Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Primitive Skills => Topic started by: stringstretcher on January 31, 2013, 06:23:49 am

Title: Melting and cleaning Pine Pitch?
Post by: stringstretcher on January 31, 2013, 06:23:49 am

I was just wondering if you guys and girls would think this would work.  I have a couple of older lead melting pots, the bottom pour style.  I have a lot of the real soft, gooey pine sap.  Do you think the lead pot would be too hot to melt the sap down, and then use the bottom pour spout to drain down the clean sap into a container?  I have one that has a heat control on it, but even at the lowest setting, it will melt lead?

Title: Re: Melting and cleaning Pine Pitch?
Post by: Pappy on January 31, 2013, 06:49:14 am

Probably to hot,guess you could give it a try. I just kind of simmer mine on the stove[my outside stove] and the pour it off through a strainer to clean it up.
Just soupy but not boiling.  :)
   Pappy

Title: Re: Melting and cleaning Pine Pitch?
Post by: Pat B on January 31, 2013, 10:23:06 am

Charlie, you can boil it in water and that will seperate the pitch from the trash. I only did this once at the camp-orama and it worked pretty good.
  Pitch is very volatile and will combust if it gets too hot.

Title: Re: Melting and cleaning Pine Pitch?
Post by: madcrow on February 01, 2013, 05:05:15 pm

One other thing with water which does not pertain to this.  I was mixing up some pitch today and got really bored swirling the stick in it, then dunknig it in water to cool it and repeating to get it on the stick.  I very slowly poured the warm pitch in the coffee can fill with cold water.  After about two minutes, i pulled out the ugliest blob I have ever seen.  Semi hard and easy to handle.  I separated it into a couple of clumps and roled it into glue sticks.  Looks like big turds.  but it worked.