Several months ago I experimented with West Jeddore driftwood and made several walls with different treatments, timber frame interiors, even a round clock for the wall. Cut one stained glass window with a shale sill on the inside. The shale is from Walton, Nova Scotia and will also be used for roofing and bedrock.
Most of my scratchbuilds will be from designs published in MR and RMC from 30 to 60 years ago - old school. I hope to start one this evening as an example in this thread. DJ
Two of my favourite wildflowers grow on this beach in the summer. The beach pea (Lathyrus japonicus) and the evening primrose (Oenothera biennis).
Here is my gathering bucket and a very sharp and lightweight Japanese saw. It was a good day to gather because we had rain recently which helps to wash off any salt crust on the surface of the wood. I also do a freshwater wash at home. Most of the salt has leached out of this wood because the driftwood has been tossed high on the beach by storms, out of the reach of normal tides. My rail ties are also made from spruce but from trees on my property in Victoria Harbour on the Bay of Fundy. No salt on this wood. (I can also use birch from wind-fallen trees on my property.)
Structures for my freelance modified Pidgeon Creek layout section will be made from scratch. All of the wood for buildings will use spruce driftwood that I gather from the cobble beaches of West Jeddore, Nova Scotia (you can Google Map/Earth this location) less than an hour drive from my home in Dartmouth.
West Jeddore is a lovely little lobster fishing village on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia along the Atlantic Ocean. Here is a picture I took this morning while gathering more driftwood.