How to Preserve Wooden Snowshoes
Traditional wooden snowshoes work amazingly well in allowing maneuverability across deep snow. This offers users the opportunity to exercise and experience the winter landscape in fields and on trails.
Originating with the natives of North America, wooden snowshoes are available in many different styles. The style of a snowshoe attributed to a particular tribe was largely determined by the terrain at which the tribe lived. Despite this, most snowshoes are remarkably similar in appearance.
Properly cared for, wooden snowshoes will last for generations; however, they need to be preserved through regular maintenance and appropriate storage.
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Things You'll Need
- Drop cloth
- Sandpaper
- Cloth tape, hockey tape or rawhide
- Oil-based varnish for outdoor use
- Narrow paintbrush
- Glass jar
- Paint thinner
Instructions
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Dry your snowshoes thoroughly indoors before beginning to work on them. It may take several days to ensure they dry completely.
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Check the snowshoes for damage to the webbing and wooden frame.
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Lay a drop cloth on the ground. The cloth needs to be large enough to accommodate both snowshoes lying side by side.
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Sand off loose flecks of varnish on the wooden frame. This is a good time to take a closer look for cracks in the wood that the varnish hid.
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Wrap areas on the frame that suffered cracks with cloth tape or hockey tape. An option is to use wet rawhide, which will preserve the authentic snowshoe appearance.
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Coat only the top side of all webbing and the frame of the snowshoes with an oil-based varnish intended for outdoor use. Get your paintbrush between the webbing as much as possible, and use a liberal application. Allow the varnish to dry completely. Use the guidelines on the specific brand of varnish you purchased to determine drying time.
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Place the paintbrush in a glass jar with a little bit of paint thinner. That will prevent the brush from drying out while you wait. Dry the brush completely before using it again.
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Coat the bottom side of each snowshoe's webbing and frame with varnish. Again, apply liberal amounts of varnish to the webbing and allow the varnish to dry.
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Check your snowshoes to ensure all areas were varnished.
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Clean your paintbrush thoroughly using paint thinner.
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Hang your preserved snowshoes in a neutral environment--not too damp, dry or hot. Hanging them is usually the best option to keep mice from chewing on the rawhide.
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Tips & Warnings
Inspect your snowshoes twice a year, once at the beginning of the season and once at the end of the season.
Rawhide must be kept supple to ensure it does not crack or break. So take extra care when coating rawhide.
After use, don't leave your wet snowshoes outdoors to freeze. Take them inside to let them dry thoroughly before storing them.
References
- Photo Credit snowshoes image by Guy Verville from Fotolia.com
