Harvesting fatwood

[sprawlnstall]

I was looking to harvest some fatwood near my home. I found several unknown species of pine that were trimmed by the electric company many years ago. I’ve never looked for fatwood and figured this may be a good place to start due to many of the limbs being dead. I cut into a few pieces and was surprised to see a deep purple color and rich pine smell. It does not appear to be fatwood but very interesting color. Does anyone know what is going on? The limb was about 3 inches in diameter and had a moisture content of 12 percent in the center.

 

[SpaceBus]

Looks like cedar. Do you have any of the bark?

 

[sprawlnstall]

It may be cedar not much of the tree is left standing

 

[SpaceBus]

If it smells strong I'm going to say cedar. Old long leaf pine doesn't usually have a strong smell years later, or that red color. It's not fatwood, but it will be good fire starter.

 

[sprawlnstall]

I shaved a few shavings off and they did not ignite well. Definitely cedar. Any idea what moisture content fatwood would be. Or where to find. What gives cedar the purple color?

 

[Dataman]

Fatwood is wood that has some of the Sap Left in it. i.e. Lower Down toward the stump. Fatwood, also known as "fat lighter", "lighter wood", "rich lighter", "pine knot", "lighter knot", "heart pine" or "lighter'd" [sic], is derived from the heartwood of pine trees.

 

[Dataman]

Finding Fatwood

Finding Fatwood: Fire is one of if not the most important tools in the outdoors. It can keep you warm, cook your food, purify water, signal for help, and help you feel more secure in a stressful situation. Finding the right natural materials to start a fire in adver…

www.instructables.com

 

[SpaceBus]

I shaved a few shavings off and they did not ignite well. Definitely cedar. Any idea what moisture content fatwood would be. Or where to find. What gives cedar the purple color?

I'm not sure why it has the color, but it is the heartwood of the tree and is rot and insect resistant. There are also cedar species with all white heartwood. Likely the wood is not at 15% moisture if it is not lighting up easily. Split the heartwood into 1/2" thick pieces and that will light with a match.

 

[MoDoug]

Finding Fatwood

Finding Fatwood: Fire is one of if not the most important tools in the outdoors. It can keep you warm, cook your food, purify water, signal for help, and help you feel more secure in a stressful situation. Finding the right natural materials to start a fire in adver…

www.instructables.com

This is really interesting, I use fatwood, I also have an old pine stump, and the lot next to me has several dead pine trees. I'm going to have to explore this further. Thanks!

 

[sprawlnstall]

Some great YouTube videos out there showing it being harvested. Sounds like Georgia has a lot of it

 

[ZZ Tom]

I scored some pine earlier this summer. Got most of it split last month. This stuff was full of resin. I've got some fatwood TIMBERS in my stacks for 23-24. I split them large for longer overnight burns, but part of me is a little scared, these are 5-6" x 16" sticks of fatwood. Hope we don't melt the stove.

 

[rwhite]

This reminds me of when I worked in a plywood mill. Some of the fir and pine veneers would look like it was a sheet of amber epoxy. Doesn't make good plywood and tend to catch fire in the dryer. We would break it up and throw it in a tote. You could get a 30 gal tote of fatwood in a shift.

 

[ctyankee]

Probably lilac.

 

[SpaceBus]

Probably lilac.

I didn't know Lilac had a red heartwood, thanks for the tip.

 

[ctyankee]

I didn't know Lilac had a red heartwood, thanks for the tip.

YW. I'm seeing purple, as is the OP. I cut into what I know to be lilac this summer and there purple were streaks, though not this heavy. The fragrance of lilac is in the wood when first cut.