Free 186 More Best Homemade Tools eBook:  
Get 2,000+ tool plans, full site access, and more.

User Tag List

Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 16

Thread: Fatwood

  1. #1
    Supporting Member Drew1966's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Posts
    457
    Thanks
    517
    Thanked 144 Times in 89 Posts

    Fatwood

    Hello Toolusers, I’m actually looking for a little help here. I’m making a set of fire starters for my local scout group leaders. I’ve taken some 16mm magnesium rods and set ferrocerium into the side of them, and I’m ready to fit handles. I’ve been looking around to find some large pieces of fat wood to fashion the handles from, but can’t find any. I’m wondering if any of our members can help me to obtain the pieces I need. I’m looking for some thing around 1”x1”x4”.

    186 More Best Homemade Tools eBook

  2. #2
    Supporting Member desbromilow's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    722
    Thanks
    505
    Thanked 338 Times in 191 Posts

    desbromilow's Tools
    drew,

    are you planning for the fatwood to be used as a handle, or as kindling?
    if as a handle, is impregnating standard timber an option?

    2000 Tool Plans

  3. #3
    Supporting Member Beserkleyboy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Sunny South Coast NSW, Australia
    Posts
    366
    Thanks
    473
    Thanked 226 Times in 132 Posts

    Beserkleyboy's Tools
    Drew, if you are going to use it for fire starter, head down to the lumber yard. Many of the Pine species will turn up 'fatwood' near the heart. You won't find much in the boards for sale, but will find it in the gluts or stickers, and other dunnage, as it is routinely graded out of the 'on grade' material. Most (proper)lumber yards should be happy to donate for the cause. If you can't find enough on the first visit, engage one of the yardmen to accumulate some for you...shouldn't take long! And thanks for investing in the Boy Scouts, still a great institution for mentoring boys and young men...

    Jim - 3rd gen Timber Merchant in AUS
    Last edited by Beserkleyboy; May 12, 2020 at 07:14 PM. Reason: additional info

  4. The Following User Says Thank You to Beserkleyboy For This Useful Post:

    Drew1966 (May 12, 2020)

  5. #4
    Supporting Member Drew1966's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Posts
    457
    Thanks
    517
    Thanked 144 Times in 89 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by desbromilow View Post
    drew,

    are you planning for the fatwood to be used as a handle, or as kindling?
    if as a handle, is impregnating standard timber an option?
    Des, I’m planning on using it to make handles for firestarters. I have set ferrocerium rods into the side of magnesium rods and want to make the handles from fatwood so that shavings can be taken off if and when needed.

  6. #5

    Join Date
    Jul 2019
    Location
    Ohio, USA
    Posts
    170
    Thanks
    200
    Thanked 96 Times in 49 Posts
    Last time I bought fat wood for my son (boy scout as well), I found it at HD. I believe they had 4lb and 10 lb bags. If I recall correctly, they also had larger boxes that you can order. The pieces were about 6" long. Most were about 1/2"x1/2" with the occasional larger piece, but they may have other options online.

    Good luck.

  7. The Following User Says Thank You to FEM2008 For This Useful Post:

    Drew1966 (May 14, 2020)

  8. #6
    Supporting Member TrickieDickie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2018
    Location
    Louisiana
    Posts
    457
    Thanks
    23
    Thanked 121 Times in 93 Posts
    When I was a kid "lighter pine" or "fat wood" was easy to find but damn rare now.

  9. The Following User Says Thank You to TrickieDickie For This Useful Post:

    Drew1966 (May 14, 2020)

  10. #7
    Supporting Member Drew1966's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Posts
    457
    Thanks
    517
    Thanked 144 Times in 89 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by FEM2008 View Post
    Last time I bought fat wood for my son (boy scout as well), I found it at HD. I believe they had 4lb and 10 lb bags. If I recall correctly, they also had larger boxes that you can order. The pieces were about 6" long. Most were about 1/2"x1/2" with the occasional larger piece, but they may have other options online.

    Good luck.
    What is HD please? I’m in Australia.

  11. #8
    CanBeDone's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2019
    Posts
    43
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 38 Times in 18 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Drew1966 View Post
    Hello Toolusers, I’m actually looking for a little help here. I’m making a set of fire starters for my local scout group leaders. I’ve taken some 16mm magnesium rods and set ferrocerium into the side of them, and I’m ready to fit handles. I’ve been looking around to find some large pieces of fat wood to fashion the handles from, but can’t find any. I’m wondering if any of our members can help me to obtain the pieces I need. I’m looking for some thing around 1”x1”x4”.
    Assumption: I'm a smart one, the tinder to start my fire I get from shaving the handle of my ferrocerium/magnesium fire starter rod.
    So, where do I get the material?
    Step 1: Read the Wikipedia
    Step 2: Since you live in Australia, understand that pine is an alien import, grown only for commercial reasons. Thus, only species that grow fast, i.e. with little to no resin, is what is grown. Thus, forget the idea of using fatwood (i.e. resin rich pine) for a tool handle.
    Step 3: Accept that if fatwood is not available, you still can make it yourself. What you need is some absorbent material and candle wax (i.e. paraffin). Melt the wax and allow your material to absorb it: that is home-made fatwood! You have a wide choice of materials to choose from, it just needs to be absorbent. It could be some cloth from a plant based fibre (jeans are made of cotton, or consider a jute bag, or . . .), it could be cotton string wound around a stick and then soaked, or you could choose some porous wood you might want to vacuum soak, or . . .
    You are making a fibre-reinforced wax handle. That it burns readily, or doesn't absorb water, are just side effects. Let your scouts scout for just such an effect!

  12. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to CanBeDone For This Useful Post:

    Drew1966 (May 14, 2020), FEM2008 (May 13, 2020)

  13. #9
    Supporting Member Drew1966's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Posts
    457
    Thanks
    517
    Thanked 144 Times in 89 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by CanBeDone View Post
    Assumption: I'm a smart one, the tinder to start my fire I get from shaving the handle of my ferrocerium/magnesium fire starter rod.
    So, where do I get the material?
    Step 1: Read the Wikipedia
    Step 2: Since you live in Australia, understand that pine is an alien import, grown only for commercial reasons. Thus, only species that grow fast, i.e. with little to no resin, is what is grown. Thus, forget the idea of using fatwood (i.e. resin rich pine) for a tool handle.
    Step 3: Accept that if fatwood is not available, you still can make it yourself. What you need is some absorbent material and candle wax (i.e. paraffin). Melt the wax and allow your material to absorb it: that is home-made fatwood! You have a wide choice of materials to choose from, it just needs to be absorbent. It could be some cloth from a plant based fibre (jeans are made of cotton, or consider a jute bag, or . . .), it could be cotton string wound around a stick and then soaked, or you could choose some porous wood you might want to vacuum soak, or . . .
    You are making a fibre-reinforced wax handle. That it burns readily, or doesn't absorb water, are just side effects. Let your scouts scout for just such an effect!
    I do have access to a hoop pine plantation, so I was thinking about getting some scraps from the mill there and infusing it with naphthalene.

  14. #10
    Supporting Member Beserkleyboy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Sunny South Coast NSW, Australia
    Posts
    366
    Thanks
    473
    Thanked 226 Times in 132 Posts

    Beserkleyboy's Tools
    Drew, did not realise you were here in AUS, hence my American English...I take it you're in QLD. Hoop Pine won't have any gummy /pitchy bits. It's not even a Pinus species. Wonderful wood, but very different. Slash Pine (southern yellow pine to the yanks) is very resinous. It is plantation grown in QLD.
    My best source for fatwood was from the heart of Radiata Pine, that CanBeDone is referring to. It is usually only found in timber squares, 90x90,100x100, which typically are sawn from the heart of the log. In saying that, those pieces with large resin veins or deposits are culled out in the grading process, and directed toward very low grade end uses, ala gluts and pallet making material. Radiata pallets are a good place to find 'pitch pine'. As are 'peeler core' gluts, used extensively by CHH plywood mills. Try looking/bribing at plywood distributors in Brisbane for these gluts. They are distinctive, being about 100mm rounds, with 2 sawn faces, always heart centre. Hope this helps. I'm happy to look in my area for you. I checked the workshop this arvo, and not a bit of fatwood to be found! Cheers

    Jim in Shoalhaven Heads, NSW

  15. The Following User Says Thank You to Beserkleyboy For This Useful Post:

    Drew1966 (May 14, 2020)

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •