Re: [ATM] Gugolz pitch - tapping pine trees etc.

["Thomas Janstrom" <thomas@moiler.com>]

I would have thought that tapping the trees the same way that they tap
rubber trees would have been the way to go.

The way rubber trees are tapped is to cut a diagonal groove into the bark
with a collection cup at the lower end to do the obvious. When a groove
dries up you wait a few weeks and cut a new groove on the down ward side of
the old one. The trick is not to cut so deep you "ring bark" the tree, just
deep enough to get it bleeding good.

Well back to cleaning up the 10" blank I cast this week....

Cheers, Thomas.

-----Original Message-----
From: atm-bounces@atmlist.net [mailto:atm-bounces@atmlist.net] On Behalf Of
George Anderson
Sent: Tuesday, 12 December 2006 2:38 PM
To: Dominic-Luc Webb
Cc: ATM Superheros
Subject: Re: [ATM] Gugolz pitch

I can vouch for the lack of pitch from tapping. I tapped a 20" diameter 
pine the same way that one would tap for maple syrup. After two weeks 
the pitch finally made it to the end of the spigot that had a hose 
leading to a 1 litre container. I gave up at that point.
I am wondering if it could be harvested by gently boiling or heating 
green pine cones in water. I may give it a try next year when they start 
falling off of my pine trees.

George Anderson
Montreal Canada

Clear skies and good health

Dominic-Luc Webb wrote:
> It is sometimes indicated in history books that once upon a time,
> Sweden was a major pitch exporter in the World. It was
> produced in very large quantities for ship building to seal
> wood. That practice disappeared long ago, and the pitch industry
> seems to have died. I once located a single picture of how it was
> harvested.
> 
> Basically, there was a hollow made in the side of a small hill and
> logs were stacked and tilted about 20 degrees. Beneath the lower
> end, there was a bucket that would presumably collect the pitch that
> would run down the length of the log. I think it took a pretty long
> time, perhaps a few months or more.
> 
> There is a pretty large timber industry in the USA. I would think
> someone over there has investigated this. There are some massive
> trees there. I cannot imagine how much pitch they produce.
> 
> I can say tapping a pipe into conifers has not been very effective.
> 
> Dominic-Luc Webb
> 
> _______________________________________________
> ATM mailing list http://www.atmlist.net/
> 

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