Pine pitch is one of the oldest natural glues made by the woodsmen. This adhesive is fast setting, faster then any other modern super glue. It is waterproof, strong, and can be used for any outdoor project.
It is made of 3 components, pine resin, charcoal and cattail.
The how to:
Collect pine resin, melt them over coals or a small fire in an old tin can (if you are using your fire pit for melting the resin, be careful cause this is a highly flammable material, and if it went on fire it won’t do its purpose). Any bark or wood chips must be removed during the melting process.
As soon as they melt (no need to boil), add the same amount of crushed charcoal and start stirring until they become homogeneous. Adding charcoal will make our pitch less brittle, eventually when you use it as adhesive it will be more resistant to crack. Charcoal must be crushed until they become as fine as dust.
Once you have an homogeneous mixture, it is time to add the cattail. Tear off the head of the cattail and start adding the fluffy material to the mixture. Cattail plays the role of a binder, it thickens the mixture and make it less brittle. Add cattail as you go, the mixture should not get too chunky.
As soon as you get to the desired consistency, get your wooden stick and dip it in the mixture, turn it couple of times and remove it from the can. As soon as it starts loosing its heat, start molding it with your fingers. Repeat the same process until you get to the desired volume. Best is to make it as big as the one shown in the picture above, around the size of a ping pong ball.
