Small Containers for Fast Fun

Sometimes when I get board I go out in the garage and work on projects that yield fast results. Some of the common items I make are small containers. Now days it seems silly to make such things because you can buy them cheaply or repurpose them out of trash. A few hundred years ago this wasn’t the case. If you needed something for storage on the frontier you probably made it yourself.

Here is some items I made in the past using what a settler would have available which include; earth, wood, and animal parts. No fancy tools were used in the construction and you don’t need to attend an $800 dollar class (not that there’s anything wrong with that if that’s what you’re into).

1.      Top large bowl made out of mesquite hollowed out by a combination of burning, and chisels.

2.      Small elm bowl.

3.      Salt container made from horn and wood.

4.      Two candle boxes. Candles made out of tallow were stored in protective boxes because they tasted good to pests like mice.

5.      The two stone bowls are carved out of soapstone.

6.      Two containers hollowed out of limbs. Larger one is wild plum that I used an auger bit on. The other is sumac branch which has a center consisting of spongy pith that is easily dug out.

7.      The last is my favorite container which is made out of Birch Bark. I love Birch trees.