Fatwood

[Drew1966]

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”.

[desbromilow]

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?

[Beserkleyboy]

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

[Drew1966]

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.

[FEM2008]

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.

[TrickieDickie]

When I was a kid "lighter pine" or "fat wood" was easy to find but damn rare now.

[Drew1966]

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.

[CanBeDone]

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!

[Drew1966]

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.

[Beserkleyboy]

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