Fat Wood

**crashdive123** · 06-17-2012, 09:20 PM

The wood I was splitting last week was mostly camphor. It is without a doubt the most difficult wood I have split to date. I did have a few pieces of pine as well. One piece that was about 2 feet in diameter had a streak of resin that ran the length and was about 6 inches wide. I've used fat wood (or lighter knot, fat lighter, etc.) quite a bit, but this stuff was dripping with resin. Just about like using gasoline to start a fire - somehow it doesn't seem fair.

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**SQWERL** · 06-17-2012, 10:29 PM

Is it weird that made me drool a little?

thats pretty awesome!

**Rick** · 06-18-2012, 06:03 AM

Ha! That's funny I don't care who you are. We are a bit zombie like when it comes to woodsy stuff aren't we? Ooooooh. Fatwooood.

Nice find, Crash. That's some good stuff.

**hunter63** · 06-18-2012, 11:19 AM

Wow, man, that like some good shut, man.....

That really is some awsome fat wood.

**Old GI** · 06-18-2012, 12:52 PM

Yep, oooohhh fatwood is right. But, fatwood that looks somewhat like bacon?????????

**1stimestar** · 06-18-2012, 02:04 PM

Mmmm bacon.

**finallyME** · 06-18-2012, 03:00 PM

That's what happens when you feed your tree too many twinkies. Did I say that out loud?

**Rick** · 06-18-2012, 04:47 PM

My tree is just fine, thank you.

**hunter63** · 06-19-2012, 01:48 PM

Those pieces seem to have a nice straight grain... easier to split.......Most of my last batch a brought back from Louisiana...the pieces rich in resin were mostly knots, works well, just hard to split.

Nice find.

**Daniel Nighteyes** · 06-21-2012, 01:31 PM

Originally Posted by hunter63

Those pieces seem to have a nice straight grain... easier to split.......Most of my last batch a brought back from Louisiana...the pieces rich in resin were mostly knots, works well, just hard to split.

Nice find.

Lighter knots make good torches, but otherwise they are very difficult to work with.

SWMBO and I once owned a house in South Alabama that was built in 1903. The primary timbers were heart-pine that, though not lighter-grade, were still way too much for the local termites to tackle. They'd go for the later stuff, but steered well clear of the main timbers. As a result, our li'l' ol' doubled-barreled shotgun house (so-named because it had TWO sets of rooms going straight back from the street) was as solid as if it had been built on a concrete slab.

Yet another chapter from the "More Than You Ever Wanted to Know" book...

-- Nighteyes

[Heh-heh-heh!]

**hunter63** · 06-21-2012, 01:59 PM

Had a job, drilling vent hole thru some of this old pine foundation timbers in a house that was built in like 1840 or so.

Showed up to lend a hand on an install, between service calls.

Those timbers were 20" thick.....the 3" hole saw would just get gummed up with sap, and have to be washed off with kerosene they sprayed with WD-40.....and yeah I did save the plugs or what we called, 'round-2its" for fat wood.......I was amazed that it hadn't dried out after all those years.

**Daniel Nighteyes** · 06-21-2012, 02:11 PM

Originally Posted by hunter63

Had a job, drilling vent hole thru some of this old pine foundation timbers in a house that was built in like 1840 or so.

Showed up to lend a hand on an install, between service calls.

Those timbers were 20" thick.....the 3" hole saw would just get gummed up with sap, and have to be washed off with kerosene they sprayed with WD-40.....and yeah I did save the plugs or what we called, 'round-2its" for fat wood.......I was amazed that it hadn't dried out after all those years.

So you KNOW what I was talking about... thanks! [BTW, our former home is still standing proud, and solid...]

**hunter63** · 06-21-2012, 02:59 PM

Those plugs I cut out looked like crashes posted examples.......It was so thick with sap it would drag down a Hilti hammer drill,..... Big one.....the size that says on the box, "Do not open, you are already in trouble thinking about using this"

**Daniel Nighteyes** · 06-21-2012, 04:11 PM

Originally Posted by hunter63

...It was so thick with sap it would drag down a Hilti hammer drill,..... Big one.....the size that says on the box, "Do not open, you are already in trouble thinking about using this"