Something for you primitive guys to ponder on

[FlintWalker]

 I live in Southern Ky and pine trees are non existent around here. If you see any, someone planted them.
 Without pine trees what did native man use as pitch for mounting points and such?

[AncientArcher76]

Hi Sawfiler many people dont know that BIRCH PITCH is another form of adhesive used it is simple to make and can be made anywhere at anytime.  It turns black and u can make it up ahead of time.  Use it the same as pine pitch.  Hey how u been my friend gimme a shout!

Russ

[sailordad]

shannon i believe most any tree sap can be made into pitch. i could be wrong though,it happens on occaison   )
birch pitch is good stuff
palio folks used it to seal canoes etc.

AA76,we were typing at the same time 

[AncientArcher76]

LOL Sailor ur right about some trees being used for pitch but one other thing to remember when paleo groups traveled and traded amongst themselves.  They would travel hundreds of miles to get such things as flint...perhaps amongst their travels the aquired there pine pitch along their way. 

Russ

[FlintWalker]

Doing pretty good Russ
 Ain't no Birch trees around here either...just eastern hardwoods.

[Justin Snyder]

What about maple, I hear they make a sticky sap. It sure works for sticking the fork to my hand. 

[RidgeRunner]

Shannan:
You got any Eastern Red Cedar in them parts?
The pitch out of them will make good glue.  Very similar to pine pitch.
It is harder to collect in any quantity.  But if you got nothing else....

David

[FlintWalker]

Oh yea, we got maple and LOTS of ERC. The sap from it is very sticky but there's never much of it. I just figured since they didn't "leak" as much as pine that it wouldn't be enough.

[JustinNC]

For those of us fortunate.....if that's how you want to look at the stupid things....enough to hae pine trees...can ya take a machete or something and give them a good whack and come back a few days later and collect?....assuming spring or fall would be the better times for this. I know Ive seen sap before I ever wanted any, on injured pines, didn't know if that was a good way to injure them or not.

[jonathan creason]

Yep, or just watch going through town for trees that have been pruned.  The ones that are mowed around a good too, innevitably somebody's going to hit one with the mowing deck.

[Justin Snyder]

It usually takes a couple of months to get a good quantity of sap. If you trim a branch off you can come back and get the sap later.

[AncientArcher76]

Shannon sounds like u live in a Tundra or a maybe a swamp...or a desert..lol Whos to say thousand years agao there werent any confierous trees in KY maybe they used hide glue...curious to think about u making ur PINETREE points which come from there but yet there are none! Is this a subliminal message sent from the ancient ones!

Russ

[stickbender]

     Shannon, do you have any spruce?  Try that.
   
                            Wayne

[Pat B]

Shannon, go to the "Trading Post" and ask for pitch. I'd bet you could trade some improved debitage for some pitch. 

[FlintWalker]

Shannon, go to the "Trading Post" and ask for pitch. I'd bet you could trade some improved debitage for some pitch. 

Oh I don't need any Pat...I just wanna know