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Birch bark oil
WhistlingBadger:
Great idea, Ed. We have some river birch around here. Might have to try this. I wonder if it would work with alder, too--It's closely related and grows in the same habitats, and they're both said to have waxy/oily bark. Alder is even said to have oily wood, so I suspect you could get some oil from the sawdust, too.
I bet that birch oil smells amazing. Thanks for sharing.
T
BowEd:
It has a distinct smoky aroma to it.I would say the river birch bark would work but not sure about the alder.Just the bark though not the wood with birch.
paulc:
BowEd, I tried your method with some river birch bark and got about 1/2" of oil in the bottom can. I am amazed! :-) I heard a loud pop early on in the process, it took me a while to figure out the lid was what had popped. I had to finagle a cinder block onto the top without knocking anything over in the middle of the fire...hot shins! I have zero idea what I am looking at...does it look about right? I have more bark to process so I hope to burn again tomorrow at least one more time....such a neat thing! Thanks for sharing the info and how you made it work.
Paul
BowEd:
That's the stuff Paul.Nice going!River birch bark should work great for getting some nice oil.It is rather expensive to buy.Around $30.00 an ounce.I was amazed as to how well or durable it waterproofs leather.
I'm thinking of using it too to apply on bellys of bows while limbs are hot during the heat treatment process for better waterproofing.Not sure if finish like spar varnish will stick to it yet.I know anything will stick to shellack.Another natural finish.
It would definitely darken the belly.
paulc:
Can anyone speak to condition/quality of the bark for success? Does it have to be fresh harvest? Or will bark that has been dried out for "a while" still be able to release oil? My last attempt was a complete failure for various reasons I think. Want to eliminate dried out bark before I try one more time.
thanks, Paul
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