Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Arrows => Topic started by: lowell on July 31, 2011, 08:52:00 pm
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It was very hot here today so what's better to do than make pine pitch?? :laugh:
This is my first attempt at making pitch. I'll send a stick of what I made today to someone that makes, uses and know good pitch from bad.....ie. %$##@ from shinola and tells me what I should do to make it better. My main purpose for the pitch is hafting points on arrows.
Would like an honest critique and not just "good job". Can't imagine I made my first batch as good as it comes. :-\
I kind of followed directions from a post found on this site using pine tar, charcoal and beeswax. Told my wife I made it just like the Indians did.....went in the house and printed off the directions from the site and came out to the deck and made some!! 8)
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What are the temps where you are? If it is made right, it should be hard but you should be able to force your thumbnail into it. If it sticks to your thumbnail, it was not cooked long enough to remove the volital oils or you have too much beeswax. A little more charcoal will fix that, if it is brittle in the heat, you got it too hot or you have too much charcoal, a little beeswax will fix it. While on the stick, it should feel smooth and not tacky or lumpy. Tacky needs to be cooked longer, lumpy means you didn't grind your charcoal fine. Bill
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i have some made with pine pitch and antler dust.this is some good stuff.it is hard to the touch,but melts nice and sticks my heads great.i got mine at this years classic from a flintknapper that had a booth.i wish i knew his name.he was quite a character.if anyone knows who he is,i would sure like to know his name.i also have some made by Rich Rousso or Halfeye.his is made from spruce.it is also great stuff.it is als*o hard to the touch.i am not sure what he cuts his with,my guess would be charcoal.
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Lowell, I'll give it a try and give you a good critique. I like using pitch glue and use it often.I use pitch, charcoal and bees wax also so I can compare it to mine. ;)
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Pat B, Send me your address and I'll send it out to you!! Thanks!!
Bill ....Very good info!!! Thanks much!!
seabass., If I could get somewhere I could get some good pitch, that would be a good way to compare mine to good!!
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Pat you are always a good one for information ;D
Do you mind sharing your secret recipe :)
If you don't want to I can respect the guarded secrets.
Anyone else have a recipe they want to share?
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Volume 19 Issue 2 Apr./May 2011 Primitive Archer Magazine,page 48. "How to Make Pine Sap Glue" by Bill Berger. Pretty sure that's what you're after.
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This is the recipe I roughly followed...
richpierce
Member
Posts: 278
Re: Pine Resin and Charcoal Glue Recipe
« Reply #8 on: December 21, 2007, 02:46:34 PM »QuoteCutler's resin by Chuck Burrows, a knifemaker of stout repute:
5 parts pitch
1 part beeswax (tallow can replace this-available from your butcher)
1 part filler (wood dust, ash, metal dust, etc)
I use ground charcoal for the filler. I cook down dirty crusty barky pine pitch in a tin can with holes punched in the bottom and catch the strained drippings in another tin can. Then add beeswax and then the filler, stirring with a clean split stick. I let the mixture cool some and then I dip clean sticks in it (popcicle sized) till they load up with dollops of the resin, sorta like making tallow candles. These can be stored forever, carried on a trip, etc. When you need hot glue, heat everything before the fire, get that glue stick to dripping, and apply to the surfaces as needed. Do all your sinewing later, obviously.« Last Edit: December 21, 2007, 02:48:43 PM by richpierce » Report to moderator Logged
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thanks for posting that recipe lowell I'll have to try it. :)
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I'm bad for not writing things down so every time I make it it is a bit different. One trade secret I do have is to use hard, brittle pitch. If you don't, the pitch glue will never get hard. If what you have is soft or gooy you have to cook off the terps(oils) before the pitch will get hard and brittle( be very careful doing this because it is very volatile and you don't want to disturb the fire dept. ;) ).
After cleaning the "dross" from the pitch add the bees wax(to make it less brittle ::) ) then finely ground charcoal to add body.
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So the brittle Resin is better than the gooey stuff, I will notate that.
So can one make a batch from any any conifer tree ? Or does it have to be from a pine tree?
Now if I can just get my hands on some Beeswax.
Hmmm the vacant house behind me has a 10x20 shed that the bees have called home for the past year. ::)
Somehow I don't think Pissing off a million bees is worth it. ;D
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Any conifirs will work. Here in the Southeast pines are prevelent. I have used pinyon pine pitch from the west and it makes good pitch glue...and smells good when you're cooking it. ;)
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Just FYI Pat....what I sent you was from very gooey stuff. So if it works ok then apparently it was cooked enough??
Post Office said you should have it Friday.
Also mine is from white pine.
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Thanks Lowell. We have white pines here also but I never made pitch glue from it. I used pitch from pines at our GA hunt club.
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Honestly, I let the tree make my pine pitch. All my trade points are sinew wrapped though. I use it right from the tree. All I do is heat it and apply some to the point and then put the point on. It also works great for waterproofing the sinew. Jawge
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I collect all the pine pitch that I come across and put it in a can. When I get home, I melt it down and put it in a bigger can, I heat that up and melt them together. I keep doing that until I get enough pitch to make a batch of glue. I collect the soft, after several heating, all the volital oils are gone or I keep it cooking until they are. Then add the beeswax and charcoal. You can find beeswax at sewing supply stores and hobby shops. Do not use parafin, the glue doesn't get hard. Bill
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I believe I saw Paleoleo on youtube saying the "filler" he uses is cow dung. Lots of fiber I suppose but I don't know as if I'd want to cook it LOL!
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Any dung you use(cow, horse, deer, rabbit,etc) needs to be dried out completely before you use it!
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Yup, I use the wife's fruit dehydrator...works great!
>:D
(Just joking..... ;D)
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mmmmmmmmm, raisins! ;)
basically it is undigestable vegitable fibers. I'll stick with charcoal or saw dust. I have lots of each. ;D
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I made some today. My 7 yr. old and I went up the hill and collected some white pine sap. This eve we cooked it down, I tried to strain it, but it didn't work to good and it ended up back in the original container. I keep bees, so I had the wax and I found chared wood around the fire pit and smashed it between two rocks. We heated it on a small grate on the coals of a fire we already had burning. I gobbed it onto some china barffe' chop sticks, I always keep mine from these places, and it seems to have set up pretty good. Got six sticks worth and some left in the can for next time. Hope to use it soon.
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The stuff Lowell made and sent to me is good pitch glue. It is very sticky and sets up in a hard non-brittle state. Just what I like for hafting. ;)
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I've also use it straight from the tree and have'nt cooked any for a few years. I use ceder it seams a little better straight from the tree. Sap thats left over from the following summer ( GOTTEN IN THE WINTER OR EARLY SPRING) seams to work best straight from the tree. I've only done this with ceder so I don't know about left over pine pitch. But I have used pine straight from the tree. I've cooked ceder it also works good. I may just be getting lazy but truefully straight ceder sap from the the tree, sinewed good cover again been holding my heads and trade points fine for years.
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Kinda hard to trasport a tree around to get the pitch when needed though, i'd suspect. :)