# fatwood from rdnkmedic



## phinds (Aug 19, 2013)

After some discussion of fatwood in anther thread, Kevin kindly sent me some pieces. Here's what I put on the site with them, and a couple of pics. They are in the "pine, heart" page and have bigger enlargements there ( http://hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/pine,%20heart.htm )

There was a discussion about "fatwood" on the WoodBarter forum and as I had not heard the term before, several of the guys pitched in to help cure my ignorance (well, in this case, anyway. I've still got plenty left). Fatwood is a term for any pine that is so saturated with resin that it burns like crazy. Splinters of the stuff are used as kindling because it burns like a candle. 

Although fatwood CAN be any pine (that is saturated with resin), it is often from heart pine, and there are also a whole group of at least 8 different pine species that have the common name "resin pine" and that can qualify as fatwood. None of the woods that CAN be fatwood, necessarily ARE fatwood; it's a matter of the resin content. 

Kevin Harralson generously contributed the following pieces of fatwood. I don't know that they are heart pine, but since (1) fatwood can be ANY pine, really, and (2) heart pine is one of the fairly common species that can be fatwood, I've put it here. Actually, I'm also just being lazy because Kevin also contributed some heart pine pieces and I figured I'd just put this fatwood here on the same page as those. 

These pieces are so impregnated with resin that they felt sticky to the touch after I sanded them, and they clogged up the sanding belt something fierce, so I only sanded them with 60 grit and then 100 grit. These pieces were cut out from some larger pieces that had a lot of weathered rough ends and edges and looked like they were salvaged from Kevin's burn box. They prorated out to 67lbs/cuft, which for pine is just amazing. 

[attachment=29593]

[attachment=29594]


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## rdnkmedic (Aug 19, 2013)

That's enough fat lighter to start a lot of fires. It doesn't take much. Burns really hot with black smoke. Those pieces actually came off of a stump in my yard. The stump is probably 30 inches across and it is solid fat lighter.


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## barry richardson (Aug 19, 2013)

I can smell them from here!


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## Kevin (Aug 19, 2013)

I had never heard of it before either. Now Mike Mills is asking about "fat lighter" which is the same thing apparently. Learnt me somethin already today I can go to bed now.


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## Mike1950 (Aug 19, 2013)

Another point about "fat wood"- In my neck of the wood giant ponderosa pines get very high resin content in stumps and roots. If it gets very dry and you have a large fire that stump will burn into the ground- they are to be avoided until a winter has passed. People have been known to get burnt (or worse) falling in to what appears to be solid ground. Walking through a burnt area after it winters it is amazing how large some of the holes are where one of these stumps burnt into ground..........


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## mammoth (Dec 11, 2013)

Heart Pine is not a species of tree. Heart simply refers to the heart of the tree, like most trees have. ie, pith is in the center, then heartwood, then sapwood. Here in the southeast, heart pine is as common as dirt. It is much more resilliant to rot and insect infestation than the sapwood and was often used in homebuilding. It was also part of a huge industry in naval stores and wooden shipbuilding prior to the demise of the Longleaf Pine. I removed the sapwood from a 40" section of felled pine and now have a 30" section of highly resenous heartpine. If you slice a piece about 1/4" and hold it up to a light the light will shine through! I once saw a hundred year old front door panel with a resin pocket that let the sunshine in. Awesome stuff.


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## phinds (Dec 11, 2013)

mammoth said:


> Heart Pine is not a species of tree. Heart simply refers to the heart of the tree ...


 
While I mostly agree w/ that, it's actually a bit more complicated. There's a write-up about it on my site.


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