Making Birch Bark Oil/Tar - Step by Step

[TheNative]

Decided to broaden my skill base in the area of making resources when out in the bush so challenged myself to make some Birch Oil or Birch Tar as its otherwise known. Had never done this before so looked up a few tutorials and went for it.

Happy to say it worked a treat, only collected about 1/5 of oil in the bean can in the space of 2 hours but was just pleased it worked and anything else was a bonus. I am aware it can be used on leather and wood to offer a protective coating but apart from that do not know much about its qualities and what it can be used for, if anyone knows any more uses then please let me know!

Here are some pictures of each step:

I used a bean can for my container to collect the oil and a very nice looking tin to put the bark into, the larger tin was the same size as your standard quality street chocolate tin.

Pierced a hole in the bottom centre of the larger tin, this will be where the oil drips out from into the bean can.

Here is the full tin before it went under the flames, all this Birch bark is from dead fallen trees I had found, I made sure to stand the bark upright like it is when on the tree so that the oils can travel down and out the bark and collect at the bottom.

This step was tricky to do because I had to dig the hole for the bean can to sit in and fill the edges back in without getting soil in the can. The main thing to do is make sure the larger tin sits flush with the rim of the bean can and that the hole is directly above the can.

Ready to rock and roll!

Started the fire on top then gradually built it up to the point where the tin was completely surrounded by the fire.

Here was the fire at its hottest point, the tin is completely covered and I could hear a boiling like sound coming from within the tin.

After 2 hours I started to get impatient and was eager to see if it had worked so started to remove the embers surrounding the tin but to my horror found that the Winee the Pooh artwork had been burnt off the tin!

What was left of the bark, a big charred ball.

And here's the bounty! Was very happy that I managed to get something first time round.

Ready to be used! Great Success!

Will be putting a video on my Youtube channel later on of me making it, click on the link below if your interested.

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

Nice one Bill. A little tip for next time. Roll some card round the inside of the collecting tin and it stops crud falling back in while you edge the soil back into place.

Cheers
Paul

 

[TheNative]

Ah good idea! Thanks Paul!

 

[Man of Tanith]

Good work bill.
When I've made it I've left it over night.
Quite a fast process if you had that much in couple hours

 

[Toddy]

Nicely done and the photo explanation was very clear too

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[Albus Culter]

Cheers for that. On my to do list some time as its good stuff. Just the mental reminder I needed.

 

[The Ratcatcher]

The Birch Tar that you got can be used for a whole range of jobs, from waterproofing cloth to treating wounds. It can also be processed further to produce other useful materials, including soap, insect repellant and Liniment for treating muscular aches and pains. The tar, if properly distilled, produces a light brown oil known as Russian Petroleum, which was issued to the British army as rifle oil during the First World War, and is used for the same purpose even today, as it does not solidify in extreme cold. (Part of the reason both the French and the Germans lost wars due to the Russian winter was that the gun oil they used solidified and jammed the gun, the Russian Petroleum didn't.) I'm sure the processng methods can be found somewhere on the Internet, and might be worth a try. Incidentally, Pine trees also produce a tar, known as Stockholm Tar, which has similar properties.

Alan

 

[mr walloping]

Very good i think i may try that soon.

 

[Niels]

Helpful, thank you.

 

[Eragon21]

Excellent tutorial - will have to try this one day

 

[Thoth]

My tip would be to first bury a larger can, then set your collecting can inside this. soil falls into the gap between the cans and not into the can with the birch-tar in it.

 

[digitracker]

Thoth There is a documentary called the happy people of the taiga about russian mink trappers, and that is exactly what they do to make the birch tar, they rub it on exposed skin to get rid of horseflies which make their lives misery

 

[Dannytsg]

Nice tutorial. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Big Stu 12]

thats good, I like that Thank you for sharing

 

[David Morningstar]

Birch tar can be boiled down (carefully, the vapours are very flammable!) until it sets solid at room temperature. You cant tell the right point when it is boiling, so you dip a stick into it and then dip it in cold water to cool the tar on it. If the tar is still runny or sticky after cooling, keep boiling. When you get a coating of solid tar on the stick after cooling it in water, its time to stop.

This was the standard adhesive in paleolithic Europe, whereas pine pitch was used in America. It is an open question how this birch bark extraction was done so long ago, because this is a long time before the invention of pottery.

http://www.primitiveways.com/birch_bark_tar.html

 

[The MAX]

That's really cool man! Props on the traditional flint lighting as well. I checked out your youtube channel and you have some good vids! Wish I had gotten into this at your age, I'd be a lot better than I am right now!

Hugh

 

[HHazeldean]

That looks really sweet actually, thanks for posting. Might need to give this a go now!

 

[Dreadhead]

great stuff, have been meaning to have a go at this myself but never get out enough to try it

 

[Clouston98]

Found this a few weeks ago and did it! It certainly worked but I didn't use a tin bottom big as yours but it was still great!
Thanks a lot for sharing!

 

[Stringmaker]

Excellent explanation of the process; thanks.

Just a thought; couldn't you put the lid on the collecting tin whilst you bury/pack it and then take it off to do the burn?

One other thing; I bet that charred bark would now be excellent tinder in its own right and would hold a spark?