# To nic tipi poles



## The knife (Jul 12, 2011)

Nic ive cut some new poles for my tipi all I could find 
The right size on my place was sweet gum pealed and
Dried they have developed some deep cracks will they
Still be ok or should I start looking for new poles of a
Different type


----------



## Nicodemus (Jul 12, 2011)

As long as the cracks are not too deep, they should be alright as far as strength goes. Those cracks will make the water drip down inside the lodge though, when it rains. If possible, you might want to try to find some cypress poles. That`s what most us  who have lodges down here use. I have seen one set of poles that were made from pines here in Georgia. I`m not sure which type pine. Naturally, out west lodgepole pines were what most tipis were set up with.

What size is your lodge?


----------



## The knife (Jul 12, 2011)

Thanks nic  this lodge is a 15 fter my
First one was a 19 fter I made them both
Myself from a book wrote by Reginald launin
But I'm having a hard time figuring out
The lining pattern any info would be helpful
and what is the best water proofing
That helps with meldew


----------



## Nicodemus (Jul 12, 2011)

Mine is a 14 footer, made by Ben Kirkland, Chehawknapper on here. All I did was pull canvas as he sewed. He was the brains of that project.   

I didn`t do anything to waterproof mine, except to set it up and let it rain on it. Then let it dry to tighten up the canvas. It doesn`t leak a drop, and the more smoke stained the top gets, the more it helps. To protect from mildew, I make sure it is completely dry before I store it.


----------



## Jester896 (Jul 12, 2011)

i wonder how many Ben has put up


----------



## Trefer (Jul 12, 2011)

Jester896 said:


> i wonder how many Ben has put up[/]
> Wonder if he still has the ' iron maiden' lol


----------



## Nicodemus (Jul 12, 2011)

Trefer said:


> Jester896 said:
> 
> 
> > i wonder how many Ben has put up[/]
> ...


----------



## The knife (Jul 12, 2011)

Thanks nic good info 
Knife out


----------



## chehawknapper (Jul 13, 2011)

I am not sure how satisfied you are going to be with sweetgum. You must have cut it while the sap was rising strong. That is why it cracked so badly. I don't know how far you are in N.E. Ga. but you should be able to find shortleaf pine. Look for thick stands of young growth that are competing with each other for the sun. That way they will grow tall and thin and the lower limbs will have self-pruned. Pines are shade intolerant so lower limbs that get shaded out die and fall off before producing large diameter.
Richie - the Maiden LIVES.


----------



## CAL (Jul 13, 2011)

When I was hunting with dogs I would cut something to make a walking stick out of,generally some kind of hard wood like hickory or hack berry.After scraping it good down to the wood I would coat it good with peanut oil while it dried in my truck.The peanut oil kept it from cracking.Just a suggestion.


----------



## dpoole (Jul 15, 2011)

chehawknapper said:


> I am not sure how satisfied you are going to be with sweetgum. You must have cut it while the sap was rising strong. That is why it cracked so badly. I don't know how far you are in N.E. Ga. but you should be able to find shortleaf pine. Look for thick stands of young growth that are competing with each other for the sun. That way they will grow tall and thin and the lower limbs will have self-pruned. Pines are shade intolerant so lower limbs that get shaded out die and fall off before producing large diameter.
> Richie - the Maiden LIVES.



Ben is there a reason you specified shortleaf pine?


----------



## Trefer (Jul 15, 2011)

dpoole said:


> Ben is there a reason you specified shortleaf pine?



.... maybe they are specially for 'short' tipis...


----------



## Trefer (Jul 15, 2011)

Nicodemus said:


> Trefer said:
> 
> 
> > Yes indeed! She is a legendary institute at the Frontier Festival. We replaced a section on her back, right before the Rondyvoo last January, and she is good as new. Still heavy, still bullet proof, and still proud! That`s her between mine and the marquis.
> ...


----------



## The knife (Jul 15, 2011)

Thanks chehawknapper I do have small pines
But does the sap gum up the draw knife and get
All over u when working with pine and are there other
Woods I can work with ? And do any of y'all know of 
Someone I could talk to about sewing my liner


----------



## chehawknapper (Jul 16, 2011)

Donnie - shortleaf, loblolly and virginia pine(depending on how far north he is) are the species in his neck of the woods and of those shortleaf is going to be his best prospect to finding a patch that is thick and will produce straight poles without too much in the way of large limbs. Knife - this time of year you are going to have to deal with the sap. Let them dry in the shade and after the sap dries you will have to go back over them to scrape the dried balls of sap off. I prefer to cut all my poles (regardless of specie) in the winter when the tree is dormant. The bark has to be cut off every inch but you don't have to deal with sap or them drying so quickly that they crack. If you can catch it just right at the first of spring, the bark peals clean without all the problems.But that is a very short timeframe and it depends on where you are as to when that short time is. My prefered wood is cypress. My next choice would be longleaf pine. After that, any pine that will give me straight limbfree poles of the right taper. Tulip poplar is tempting because at first sight it appears to meet the criteria but tulip doesn't last too long and degrades rapidly out in the weather. It is very weak in tensile strength and will eventually snap. P.M. me in regards to your lining. I can walk you through it. I follow Laubins' general formula for the cover but not the lining. Works for me, I have only made about 21.


----------

