How to "Purify" Pine Resin

[Toadflax]

This method may be well known, and I can't claim any credit for it, but I heard Will Lord at the Moot telling someone about it and I tried it once I got home. Previously, I've cleaned up the resin by warming it in a tin can of water, tied into a piece of muslin, and skimming it off the surface of the water as it floats.

Take a hollow based beer can, your resin and a suitable receptacle.

Cut the can in half, and make some legs so you can see the crucible, also poke some holes in the domed base. I'd suggest more than the five holes that you can see here. I made a small crucible out of foil, but if I was doing it again, I'd probably use the base of another beer can.

Pile some resin into the base of the can...

...light it...

...watch while the resin melts...

...dripping through into the receptacle...

...and there you have a nice lump of clean resin.

Geoff

 

[Man of Tanith]

That looks very easy something i can try if it ever stops raining
thanks very much for the mini guide(and excuse to empty a couple of beer cans)
Regards
Sam

 

[Ex Member - Sidney Bounty]

thats a great way to deal with small batches thanks for the tip!

 

[SOAR]

Nice one, Geoff great tutorial.

 

[spamel]

Doh! How simple? Nice one Will Lord, and thanks for the tutorial Geoff. Got any boppers done yet?

 

[Tripitaka]

Been out today, got the resin, tried this approach and it works a treat. I got quite a lot of resin so I am going to try the same thing but with a smallish SS sieve and do it all in one go.

now I just need to find out what I use pine resin for...

 

[earthorca]

Just curious, so with the cleaned resin are you able to still use it for fire starting? What would be some of the other uses for this refined resin?

 

[w00dsmoke]

You would'nt be able to use it for fire starting I don't think as all the flamables will have burned off. What you could do is mix it with crushed charcoal and a bit of beeswax and make a very good glue. Fill a hollow elder branch with it or make a glue stick. I use it quite often and it works a treat.

 

[Sainty]

Oh, and hope that the police don't raid your house in the middle of the process. Looks very much like paraphernalia to me.

Martin

 

[John Fenna]

Great glue maker!
Simple and effective - a cracker!

 

[penvisser]

thats really effective! Thanks !

Best regards,

Jan

 

[climberslacker]

I tried this, and other then the fact that I made my holes too small, it didn't really work out. I got an amber colored hard mess in the top of my tin.

I started with just some resin i got from my tree, and then put it straight into this contraption, bypassing the first step, as I had no idea how to do it. Then it just sat on top of my can, and didn;t drip down. Also the color was nothing like your color?

 

[big_swede]

Another way would be to heat the resin (without lighting it) so that it melts and run through the holes. That way you don't consume any flammable chemicals in the resin.

 

[Tye Possum]

Cool, I should try that. One thing though... You say if you were to do it again you'd probably use the base of another beer can for the crucible, what's your reason for that? Wouldn't that make it harder to get out, or would you just heat it up in the can afterwards and drip it on whatever you're gluing (if that's what you use it for)?

 

[Toadflax]

Cool, I should try that. One thing though... You say if you were to do it again you'd probably use the base of another beer can for the crucible, what's your reason for that? Wouldn't that make it harder to get out, or would you just heat it up in the can afterwards and drip it on whatever you're gluing (if that's what you use it for)?

I think what I really meant was that I wouldn't use foil, as the resin got stuck in all the folds in the foil. At least with the base of a beer can, it has a smooth inside, so you could probably press out the resin, or cut the can.


Geoff

 

[elma]

Great Idea
I'll give it a go this weekend

 

[Tye Possum]

I think what I really meant was that I wouldn't use foil, as the resin got stuck in all the folds in the foil. At least with the base of a beer can, it has a smooth inside, so you could probably press out the resin, or cut the can.


Geoff

Ok I see, thanks. Think I'll try it this weekend as well, it is used for glue right?

 

[Goosegog]

I process my collected resin by heating in a tin, the when seems fluid I pour through a large tea strain into silicon cake moulds to form small pucks. The method seems to keep some of the flammables in the resin. I often scrape small amounts into my tinder to start fires.
I also don't chuck the waste away, I empty the hot waste into another mould and while still soft press down and the pour bees wax and parafin wax mix onto it to fill the cupcake mould, great fire starter .

 

[Joe tahkahikew]

Boil the resin in animal fat. Put through cloth and wring it hard till all the fat and resin comes out. Pure resin cracks and isn't flexib le enough for glue for sealing and things like canoe bark. Animal fat makes it flexible and won't crack.

Enju

 

[Leshy]

Boil the resin in animal fat. Put through cloth and wring it hard till all the fat and resin comes out. Pure resin cracks and isn't flexib le enough for glue for sealing and things like canoe bark. Animal fat makes it flexible and won't crack.

Enju

Nice tip. Thanks for sharing ! 👍