Here I have my mini gourds the first pricture is when I first got them and they were dirty. I washed them with soap and water with a little Clorox. scrubbing them with a steel wool, or any good scrubber should do.
The second picture is when they are cleaned. I love the character they have.
Here is what I do when I have to repair a gourd or mend it after I cut it open to save the seeds.
Once I mix the water putty to the consistency I need. I applied it to the gourds, I will go back and sand all the roughness off.
Sometimes the bottom of the gourds have a pimple I guess you call it. and it doesn’t allow the gourd to sit up right. I sand the bottoms so that the gourd will stand or sit with out falling over. Sometimes depending on the gourd, I will cut a doughnut from the top of a gourd to make a stand.
The water putty looks like wood once it dries. It can be sanded, painted, drilled, and stained. it is pretty hard stuff. I have used this one for many years and still have plenty left. I have also used it to make wood beads. So use you ideas and be creative.
Cleaning the inside of a gourd. This is the Easy Cleaner Ball I use. I bought this ar Welburn Farms. These will fit any drill.
I bought my GourdMaster™ Easy Cleaner Ball, from Welburn Gourd Farm many years ago. It still works great.
The gourd is smooth inside once I clean it. I have found it a little hard to handle, if I use a large shaft. but sometimes that is necessary to use for larger gourds. This is how they look, this picture is from Wellburn Farms.
I also tried out another way to clean out my gourd. I soaked it for about 15 minutes with a little bit of bleach in the water not to much.. Using a spoon to crap out pulp. This method worked very well and was quicker than I had though. The gourd clean up just as well as the Easy Cleaner Tool and not as hard on my hands. If you want a small mouth on the gourd you would need to use the Easy Cleaner tool, These come in many different sizes or one of these other tools. A melon baller,
Single spiral steel brush
Easy Clean Yerba Mate Bomilla for gourds. these are sold on Amazon.
I love the way they clean. The gourd looks great.
This is from Gourd Master. It is a 1″ micro cleaning ball.
Be sure to watch their video they explain it very well. Always wear a mask and face shield. The gourd dust is harmful to breath.
https://welburngourdfarm.com/pages/cleaner-ball-in-action
Great Razortip Cleaning tip from The Canning Shop
What are the right saws to open gourds?
Here I will try to check out several types. I one I use is a craftsman mini jig saw. I have the whole set: which included the mini drill, mini jig saw and the mini sander. I have had my set for over 25 years wtihout any problems.
![CRAFTSMAN MINI TOOL Set [9C] - $149.99 | PicClick](https://www.picclickimg.com/d/l400/pict/333837769516_/Vintage-Sears-Craftsman-Mini-Tool-Set-Router-Sander-Jig.jpg)
Scroll Saw
Gourd Cross Saw
Some folks used to use the hobby knife. These are hard to cut thick gourds and not near as fast as the mini jig saw.
Hack Saw
DIY Gourd Crafts How to.
https://www.diyhowto.org/diy-gourd-craft-projects/
Decorative Gourd Art & Crafts Ideas : Tips for Painting on Gourds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axCf3GIlmdA
4 Easy Steps to Dry & Cure the Small Ornamental Gourds You Grew!
How to Make Your Own Flower Pots out of Gourds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSCqNk9ZOfY
Creating Fancy Cuts and Filigree on Gourds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wLjBQedBI8
DIY Gourd Art: Filigree, Dyeing, and Knotting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAwCiU62p_0
Fancy-Cut Oak Leaf Gourd Vase with Stipple Carving
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYIdVngsNf0
Fun ways to use wood burning pens to create great looking gourd art with Kelsey and Christy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-APQSU-20co
So many pyrography pens!! Which ones are best for gourds?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pSHQP7GjkQ
Woodburning on Gourds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4lo8evv4w4
More to come. If you want your tutorial or ideas post feel free to contact me. Thanks for you visit and I hope you will return again.
Cleaning your gourds. there are several way to clean your gourds. The first way is the way the Indians used to do. This is a simple way to clean you gourds for using it.
Sometimes the bottom of the gourds have a pimple I quess you call it. and it doesn’t allow the gourd to sit up right. I sand the bottoms so that the gourd will stand or sit with out falling over.
The Indians would use a water treatment. they would fill the gourd with water, ourint it out and repeating it several timess then they would taste the water. If the water tasted bad they would repeat this again until the water tasted good and clean. Then the gourd was ready to use for food.
The next water to treat your gourd is to buy a food safe sealer. then the gourd is ready to use for food.
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