15 lbs of unsuitable birch bark....

[PatrickM]

gives me almost a gallon of the finest birch tar....useful for many other things.

 

[Eric_Methven]

Luvverly! Did you make it like charcoal, so the tar drips out the bottom of an enclosed container without the birch bark combusting?

Eric

 

[PatrickM]

Hi Eric, more or less. I coiled the bark around the inside of an old metal bucket which was turned upside down on a battered out funnel shaped piece of tin. The base of the bucket was then sealed with damp wood ash. The collection pot was underneath this and the fire built around.

Hope that helps.

 

[Eric_Methven]

It helps a lot, thanks. Basically the same as for making pine tar then. I know with pine tar, you can use the charred pine root coals as charcoal. Can you do anything useful with the charred birchbark? Tinder maybe?

Eric

 

[Toddy]

Oh nice, very nice........and me with a sack load at the back of a shed too and three new windfall birches in the woods as well........

I never realised how much could be obtained from the stuff. Impressive.

atb,
Toddy