 |
 BLUE FEATHER WOOD SPRING BASKET DECORATION EASTER $9.99 Time Remaining: 28d 19h 26m Buy It Now for only: $9.99 |
 BLUE FEATHER BOA WOOD SPRING BASKET DECORATION EASTER $6.99 Time Remaining: 28d 19h 24m Buy It Now for only: $6.99 |
 BLUE FEATHER WOOD SPRING BASKET DECORATION EASTER HOLIDAY CHILDS $6.99 Time Remaining: 11d 15h 14m Buy It Now for only: $6.99 |
 YELLOW FEATHER WOOD SPRING BASKET DECORATION EASTER $5.99 Time Remaining: 23d 8h 39m Buy It Now for only: $5.99 |
 PINK FEATHER WOOD SPRING BASKET DECORATION EASTER $5.99 Time Remaining: 10d 14h 21m Buy It Now for only: $5.99 |
 BLUE FEATHER WOOD SPRING BASKET DECORATION EASTER $5.99 Time Remaining: 23d 8h 31m Buy It Now for only: $5.99 |
 PURPLE FEATHER WOOD SPRING BASKET DECORATION EASTER $5.99 Time Remaining: 23d 8h 32m Buy It Now for only: $5.99 |
 BLUE FEATHER WOOD SPRING BASKET DECORATION EASTER $5.99 Time Remaining: 23d 8h 40m Buy It Now for only: $5.99 |
 BLUE FEATHER WOOD SPRING BASKET DECORATION EASTER $8.99 Time Remaining: 10d 11h 43m Buy It Now for only: $8.99 |
Homemade Lye
Lye, fat and water are the three basic ingredients that combine to make soap. Besides an ingredient in soap recipes, lye has other useful applications in the home. As a cleaning agent, it dissolves oil or protein-based deposits. Many commercial oven cleaning applications use lye. It can be used as a paint stripper, but on wood it will raise the grain. Lye solutions have long been used as drain cleaning agents because they decompose soap and hair.
Lye purchased from a store is not the same chemical as lye made from wood ash. Lye made from wood ash is potassium hydroxide. Lye manufactured for retail is called sodium hydroxide.These two products are not interchangeable. The measurements differ depending on which type of lye you are using in a recipe.
Homemade lye is best made using ash from hardwoods like maple and oak or by using fruit trees such as apple. Evergreens and pine trees are not suitable woods for ash for this purpose. A consuming fire with lots of air should be used to produce thin, white papery ash free of charcoal chunks.
You will need enough ashes to fill a lye-safe, waterproof container (non-metal) to within three to four inches of the top rim. The size of this container may vary from five gallons to barrel-sized.
Get 2 containers that are not metal. The first vessel will contain the ash while the second will catch the lye water. Drill a small hole near the bottom of the ash container. The opening should be small enough that it can be sealed with a toothpick, a piece of corking or a wooden rod -- something which is not metal.
In the bottom of the ash container, place a layer of clean river gravel. Top this with a four inch layer of packed hay, grass or straw. Fill the remainder of the bucket with wood ash (stop 3 to 4 inches below the top) and tamp it down firmly.
Collect 5 or more gallons of soft water. Having only trace amounts of minerals classifies water as soft. Sources of soft water include water that is specially filtered, from sandstone, peat or lava rock (granite, for example). Another alternative is to distill the water you have. A simpler method, however, is to just collect rainwater.
Secure your ash bucket in a place where it won't be knocked over accidentally. The container you will use to catch the runoff can be glass or even an enamel surfaced pan. Don't use metal or the lye could burn a hole in it. Find a position for this catch container that is close enough to the ash bucket to prevent unnecessary splashing during drainage.
Lye can cause a loss of sight. Ingestion of lye can be deadly. Potassium hydroxide is a caustic substance that reacts to fats and oil on the skin, causing burns on nearly any surface. This reaction creates salts which can cause severe chemical burns, permanent injury or scarring. Note that lye burns may not hurt right away because the burn may be so severe as to have damaged the nerves (pain receptors) in the skin.
It is necessary to take safety precautions before you begin the process. Work in a well ventilated area. Have contact information for emergency services and poison control on hand. Cover your skin with clothing to protect yourself. Rubber cleaning gloves and protective eyewear are a must along with covering for your arms and legs. Keep vinegar nearby in order to neutralize any skin burns. Washing with water worsens the effect of burns to the skin caused by lye.
Use a broom handle or dowel to create an indentation in the packed ashes. Boil one of the gallons of your soft water. Cautiously allow the boiling water to flow into the container of ash. When the water and ash combine, you will notice some boiling, splashing and spewing. When this action calms, slowly add another gallon of water to the ash bucket. The ashes may settle to a lower level. Add more ash to the container to keep it filled. Continue to add water until the ashes are covered. Place a well-fitting lid on the bucket.
Unstop the drain hole you drilled into the ash container and allow the liquid to runoff into the other container. This can take a whole day.
Repeat this process on days 2 and 3 by pouring the runoff through the ashes again. Recycling the water through the ashes increases the strength of your lye.
A variation of this method is to leave the bucket sitting without draining it. Seal the bucket and leave it for three days in a place where it will not be disturbed. Take care that you choose a location where the bucket won't be tipped. After three days, remove the stopper and drain.
The runoff is potassium hydroxide (lye) water. To check the potency, place a newly laid egg that is still in its shell into the liquid. If your lye solution is the right potency, the egg will float exposing a nickel or quarter sized portion of its shell above the surface. This equals an area of 2 to 2 1/2 centimeters in diameter. An egg that sinks means that the lye solution is too weak and won't work in soap recipes. Dilute your lye solution with more rainwater should the egg bob on top of the surfaceindicating that your solution is too strong. Be sure to dispose of the egg after use.
Heating weak lye water will strengthen your solution by reducing the water content. Enamel finished pans are safe for this as long as they are never again utilized in cooking foods. Watch that you don't burn the lye when you heat the solution. The solution is strong enough when a chicken feather touched to the heating lye starts to dissolve. Set the pan of lye water aside to cool.
To avoid splashing later, don't fill storage jars more than two thirds full of lye water. Close jars firmly and store them in an unlit, cool area where curious children haven't any access.
Dispose of the old leached ashes in a hole dug away from high traffic areas. The ashes should be completely cooled before you cover the hole.
Should you wish to dry your lye solution into crystals (potash), place it into a lye-safe vessel. Glass jars work well for this use. Leave the cover off of your container and allow it to sit exposed to sunlight until the water evaporates and crystals form. Just as you would with lye water, follow safety precautions when storing potash crystals.
This and other skills are discussed in the new book, The Vision by Debi Pearl, the compelling new novel from international best-selling author who also co-wrote To Train Up A Child and the Good and Evil comic.
Spyderco Bushcraft Knife - Splitting Wood and Making Feather Sticks