Rations

[fedhead]

Re: Good Hardtack Recipe

I use the recipe above without any additions and it is successful every time . The crackers taste fine as well

[Will Eichler]

Wrapping saplings around cracker box

Looking for help from the woodworkers. I've saved info on cracker boxes for some years now and am working on one based on the dimensions and information in the CMH article.

I'm used to working with dimensional lumber but have never wrapped or bent raw wood. Does anyone know much about the process? Any tips or advice to give?

Thanks in advance.

Best,

Will

[billwatson]

Re: Wrapping saplings around cracker box

Not sure what you need, but from boatbuilding I know you can get a lot more out of wood that needs to be bent if you wrap towels around it and pour boiling water over it and let it sit for a few minutes. If you're bending a lot you'd probably be better off making a steaming rig of some kind, but for casual work, this does a good job, especially on smaller stuff.
Basketmakers also soak material sometimes to make it more pliable.

[J.H.Berger]

Re: Wrapping saplings around cracker box

Will as far as I know cracker boxes were not held together by saplings, but barrels were.
Best
Jan

[AZReenactor]

Re: Wrapping saplings around cracker box

Boxes were indeed bound with sapling banding.

Here is a nice image from the Syke's Regulars website.



If you look closely you can see the sapling banding around the ends of the boxes.

[Michael McComas]

Re: Wrapping saplings around cracker box

Sam Doolin has reproduced cracker boxes wrapped with sapling. You might shoot him an email or give him a call. I haven't chatted with him in about a year, so I don't know if he's still in business or not.

Cheers,

Michael

[billwatson]

Re: Wrapping saplings around cracker box

OK, got it.

Those are split saplings, split in half with the flat side against the box. Pretty ingenious. They are probably used very green and limber. You can split them with a knife, start at the butt and try to get as much as you can before it runs off to one side or the other. It seems like they ran the sapling all the way around the box and doubled it on itself for a little ways, so it has to be as long as it is around the box plus a few inches.

Wonder if any one kind of wood lends itself to this better than another? Hope it doesn't turn out to be one of the woods we don't have any more, like elm. I bet willow would work. It looks somewhat like hickory in the one photo, but it's really hard to tell.

[Will Eichler]

Re: Wrapping saplings around cracker box

Bill,

I'll say thanks to Mark Jaeger for the following quote out of the 1863 US regs. I have a set but since he filled it typed it in during a discussion about the hardtack crates in the past, I can copy and paste.

"The dimensions for hardtack boxes, bacon boxes, salt meat barrels, etc. are stated in U.S. Army Regulations of 1861 (rev. 1863) on pages 301-302 in the subsistence section under the heading "MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS." An "average box" for hard bread was to be 26 x 17 x 11 inches, exterior in measure. "The ends of a box of this size should be of inch, and the remainder of five-eighths, stuff, the package well strapped with green hickory or other suitable wood."

I'm now looking for some hickory.

Best,

Will

[J.H.Berger]

Re: Wrapping saplings around cracker box

Yes thanks Mark! MY errand!

[GrumpyDave]

Re: Wrapping saplings around cracker box

Split the saplings green, birch works well, and tack them on with small period nails. Birch or any saplings should be easy to find, nails, well, that's another story.

[Will Eichler]

Re: Wrapping saplings around cracker box

Dave,

I can help you with the second, or the nails.

http://www.tremontnail.com/

I haven't bought from them in years (big stock in the shop right now) but they were good when last I worked with them.

Mods, feel free to modify this if it in some way goes against our approved vendor rules.

Best,

Will

[billwatson]

Re: Wrapping saplings around cracker box

Second on Tremont, they are terrific. I find myself using them in modern applications. :-)

[Hargis, G. 5 A-1]

Re: Wrapping saplings around cracker box

Second on Tremont, they are terrific. I find myself using them in modern applications. :-)

Cut nails, like those from Tremont, hold better than wire nails.

Glen E. Hargis

[redroosterinalabama]

Re: Wrapping saplings around cracker box

I have seen furniture, chairs, tables and bedsteads made here in Alabama from willow tree limbs. These are soaked and woven, bent & tacked to make many rustic articles. I suppose the thin branches would work for securing boxes.
mike boyd
redroosterinalabama

[Charles Heath]

Re: Wrapping saplings around cracker box

Will,

You have received some good advice thus far. This is a good time of year to look for some hickory saplings, as the leaves are turning that distinctive rich gold (yes, like the 1970s kitchen appliances), and the hickory nut hulls are scattered on the ground. You can find images of hickory trees and leaves for identification purposes in several places on the Internet.

I have worked in shops that had a plethora of 18th and 19th century woodworking equipment, but if you are not so blessed, try the following cheats:

- If you can't find hickory, ash works well, white oak and willow, too, and so does common mulberry in a pinch. Elm doesn't like to split worth a dang (that's why it was used for wagon hubs in many instances), so avoid that and sweet gum.

- Cut a few extra saplings so you won't have to go back into the woods. For small wood like this a common pair of pruning loppers works fine for cutting and limbing.

- You'll want a small froe for splitting. If you don't have one, chuck a dull lawnmower blade in a bench vise, and a similar purpose will be achieved. Why dull? Dull will follow the grain. Sharp will cut the grain. Start the split with a cleaver or a hatchet to center the first inch or so of split. Pull the sapling like a Y across the vertical blade and hold your mouth right. Yep, it will run out one way or the other if you go to fast. The idea is to split a piece of stock with a semi-circular profile. Go slow. Have patience. Make your stock as long as you can, just for the fun of it. If you like this, you'll love making splints for chair bottoms and baskets. My advice is to keep your day job.

- A wood steamer is good for bending purposes, but a steam iron is more common, and as mentioned earlier, boiling water works in a pinch. Don't let the bands dry out for a few weeks before using them. The band may crack and splinter a little, but don't get excited. The real box bands did that, too. If you plan on doing this often, get a length of 6" PVC with a couple of end caps for keeping the wood pliable.

- Tremont is a great supplier. When they are gone, we'll miss them greatly; however, living where you do you MAY have an old time full service hardware store, and they MAY have a selection of small cut nails. Ask them.

- Once you have installed the split hickory bands, take that hatchet and make four cuts to open the box. Technically, you only need two, but when the wood dries out, you'll wish you had four. About half of our boxes are this way, and they bands last for several events. Why cut the bands? Well, if you are like we were the first few boxes....well, um, we forgot to put the dang crackers in the box first. :o If you do it correctly, there is a certain amount of joy in busting open the bands of a cracker box, or bashing the head of a barrel of salt pork. :wink_smil

- If you use a paper liner, only use that liner with crackers that are already molded, just for presentation purposes. Paper draws moisture, and encourages mold. If you happen to place the crackers on a concrete or soil floor, use scrap wood for dunnage, or just free pallet from the local plumbing supply house. This will save a bunch of crackers, and you'll notice this is also period advice.

- We tend to load up crackers before they have dried completely. This is a period practice we can avoid. Setting the crackers in the warm afternoon sun can be a big help, even after the normal 48-hour drying period.

- Setting the box on end at about a 70 degree angle facilitates loading the crackers, and you can achieve a very nice stack to the point of a market pack appearance. That sounds strange, but a full box of hardtack has a certain allure.

Good luck.