [ a Exacto knife is a good example].I have a bad habit of dropping too many tools into a plastic box while working on a project only to stab myself by reaching into the box when sorting through the mess to use my tool again.[2a.] if you don't have extra tubing lying around I'll bet you have an old plastic tooth brush holder [ Bonnie Gibson tip].This will protect you & helps keep blades sharp.. Great for Exacto knives, clay tools, awls, sharp tools, or saw blades, and you can write what is in it on the plastic .

A tackle box can be your best organizer. It will fit easily on your work surface & closes to protect your tools from accumulated dust; not to mention easy to tote to a class. They come in a huge variety of sizes & prices and are very easy to find.They have tiny bins for burrs & cutters, collets & the like. The larger bins are good for sanding tools and files, burr cleaners. There is also room in the bottom for your carving tool & your mask & goggles , ear plugs & hand protection glove & a sheet of foam type shelf liner.

Safety note: if you don't wear a mask when power carving; START, please!

1. A respirator is even better

2. Safety glasses should always be worn[ or goggles] if you don't already wear plastic lens glasses

3. Hearing protection; can be anything from the headband style ear covers that are specifically made to protect from sound & dust to the tiny foam ear lugs that are frequently used to avoid snorers

Most of us are well aware of the dangers of dust & follow #'s 1 & 2, but we seldom think of what the long term damage done to our ears by high pitched sound of our power tools ..then there is the issue of gourd dust. We don't want to breathe that in & know how miserable it can be to get it in our eyes, but we can also get a lot in through our ears.Ever have a sore throat after doing a lot of carving even though you wore your mask & goggles?... Ear... Thin membrane between the ear canal & the throat..OK,sorry .. end of lecture...

The newest pattern transfer materials is as close as the grocery store - Press and Seal! Place a piece of this stuff on the pattern you want to copy.Draw it on the Press and Seal with a permanent marker. Then just press the stuff onto your gourd. You may have to make a few inward cuts to the material to get it to lay flat, just watch for distortion when drawing your pattern back on. You can wood burn right through this stuff or place a piece of graphite paper behind it before you press it on your gourd. Just be sure the graphite paper is smaller than the Press and Seal. ~ Karen in Alaska, Mi

If you are doing a lot of repeats of the same simple pattern:

Use fun foam that you can find anywhere. Copy the pattern then tape it to the foam and cut it out. Most times the pattern has to be adjusted because of the gourd size. When this happens I cut my foam pattern at main areas that I can adjust the size on. I write on the foam what the pattern is, put it in a zip lock bag or envelope and attach it to my pattern book. Hold it to the gourd & trace.~ Kathy Nichols

* I use a 3M paint removal tool that is made for a drill, [ it looks like a composite wheel] but the gourd needs to be held "tightly" so it won't spin out of control!! I found mine at Wal-Mart with the power tools.

***Two hints to help with holding you gourd more securely

1. Wear a gardening glove with the little rubberized dots on the fingers & palms

2.Use foam type shelf liner in your lap

* 'Scotch Brite Finishing Sander' or interleaver flap sander for cleaning the inside of bowls smoothly. Fits on to your drill. YOu can also get a drill extender for the drill to reach in deeper. These work best on the sides of the gourd. A flexible sanding disc works for the bottom of the bowl.

*Another thing that works well to clean the inside of gourds is a metal jar lid insert, like the ones for Mason canning jars [ not the rings, just the lids]

* I've heard of lots of people that use clam shells; that they picked up on a trip to the beach - works well to get all the "stuff" out of your gourd.