Building a Spruce Bark Canoe - E5 - How to make Spruce Gum Pitch

[@MaineMotman]

I love seeing the spruce root lashing!

[@Haphagurd]

Dang man what a recipe. You are going full bore into the love it! Stoked to see it embark

[@badgoy8439]

Just the video I needed. I want to build a pirogue with only basic, natural materials. This glue recipe might be the missing piece.

[@TeacherSBD]

Another very interesting video. Your filtering technique is amazing.

[@NomadicWoodsman]

Merci ! C'est la même technique de filtration que dans le vidéo de cesar et son canot d'ecorce :)

[@TheSereiaM]

I will never do something like this but it is nice to learn and see . The lake view is perfect 👋

[@NomadicWoodsman]

Thank you ! It is indeed an ambitious project, not for everyone to do but I thought it interesting to share. thanks for watching my friend !

[@natureboreale4709]

Super intéressant, tu as très bien expliqué la façon d'évaluer la consistance de la gomme, ça me donne presque le goût de m'en préparer une batch, très pratique pour plusieurs projets. J'en ai déjà fait en ajoutant du charcoal, mais ça demeurait un peu cassant quand même.

[@NomadicWoodsman]

Oh oui !? je ne savais pas est ce que tu l'avais filtré aussi et ajouté de la graisse ?? :) Merci !

[@natureboreale4709]

Dans la recette il n'y avait pas de graisse, c'était un mélange de 50% gomme d'épinette filtrée et 50% d'un mélange de charcoal et fibres (genre le pollen qu'on retrouve dans la tête de quenouilles) sans plus de précision sur la quantité de fibres. Mais cette recette sert plus à joindre des pièces de bois sans qu'on recherche nécessairement une flexibilité.

[@NomadicWoodsman]

Oh oui est-ce que ça collait bien ? Je dois faire plus de test avec le charbon. Je me demande qu'est ce qu'il y a dans le charbon de bois qui réagi avec la gomme ? La graisse ça me semble plus logique comme effet. :)

[@natureboreale4709]

Oui ç'est un bon liant. Je crois que le charbon évite que ce soit trop collant et la fibre sert d'agent agglomérant pour ne pas que ça casse ou s'effrite trop facilement.

[@danybeauchemin2157]

Tu travails vraiment bien. Merci bcq du partage. A+ 😊

[@NomadicWoodsman]

Merci beaucoup Dany !!

[@chadweissert6858]

Awesome man, thanks so much for sharing.

[@NomadicWoodsman]

Thanks for watching! Feel free to share, I appreciate your support ! Have a nice day, Steve

[@jeepinjohnny2898]

Yo - NW. Sure enjoyed your video making spruce sap sealer. Thanks (from texas)

[@NomadicWoodsman]

Thanks !

[@timothylongmore7325]

Hey nomad another year gone by and I'm back for review. My knees are working again and I'm scouting spruce tree for root and gum. I've made a stem form and roughed out stock for three stems. My search for bark goes on.

[@NomadicWoodsman]

I should send you some big bark roll my friend ! I started cutting my new ribs for the next canoe and cut some nice birch as well for the thwarts. I am using table saw mostly and some friends helps so couldn't film much, but I'll try to do a little something for you. I am softening the one hide today, finally some warmer weather for projects here !

[@timothylongmore7325]

@@NomadicWoodsman Cool. Quick question. I roughed out my stem stock. It was split about a year ago so it's probably 90% dry. Should i soak them for a week or so before splitting the laminate? I'll definately use hot water to bend them. What do think? Oh yeah, first calf today. Found it laying in the mud , stuck under a fence rail. Thought it was dead. It wasn't just hypothermic , wet and week. Filmed a little after I got back to mum. 300 yards away laying down resting. Long story short she seems fine and I'm going to document her progress. Been filming a cowhide I'm doing Nomad/Badine style. Come to think of it , it's the grandmother to the calf I saved today. Circle of life brother. hakuna matata

[@NomadicWoodsman]

@@timothylongmore7325 mmmm for your stem piece, you can split it either dry or wet. If the grain is straight you can split dollowing that grain easily either wet or dry. If the grain isnt straight you can cheat and make some straight knife cuts and the splits will/should follow those knife marks. Important part is to soak it for a week after it is split. After that week, you boil it or pour boiling water over it for a good 5 to 10 minutes. Then if it soaked, and boiled long enough it should bend like a charm for you and you can bend it and put it in either a frame or tie it together, either or.

[@timothylongmore7325]

@@NomadicWoodsman Thanks. These sticks are about as good as they get. It's the only good log I could find and these are the best out of it. In the same area there are many small dead cedar. Im going to harvest some. I took one last year and sawed it. Have done anything with it yet but I think I can make gunnels from them. I ran across a guy who had two hundred 10 ' posts , white cedar he was selling for $1 dollar each. I just gave him all my money for some t&g flooring. He sold them before i could swing it. They were old but many looked pretty clear.

[@manon6361]

Merci pour le partage, je n'ai pas bien compris, qu'utilise-tu comme gras ?

[@NomadicWoodsman]

Merci pour vos commentaires ! Le gras utilisé ici est simplement du lard ou graisse végétale ''crisco''. Parfois je mélange également avec du beurre ou avec des restants de graisse de bacon. À l'époque tout gras animalier pouvaient être utiisé donc graisse d'ours, castor, etc. Il faut simplement la fondre avec le mélange et atteindre la bonne consistence avec le test, donc pas trop de graisse(trop liquide) mais assez que ce ne soit pas craquant.

[@manon6361]

@@NomadicWoodsman super merci !

[@wendykevin8550]

Pretty good

[@NomadicWoodsman]

Thank you !

[@stauffap]

Didn't they add charcoal dust and plant fibres in this? Those materials are easier to find and you could probably get more glue from the same amount of resin.

[@NomadicWoodsman]

Yes some nations did, some didn't. Depends on personal preference and what texture you are going for. Thanks for checking my channel out !

[@MaineMotman]

Are those spruce red, white or black spruce? It looks alot like ours in maine. The invasive Norway spruce, old ones, secreate baseball sized gobs, sometimes out of living branches. Hot hot summer days it seems to pump the stuff out. It seems to be inbetween pine resin and our native spruce.

[@NomadicWoodsman]

Hi these would be mostly white spruce gum. Picea Glauca. I find it has nice soft gum and works well. I'm sure Norway spruce gum would also work for this application, especially if you can collect a large quantity fairly quickly ! Thanks, Steve (sorry for late reply !)

[@MaineMotman]

@NomadicWoodsman no problem, thanks for the reply. Its hard to gather knowledge on this subject sometimes. Lol, Thanks again man!

[@MaineMotman]

Black spruce?

[@NomadicWoodsman]

A mix of white and black spruce in the mix.

[@yannickpaduano]

Est ce qu’il y a un meilleur temps dans l’année pour récolter la gomme d’épinette? Aussi, l’écorce de bouleau on parle bien du bouleau blanc? (Bouleau à papier), car il y à plusieurs sortes de bouleau.. dernière question: j’ai voulu faire un test sur un bouleau blanc pour enlever l’écorce. C’était pratiquement impossible. L’écorce déchirait toujours car elle ne s’enlevait pas. Elle était trop collante contrairement à ce qu’on voit sur les vidéo. Maintenant je sais que tu en a récolté l’hiver. Est-il possible que mars soit un mauvais mois pour retirer l’écorce d’un bouleau.. merci d’avance

[@NomadicWoodsman]

Oui, c'est l'écorce du bouleau blanc seulement. Bouleau blanc Betula papyrifera. Il faut retirer l'écorce pendant l'été quand il a beaucoup de sève dans l'arbre avec la photosynthèse des feuilles qui est active, genre Juin et Juillet. C'est là que le plus facile à enlever. Il faut faire une incision comme dans mes vidéos. Gomme d'épinette ca ne derange pas tu ramasse n'importe quand.

[@trailtrashoutdoors8173]

What was the purpose in the lard being added? I understand that its to keep from cracking but was wondering why...also, Does this resin have a shelf life or anything?

[@NomadicWoodsman]

It is just like a food recipe, it takes the dry brittleness out. As shown in the demo you see the difference between with lard and with not enough lard. A better sealant with the lard. The resin is indefinite shelf life as far as I know. Just keep in cool, dry place. :)

[@trailtrashoutdoors8173]

@@NomadicWoodsman sounds like you really cant go wrong! What happens if you us too much lard?

[@alainlefebvre9860]

Watching the video, was wondering if I could substitute bacon grease for the lard. A few seconds later you answered my question. Great video. I have about 1/2 liter of resin in a can. Has a glass consistency. I should be able to melt it down again and add fat, right. No particular use for it, just for fun. BTW, I use the leftover guck to start my charcoal BBQ. Works great. Another BTW.... the fumes are very toxic. Avoid breathing that in. I learned that lesson the hard way! Thanks again!!

[@NomadicWoodsman]

@@alainlefebvre9860 yes you can melt it again and add lard. Add some slowly and test it out for proper proportipns. Main thing when you re heat it, is to go slow and low with the heat and avoid over cooking it or burning it. Use small burner or light coals on fire. Not roaring fire, as you said watch out cause it is super flamable too(as you know !). Thanks so much for watching. Next video i post is on how to harvest a big birch bark roll for a canoe. Subscribe if you wish ! Have a gpod evening, Steve

[@alainlefebvre9860]

@@NomadicWoodsman thanks for the reply. Will try out the lard or bacon grease, thanks. Just subscribed and I look forward to checking out your other videos!

[@yannickpaduano]

Salut Nomwoods!!! J'ai vraiment été inspiré par ta fabrication de canoe en écorce à l'amérindienne. Je me suis fait la promesse d'en faire un d'ici quelques année. Mon été est déjà remplie de projet aussi palpitant. Dis-moi pour ce qui est du pitch, est ce que tu pourrais me dire une estimation de quantité de gomme versus le gras. Aussi, est-ce que tu te sers uniquement que de gomme d'épinette. J'ai remarqué que tu ne mets pas de charbon. Sens-tu que tu devrais en mettre? Est ce que ton mélange semble tenir et être hydrofuge. Maintenant pour la construction du canoe. Je veux juste m'assurer d'avoir bien compris. Le fond du canoë à l'intérieur est en cèdre fendu cela je l'ai bien compris, mais les "ribs" et les gunwells sont ils aussi en cèdre ou sont-ils en bouleau blanc? merci d'avance mmmmalade ton projet.. Yannick Paduano

[@NomadicWoodsman]

Salut merci de ton commentaire ! Les ribs sont également en cèdre. En bouleau ou bois dur c'est les thwarts(traverses) ce sont les 5 planches qui vont de bord en bord du canot et duquel tu a sur le dos pour un portage, ces planches doivent être plus raide pour les portages. Pour la gomme d'épinette, c'est environs 2 cuillères à soupe de lard (crisco, ou beurre ou graisse de bacon) pour un grosse canne de café de gomme d'épinette. À partir de là, tu fais un test comme dans mon vidéo et si ça ''crack'' encore tu rajoute un autre cuillère à soupe de lard. Le best comme gomme d'épinette c'est la gomme d'épinette de l'épinette blanche qui est encore molle et collante sur l'arbre.

[@NomadicWoodsman]

Oh j'ai oublié de le dire, les malécites(maliseet) ne se servaient pas de charbon dans le mixe de gomme d'épinette et ils fabriquaient des canots incroyable. Alors non ce n'est pas nécessaire de rajouter le charbon en petit morceau ... c'est au choix du constructeur.

[@yannickpaduano]

@@NomadicWoodsman est ce que tu sais les années où ils fabriquaient ce genre de canoë.. les années 1500? 1600? 1700? 1800?

[@NomadicWoodsman]

@@yannickpaduano celui en écorce d'epinette est une reproduction d'un canot temporaire de 1895. Edwin Tappan Adneyba fait une maquette en reproduction en 1931. Mon canot est basé sur sa maquette. L'anthropologue Tappan Adney a étudié ces canots em détail fin 1800 debut 1900. Avant cela il a des écrits sur les canots de différents explorateurs ou colonisateur mais ce n'est pas assez détaillé pour reproduire exactement. Il faut aller dans les musé pour coir des canots d'ecorce mais ils sont surtour des années début 1900 je dirais. Mais je ne suis pas un expert mais bien quelqu'un de passionné qui en apprend tout le temps !

[@yannickpaduano]

@@NomadicWoodsman merci beaucoup

[@timothylongmore7325]

Hey nomad hows things in the great white? I had to review your gum method again. I built a model algonquin like I told you a while back. It was a little crude but I think it looks pretty cool. Based on Adneys Algonquin Ancient style model 1/5 scale. Man that guy could make excellant models. I didn't use any fat in the sealer. I was afraid my psycho border collie would eat it if there was any fat. I added just a bit of cave-man hot glue I had man it didn't take much to turn it black. Very brittle though. Not servicable for full size use. I uploaded it as a slide show under Algonquin Birch bark canoe ancient style or look under my name if you want to check it out. I've also done a adirondack pack , a elm bark art vase thingy , restored an estwing hachet with a stacked birch handle and a couple other things. Winter time is great. Got a chaga hunting video to.

[@NomadicWoodsman]

Awesome I will definetly check it out. I do not know how intense your dog is and if it chews everything but, by using lard or crisco, the smell of the spruce pitch over powers the fat. I doubt it would be attracted to eat that, but you never know with dogs... Just put a little bit and then test it out like i did in the video with some cold water. Going to head over to you channel cheers my friend !

[@timothylongmore7325]

@@NomadicWoodsman Yeah good advise. He'd probably chew on it anyways. I think he has an eating disorder lol. Yeah ,i reviewed because I want to try to make some more useable sealer. I dropped the model a couple times and the stuff shattered like glass. I think also I could have thinned it out more if it was more workable. Adneys work was incredible. Building at scale is in many ways more difficult. Up side materials are easier to come by. Being a cheap bastard I saved even the tinyest spruce roots.

[@ColoradoMartini]

Wow that is amazing that you can do this. Where did you learn how to do this. It rocks.

[@NomadicWoodsman]

Books, videos akd my friend François who builds canoes showed me the technique.

[@trailtrashoutdoors8173]

Who would have thought to use croker sack material as a strainer?!?! Great idea and I am sure something that was done by our ancestors!

[@NomadicWoodsman]

Check out this video from 1971, this is where I took this technique from. Who knows where he took it from ! Works great. At 47:04 you see the straining technique with spruce gum. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jIOpdKuudrCUnMU

[@trailtrashoutdoors8173]

@@NomadicWoodsman Bet! Thanks for the link!

[@Mamuttum]

very interesting video, sorry for being late with the comment.

[@NomadicWoodsman]

Thank you ! I hope you enjoyed the whole series on the canoe :)

[@Mamuttum]

I've learned to properly use and process pitch, so really insightful videos, keep up the good work.

[@Makete100]

I heard that by adding charcoal to the pitch also makes it pliable. That is what my ancestors used on their wigwams to seal holes.

[@NomadicWoodsman]

I have not yet tried it with charcoal, I have heard it works well too. Thanks for sharing that is awesome that they used this type of mix on the wigwams :)

[@timothylongmore7325]

I red that somewhere. A lot of tribes used it because you see the black caulk on a lot of canoes.

[@nojremlock6826]

What about the ash ? Will that make it brittle or playable?

[@NomadicWoodsman]

I am not sure, it does give it a more thick consistency almost as a filler. I do not add any personally in my recipe although I know it can be done. Thank you for watching Noj !

[@oorahjoe]

Adding wax also works well to make it pliable

[@timothylongmore7325]

I've heard that. Bees wax I believe. Do you know the ratio? Have you tried it? Oh yeah , paint balls awesome. I used to play when the kids were young. They are grown up and boring but the next gen is on it's way. Time to oil up the gear and change some O rings, lol

[@MaineMotman]

Interesting on adding fat to increase the flexibility of the pitch. I experimented with building a wiki up or wigwam, our native american shelters of maine back when i was 19-21

[@trailtrashoutdoors8173]

So cool what we can craft from mother nature! Here when everything slows down a bit for us I plan on bindging some of your channel on a playlist. Great content man rock on😎🤙 entertaining and I learned something!

[@NomadicWoodsman]

Awesome, glad you enjoyed this one. Spruce gum is very underatted as a glue and as a fire starter I think. It doesn't take that long to gather a large quantity if you are in the right spots. :) Have fun with the playlists ! :)

[@BrookDesHarnais]

Anyone know if pine or other tree sap works just as well?

[@NomadicWoodsman]

If you can find big clumps of it and gather a coffee can of pine sap, i would give it a try ! It will likely work well.

[@mystiekmelody8857]

This is a great, very helpful video! Thank you so much for making it!