OLD SCHOOL LEATHER TANNING: Gathering the Key Ingredient

In this video, I cut down a diseased tan oak tree to harvest the bark and process the wood for charcoal and firewood. I briefly introduce bark tanned leather and talk about my upcoming book on that subject.

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Tan oak, Notholithocarpus densiflorus, is called tan bark oak because it was so widely used in tanning leather. Harvesting tan bark was a common summer job in Northern California in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The trees are cut April thru July and the bark is peeled off and dried. The wood is excellent firewood. I use the brush and limbs to make charcoal to use as a soil amendment. The leaves are good compost material. I'm also collecting the acorn caps for tanning experiments. The wood is excellent for growing wood loving mushrooms like shitake and oyster mushrooms. If the trees are straight, I'll often save pieces for woodworking projects.

Leather tanned with tan oak bark is excellent. The vegetable tanning process will be covered thoroughly in my up coming book whenever I get it done.

Видео OLD SCHOOL LEATHER TANNING: Gathering the Key Ingredient канала SkillCult