Cultivating fatwood?

JC in SC

JC in SC

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Feb 28, 2009
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I have a fairly large quantity of pine logs roughly 12 to 14 inches in diameter, cut to normal fire place type lengths that were left over from a tree removal job my brother-in-law did near my house. I'm wondering what it would take to turn a portion or all of this into fatwood. Would simply leaving it out, uncovered and exposed to the elements accomplish this? This seems logical since that is how it occurs in nature. Right now, it is stacked on some pavement, so should I move it to bare ground? How long should the transformation to fatwood take? It has been sitting out uncovered for probably a year or more.
 
Doesn't quite work that way I'm afraid.
Fatwood develops in the stump after the rest of the tree is either cut down or comes down from some other outside means.
The roots continue to pump the sap into the stump until it dies off, and this then becomes the coveted fatwood.
As the wood rots away, the resin soaked fatwood is left behind.
 
your best bet is cut down a pine tree in SPRING, right after the last cold snap. Leave about 2' of stump. The next year, cut off the top 2' of the stump and you'll have fatwood.

I have a few "test" plots going right now in the woods, but its gonna take a year or two
 
What Mr. Wolf said.

Very interesting idea too Bushman5 about trying to cultivate/create fatwood. Never thought of that.


:thumbup:
 
Yea, there is no way to produce your own. You must harvest it from pine stumps. And fatwood is not the same thing as a sappy piece of pine. I find old pine stumps to be the best sources of fatwood. The ones that have been there a few years. Somewhere in between freshly cut, and petrified works for me :).
 
My brother and I are trying to cultivate some right now as well. He cut down a stump last fall just before freeze, and we are going to cut one down soon- try to harvest both in the fall and see what has occurred. Will post the results in a few months. If nothing good works we'll revamp our experiment and try again next year.
 
I think you should get an old bathtub and buy a few 4x4 posts and soak them in maple syrup for a few months in the old bathtub. and BAM! fatwood
 
The pitchwood I have seen in the woods is usually old! I am not too sure a year or two will work. The best examples I have seen are from trees that were busted off part way up and sat for a long time. Once you know what to look for, you shouldn't need to cultivate it. Just go get it. Last year while elk hunting I found 9 pitchwood stumps right within our camp. It's everywhere! Just go look.
 
Wont work. Woods already been cut. Just use it as regular firewood. It will burn hot and fast. Its great for kindling. Unless it was a dead tree to begin with and has been standing dead for a while. Ive dropped whole trees that have basically been pure pitch. Have also lit whole ones on fire. Like others have said look for old pine stumps.

Bushman - Ive done a few of my own experiments with a few pine stumps and so far no pitch stump. It definitely takes longer than 2-3 years. Most of the pitch stumps Ive seen that are on the younger side were logged at least 10 years ago.
 
hehe. guess i felled a few trees for nothing. Although i do know that pines trees felled in our desert region of BC (Lilloet/Lytton) produce a ton of sap when cut and that sapwood dries out/turns hard within months. (hot temps over the summer (40 - 50 deg celcuis) and - 40 temps in winter)
 
I'm glad this subject came up again as I was thinking about it this afternoon. I haven't found any fatwood yet; haven't even tried. But I want too. Does there become a point when the stump is too old? Also, where in the stump would one look? I think I remember someone saying at the point where a large root joins the stump. Or in the heart of the stump? Do I need to bring an ax and hack away at the thing or will it be easy to get at? What kind of tools will I need to bring?

We have a million stumps around here. You all have posted some great pictures so I think I know what I'm looking for. I just don't want to go hacking into a hundred stumps and get skunked. I would rather get it on the first or second try and know what I'm looking for from now on.

Thanks much!
 
Thanks for all the replys everyone. Cultivating fatwood was sort of an afterthought after the wood got piled up at the back of my driveway. I'm sure finding some will be no problem, I was just hoping to get another use out of what I already had lying around. Now I understand a little bit more about how it is formed. Thanks!
 
Idaho~ look for gray colored pine stumps. That have been either logged or busted by nature or lightening. I have found sections as long as 10' in trees that were solid pitch. Most of the tine is is about 3' of the stump and root ball. Take an axe and smack it against the stump with the back before cutting into it, if it feels harder than your axe, you have it. THen go to work. It is really hard to get it with an axe though, may want a chain saw.
pitchwood2.jpg
 
check out a cut your own X-mas tree farm, lots of times you can go into the old section of the lot and find rotted stumps.
 
"I just go to Walmart to get mine. No three year waiting, but the checkout line seems that long."

Well where is the fun in that?;)

Hyundai make chainsaws? Cool.
 
snow finally started melting quite a bit the past couple of weeks. whacked an old stump 30 yards from my porch with my axe. what do ya know? fatwood! been there the whole time i just never looked. there are old stumps all over the place here, guess i'll be collecting fatwood all summer!! in between firewood cutting of course. oh, and fishing!
 
CanadianWolf said:
Doesn't quite work that way I'm afraid.
Fatwood develops in the stump after the rest of the tree is either cut down or comes down from some other outside means.
The roots continue to pump the sap into the stump until it dies off, and this then becomes the coveted fatwood.
As the wood rots away, the resin soaked fatwood is left behind.
Click to expand...
The wood in old houses turns to lighter doesn’t have to be a stump
 
JC in SC said:
I have a fairly large quantity of pine logs roughly 12 to 14 inches in diameter, cut to normal fire place type lengths that were left over from a tree removal job my brother-in-law did near my house. I'm wondering what it would take to turn a portion or all of this into fatwood. Would simply leaving it out, uncovered and exposed to the elements accomplish this? This seems logical since that is how it occurs in nature. Right now, it is stacked on some pavement, so should I move it to bare ground? How long should the transformation to fatwood take? It has been sitting out uncovered for probably a year or more.
Click to expand...
Keep it dry and off the ground, pine boards in houses turns to lighter wood
 
11x11x said:
Yea, there is no way to produce your own. You must harvest it from pine stumps. And fatwood is not the same thing as a sappy piece of pine. I find old pine stumps to be the best sources of fatwood. The ones that have been there a few years. Somewhere in between freshly cut, and petrified works for me :).
Click to expand...
Pine boards in houses turns to to lighter wood
 
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