Resin glue

[wyrdranger]

Anyone got any clues or tips for making glue from pine resin and bee's wax? Tried the method in R.Mears book and ended up with a mess!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Gary]

When you melt down your resin add a small amount of powdered charcoal from the fire - this stops it drying brittle.

As for the mess - how did you try to melt it down?

 

[wyrdranger]

Thanks Gary I'll try some charcoal next time.
The mess came when following the suggestion to place lumps of resin in a loose cloth bag and drop in boiling water.
The resulting scum looks like chewing gum. :-?
A further try of just melting the resin in a pan and then trying to filter it through muslin worked well until the resin cooled in the filter (You could see that coming couldn't you!!)

 

[Gary]

I usually just melt it in an old tin - once its liquid mix in the charcoal and then use if from there.

Not sure why Rays saying about melting in boiling water -seems long winded as for a filter - well.............

 

[Stew]

I usually just melt it in an old tin - once its liquid mix in the charcoal and then use if from there.

That's pretty much what I've done but in on of the less nice looking clay pots I've made and any big bits of bark etc can be easily fished out when it's all melted.

 

[acw_akkermans]

I use an old tin as well. A clever way of using this glue, is by making a glue-stick. basicly, you have one tin of melted and hot resin (Do not allow it to boil) and a container with ash. You stick a twig or stick or whatever, in the molten resin much like dipping a candle, and then you dip it into the ash. After that the resin again, and then the ash again. So on, till you got your gluestick the size you want it to be. After this let it dry and pack it away wherever you want to store things like these. When you want to use the glue, just heat up your gluestick (Try to melt as much resin as you're gonna use), and use the stick/twig as a brush to apply glue where you want it to be. To store again, just dip it in some more ash, and let it cool off. One word of warning though! If you reheat the glue too many times, it will get tough to use, and the glueing properties won't be as good anymore.

 

[hardr004]

I am new to all this. Can you tell me how to get the resin.