Got Questions ? Get Answers

Consider this page as a Gourding Knowledge Base. Let this be a place where we can pick each other’s brains and talents electronically. This is your place to ask gourd related questions and receive answers from your fellow gourders. Remember no question is stupid. Asking and getting answers is how people learn. We are here to learn from each other and to share all of our knowledge in the art of gourding. I am confident that among all of us this page will become a great resource for everyone involved in gourding. I will attempt to keep this page categorized by topic.

I have also added below the knowledge base a Gourding Terminology section. This should explain all the words associated with gourding.

Instructions

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Question: How do I hold a gourd still when trying to carve on it?

Answer: (Oz) There are a couple ways.

1. you can take a towel and roll it up length ways, then wrap it in a circle and overlap it, adjust to fit around the gourd.

2. Buy a piece of foam or styrofoam  and cut a angled circle in the middle. Curve the inside cut (remember gourds are not flat). Depending on the size of the gourds you work on you can make different sizes to hold different size gourds. (Both of these methods can also be used while carving, painting and burning).

(Alana Riveira adds:) I hold my gourds in place with a strip of the thin rubber shelf liner that has a pattern of little square holes in it. I have one strip that lays across my lap and one that I place on the table in front of my dust collector. It works very well to keep the gourds from jumping out of my hands when I am carving or wood burning.

Question: What is Chip Carving?

Answer: (Internet Search) Here is a online lesson of what Chip Carving is by A. B. Amis http://www.valkyrie.net/~rehmje/tutorials/chipcarving.html

Here is another website with some useful info http://happypages.com/ivyhill/carving.html.

This page has some carving patterns http://www.carvingpatterns.com/pattern-work.htm

Question: What tools would you recommend for the novice carver?

Answer: (Patty B) Several years ago A. B. Amis, who is a master carver, selected two chip carving tools for me. He felt they were sufficient for a novice carver. One was a straight handle 3/32" U Veiner, that at the time, cost $8.50 from Turtle Feathers. The other was 1/4" #9 with a rounded handle, also from Turtle Feathers, $12.50. I have taken a couple of classes in chip carving and find the geometry of it a challenge for me. Having a drafters compass is a big help. A. B. taught some classes at the Cherokee, N.C. gathering, but has not been attending the last couple of years. Classes are offered quite often at various gatherings. I love the looks of a finished carved gourd. I have always used a canteen gourd to work on, but any gourd that is not too thin should work.

Cleaning Gourds

Answer: See the question under Safety (How can I clean my gourds so there safe?)

Answer: Oz - Before the wood hardener and paint you should have mixed a solution of water and vinegar and filled the inside of the gourd, let it sit for a little bit and dump it out. Vinegar is a natural cleaner.

Patty Burke - I had a whole lot of gourds that had been chewed by rats...some even had nesting material in them. Someone, and I am thinking it was Gloria Deterick, suggested soaking the gourd in salt water. I filled a trash can with water, added two boxes of regular salt (not iodized, although I don't know that it would make a difference) and submerged the gourds for a couple of days. It seemed to do the trick. Since you have sealed it already I'm not sure if this would still work. If it can kill rat urine odor it should work on just about anything! Have you cut any of the other gourds? Do they smell bad too? Talk to me about using wood hardener.

Charlotte Masi - Yeah, I have a suggestion ... throw it out!

Alana Riveira - I think you sprayed it too early. Get the stink out first – then hardener and spray. SOMETHING is/has caused the smell and it has to be killed/cured, now you have locked in what ever is causing the smell and it may decay after time. I use heavy scraping then Lysol Spray 99% mold and mildew killer - soak the insides and cover with plastic or its lid for 24 hours. Let dry, then repeat with a light scrape or sand and another heavy coat of Lysol spray. . If the gourd still stinks let it air out preferably in a shed or out building (not the house or garage incase it is mold) for several days or weeks, then try a spray of Febreez. I have found this works but don’t expect a quick fix. Some I have had to let air out for several months. In 4 years I have only had to throw away 2 gourds because the stink wouldn’t come out.

Cutting Gourds

Answer: See the question under Tools.

Copyright Law

Answer: (Oz) Go here, look under FAQ http://www.copyright.gov/

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Embellishing

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Finishes

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Glue

Answer: (Myrna) Before you begin to glue a strand of beads or other embellishments, use your Dremel tool to "carve" out the line where you are going to lay your strand. Then, take your craft glue (one that dries clear like the Bob Smith Glue) and take a Q-tip or toothpick and add the glue to the carved out line. Make sure not to put too much glue in, because when you lay your strand down it will "push" the glue up. Work small areas, alternating the glue with the beads. The Wuertz Farm Gourd Festival, "Running of the Gourds" there is a vendor there that sells little tiny bottles to put your glue in and it has a very very fine tip for just this purpose.

Question: Bonnie, what glue do you use when laying in stones in your gourd art? Thanks, Dynva

Answer: (Bonnie Gibson - Tucson, Arizona, http://ArizonaGourds.com Author: "Gourds: Southwestern Techniques & Projects from Simple to Sophisticated")  I use two different glues, depending on the size of the stone. For heishi and small stones, I use Insta-cure gap filling super glue. For larger or heavy stones, I use a combination of Weldbond and Insta-cure. Weldbond looks like heavy white glue but has the strength of epoxy. It is designed to hold dissimilar objects together. The Insta-cure works like a clamp to hold the pieces firmly together while the Weldbond dries. I put the Weldbond on most of the stone and then dots of the Insta-cure around the edges. You can get Weldbond at some hardware stores and I've started seeing it in a few craft stores as well. I have the Insta-cure on the tools page of my website, but any good brand of *gap-filling* super glue (not the thin super glue like you get at the hardware or grocery store) will work.
 

 Gourds

Question: When selecting a gourd, is there a way to know if it is a "thick" gourd or not?

Answer: To learn how to determine gourd thickness watch this video from California Gourds not to be confused with the California Gourd Society (Thanks Mary).

Question: How do I strengthen a thin shelled gourd?

Growing

Question: I was asked this question by a lady from California. What gourd grows or has the fastest seed to maturity rate?

Answer: Our member Jeanie Dixon has already answered this question on one of her webpage's, http://www.gourdsbyjeanie.com/growing.htm

Question: For the first time, I am going to attempt to grow cannonball gourds in my garden.  I have a 7 ft. fence that I would like the vines to climb.  I am worried, that if the vines climbed the fence; deer and elk would pull the vines through the fence and eat it up.  Do you know if these animals like the leaves of the gourd plant? Thank you very much, Janet, Brinnon, WA

Answer: (Jim Martin) Don't know about the deer and elk eating the vines but cannonballs have a much smaller lighter-weight stem that most gourds and they tend to come off easily.  Don't remember seeing any of the tentacles for climbing on my cannonballs last year so don't think you will have much luck with them climbing a fence.  Not all gourds are climbers.

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Jewelry Gourd

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Lacing

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Materials

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