Alaskan Woods?

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Cwalker935

Cwalker935

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A friend of mine is planning a trip to Alaska and hopes to bring or ship back some wood that would commemorate her trip. She will be traveling to various places including Anchorage, Wrangell St. Elias, Denali, and the Yukon area. Any suggestions on some nice wood or the best place to find it?
 
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If no Alaska IAP members respond, you can always contact the AAW chapter in Anchorage by email. Alaskan Woodturners Association (or something like that). If they are like all the other AAW chapters, someone there will be glad to give you the information you need, maybe some wood and more.

Ed
 
Al the Alaskan native trees are soft, and vary a fair bit across the state. Given the 50 pound per bag limit on weight, there will not be much in a bag.

None of the locations are in yellow cedar growth range.

Then it depends on finding something. Look for birch root for great grain. Birch is a common turning wood, and used by the commercial bowl company.
 
When I was there a few years back I stopped at a knife makers shop and bought a piece of moose antler. He said he bought it from one of the local guys to make knife handles. Although it would be hard to tell what the horn came off of after turning the owner would know since she purchased it herself.
 
Cody

Some of the gift shops or hole-in-the-wall stops in the interior (where you friend appears to be going) will likely be selling pieces of caribou or reindeer antler. That will pack easy and turns nicely.

Tourist caribou is reindeer so do not get into the fine print.
 
KenV said:
Cody

Some of the gift shops or hole-in-the-wall stops in the interior (where you friend appears to be going) will likely be selling pieces of caribou or reindeer antler. That will pack easy and turns nicely.

Tourist caribou is reindeer so do not get into the fine print.
Click to expand...

I mentioned caribou antler to her. I am assuming that the more exotic stuff like whalebone, walrus bone, fossilized mammoth bone or tusk would be restricted and or very expensive.
 
Thanks everyone for your suggestions. She likes the look of the yellow cedar burl. Too bad the growth range is outside of the area that she will be visiting Maybe she will get lucky and find some during her trip, birch sounds like the mostly likely candidate.

Dan- nice website and beautiful work.
 
I used to work in Alaska and would bring antler back regularly. Recently I was able to have a friends brother ship me quite a bit of antler as he would make things with it. There is a place in anchorage called "Alaska Fur Exchange". They sale all kinds of bones. I purchased fossilized whale bone as well. I believe they have ivory but it does have a high cost.
 
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