Pinion pine pitch

[Chris Daigle]

Chuck, thanks a lot for the info. Thanks for the Cajun comparison as well.
But, I've never burned a roux in my life. No idea what you mean.

Chris

[Chuck Burrows]

Hey I never burned one either! But splatter that stuff on you and I sear it will burn you the bone Gar on teed! :evil

[MaxTheKnife]

I sure can Chris. Chuck will be posting a few pics for me here directly and that will make it much easier to get the idea. As soon as that pitch came I headed to the shop with it. I picked out about 1/2 pound of lumps and put them in my clean cutler's resin pan and melted it down. There's a fair amount of trash in this pitch because of the nature of the bugs doing the damage that cause the pitch to run in the first place. I found bunch of sawdust from those critters munching on the tree in that small pan of pitch, along with a variety of other stuff as well. After I strained it through an old screen wire sieve the trash shaped up to be about the size of a hens egg. And I got about a 4 - 6 oz. hunk of clean pitch from the process. I filtered it into a chili can and after it cooled in my dip bucket by the grinder I peeled the can off of it. An aluminum soda can would have worked better.

Anyway, I took a pic of the pitch in the bucket and one with a collage of pitch as well to help explain what I just explained above. A pic is worth a thousand words and all that. This is nice, hard pitch after setting up. And sticky.... Oh man! Don't get none on you unless you want to wear it off. I guess if I'd cooked it down a bit more after filtering it would set up even harder and not get soft sitting in the sun. But I'm telling you this stuff is great. It has a wonderful smell, especially when some drips on the heating coils of my little counter top burner.

Now some of this pitch will be a bit on the soft side. It'll just take a bit more cooking down is all. To get rid of the moisture and help it set up harder. Now I'm thinking that if a fellow left that trash in the pitch it would make a pretty fair aggregate to help it bind better and stay more flexible. But that's just thinking out loud. I'll write more after the pics show up. I'm sure Chuck has a life and many more important things to do than post pics for me. Thanks Chuck. I appreciate it old buddy.

[MaxTheKnife]

Oops, I must have cross posted with Chuck. Or maybe I was trapped in a time warp and abducted by aliens. That happened once before and I was gone for three days but it seemed like only 5 minutes. 0]

Now, the first pic is just the bucket of pitch. Pretty rough stuff. Just like it was found on the ground and on the trees. It's been washed like I said earlier and it's still a bit damp.

The second pic shows a pile of about 1/2 pound of raw pitch, a lump of filtered and molded pitch and a clod of the stuff that was left over. Now that little clod of stuff will make a mighty nice fire starter and that's for sure and for certain. And it would be a real good addition to your tinder box too if you cut it up into little slivers or chunks. Since I used the straining seive I was able to use a big craft type popsickle stick tounge depresser thing to mash out the last little bit of pitch. I used a heat gun to keep that trash pile hot enough to extract that last little dab. It wasn't much but I figger it was worth the extra effort. I love fooling with pitch. My whole shop smells like a pine forest!

[Chuck Burrows]

And sticky.... Oh man! Don't get none on you unless you want to wear it off.

Turpentine or acetone will cut it eenough to get it off.

Now I'm thinking that if a fellow left that trash in the pitch it would make a pretty fair aggregate to help it bind better and stay more flexible. But that's just thinking out loud.

You must have been thinking REAL loud (or maybe it was the aliens ?????? - because I was thinking the same thing - worth experimenting with anyway.

[Chris Daigle]

Chuck, I lied. I burned my first one. My mom had a real good laugh at that. True Cajun napalm though! :evil

Max, thanks for the detailed info on your stuff. Like I said, if any is left over, I'd appreciate a crack at some.

Chris

[MaxTheKnife]

I don't see a problem with not having enough Chris. It all depends on how much luck Mr. Supplier has on his pitch picking next week. He has a few neighbors that are 'pitching' in to help. He he. So there should be another bucket of pitch showing up late next week or soon thereafter.

Chuck, I think if a fellow was to make up a little heavy bladed spatula type thing he could chop that trash up pretty uniformly while it was melting down and it would be a welcome addition to the mix. That lump of trash in the pic is hard and weighs probably about 2 ounces and in reality would be fine for packing into a hidden tang handle for securing it all together. It cools down pretty fast though so a fellow would have to put on a hustle and have all his stuff right there ready to go. Sort of like when you use epoxy.

I forgot to mention the soft pitch he sent along with the bucket of hard pitch. It's just a little dab he wanted me to look at and see if I could come up with any uses for it just like it is or melted or whatever. I have. It would work great for sticking photos into a photo album. You know, just pinch off a tiny dab and stick a small piece on each corner of the photo and stick it to the album paper. Or you could use it to make neotribal sticky notes. And I think it even has potential for leather glue as long as the leather isn't damp from casing. It's much cleaner in appearance than the hard stuff. I don't know why particularly. It reminds me in its texture of play dough. Or remember that magic silly putty from like a hundred years ago. Smash it out and stick it to the newspaper and read the words backerds. Like that stuff.

And he also sent along a few incense sticks of pinon pine incense. I don't know who made it but I feel sure it was made on one reservation or another. Or possibly by his neighbor lady friend. I'm not sure why he sent it since he's a man of few words unless you get him to talk about his true profession. This guy is brilliant in his field of study. I'd rather not say what it is because he's a very private person and I respect his priveledge in that respect. I can tell you all that I'm honored by his dealings with me and for us all. I rekon when he's ready he'll chime in here and say howdy. Or not. That's totally up to him. I'm liking this whole situation though. I can tell you that much. Anyway, I'll shut my pie hole and get back to work. Ask all the questions you can think of and I'll answer them if I can.

[prizzim]

So, are you ready to ship for those who piped up early? And how much will shipping be?

[MaxTheKnife]

Chris, I'm going to be working on dividing up the pitch and getting it ready for shipping for most of the day today. I don't know about the shipping costs yet but I figure for the smaller orders it will be a standard $3.95 for priority mail. Just a guess. Once I ship the packages out I'll know what the shipping will be and I'll either send an email to each person I ship to or post it here. Maybe both, just to be sure folks don't get left out of the loop. Fair enough? If all else fails, when you get the pitch you will see the shipping cost on the shipping label and you can send payment then. My return address will be on the package. I'm just trying to keep it simple for all concerned. I rekon that's about the easiest way I could work things.

As far as shipping, as I said earlier, I think it would be best to wait till I get the second bucket (or at least confirmation that it's coming) so I can be sure all the orders can be filled before I ship the pitch out. But I will go ahead and divide it up now, starting with the first orders I got. If Mr. Supplier sends me an email assuring me the rest of the pitch is available and or on its way, I'll go ahead and ship the first orders out. He's very good about communication so that means that I'd probably be shipping the first orders out around Wednesday or Thursday of this week. I just want to be sure that everyone gets what they ordered.

Now, it looks like I'll have to chop the bigger hunks up in order to get as close to the weight as I can for each order. Some of these hunks are very large, up to 6 ounces. I have an accurate kitchen scale that I'll use to weigh out each order. It's going to be a long drawn out process, but fun for me at the same time. And there you go. I'll post more later, after I know more about how many orders I can get packed today.

[prizzim]

Cool beans, Max. You da man.

[MaxTheKnife]

Ok, well that didn't take as long as I thought. And I was right. It was fun!

The first bucket worth is all packed up ready for shipment to the following and in the following amounts. This will give me a way to check myself out and see that I've kept everything straight. Yes, it's that much of a challenge for me to keep things straight.

So far, I've packed up these six orders. They were the first six to come in according to the date and time stamp on my email headers. I will ship them out tomorrow unless the aliens come back for me tonight. In that case I'll have to wait till Thursday. 0]

Larry Kemp - 5 pounds
Chuck Wild Rose - 3 pounds
Chad Wilt - 5 pounds
Paul Harm - 2 pounds
Mark Williams - 5 pounds
Christopher Price - 5 pounds

That leaves exactly one pound of raw pitch and the stuff I melted down and strained for the pics. Hey, that's my booby prize and I'll pay full price for it. The one pound will be left to combine with the next bucket full. There are still 28 pounds worth of orders to be filled (Chris Daigle, that includes you but I still need your address) and they will all come out of the next bucket of pitch. There is still one person (besides Chris Daigle) who hasn't verified their order by emailing me their address. This isn't a brow beating, just a reminder for WILLIAM T. KRAUTKRAMER. I sure want you to get your pitch William. No addressy, no pitchy. He he.

Now, here's a list of all the orders yet to be filled. If you don't find your name here and know for a fact that I'm full of bull manure then now's the time to make your peace. This list is in the order I recieved them.

Chris Daigle - 3 pounds (need address)
Dale Chudzinski - 5 pounds
Mike Todd - 4 pounds
William T. Krautkramer - 4 pounds (need address)
Bobby Keller - 3 pounds
Michael Matthews - 3 pounds
Guy Thomas - 3 pounds
Dana the wild man Acker - 3 pounds.

Ok, so the total is 28 pounds. We'll just have to hope Mr. Supplier stomps that pitch down and gets that bucket plumb full this time. I know he'll do his best. So if anyone doesn't see their name on the list of the ones yet to be packed for shipment, please email me or bust my chops right here and now and lets get it worked out before the hammer drops. That's all I have for now.

[Chris Daigle]

Yeah, I guess my address would have helped huh??
Hey, I was just gonna ask one of those aliens to deliver it on their way through Texas. You've got mail Max.

Chris

[MaxTheKnife]

Got it Chris! You're now off the peckerwood list.

[MaxTheKnife]

Oh yeah, I shouldn't really have to say this. But I'm bound to so here it goes. This whole pitch deal is working on the honor system. I'm trusting each and every one of you to send the money for the pitch and shipping, at least once you get your pitch if nothing else. I'm shouldering the expense of the shipping until I get your check and Mr. Supplier is shouldering the expense of the raw pitch until I get him paid. However, the only one to get stiffed in this deal will be me. I set it up that way on purpose because I'm the middle man and the one to make this offer here. Mr. Supplier deserves his money no matter who has to pay him.

Now, most of you regulars know me pretty well. I'm fairly predictable and definately one to speak my mind. If anyone deliberately stiffs me it won't be the end of the world. They make money every day and I'll find a way to make it right to Mr. Supplier. But since there are some names on the order list that I don't recognize, I just want everyone involved in this pitch deal to know how things will go if there is a problem about the $$ once the pitch is delivered. If there's a legitimate financial problem, no real problem. I'm an understanding guy. I've had financial problems my ownself. But if anyone deliberately stiffs me for Mr. Suppliers rightful due, I'll do what I can to make your life misreable. I'll smear your name all over this forum and any others that I'm a member of. The entire internet if I can find a way. It will only be the truth as I know it, but I will spread the word, and you can take that to the bank. This is alot like a knife in the hat kind of deal. Personally, I don't think there will be a problem. But I had to verbalize my thoughts on the situation since I'm going out on a limb here. Please don't take this information the wrong way. Those who know me will know where I'm coming from. I'm just saying I'll deal with any unfavorable situation in whatever way I see fit. There will be no place for you to hide. Sorry, but that's the truth of it.

On the other hand, I trust you folks here a great deal. And I know there won't be a problem. And this little pitch deal could set the stage for many other deals like this in the future for all concerned. We are a community of like minded people here and we all should be able to benefit from the fruits of each others labor. It would be very easy for each of us to come up with a unique product that all could benefit from and trade or sell it right here at the outpost. Just something to think aobut in these current hard times. No one should have to face financial hard times with this wonderful tool we have in the Outpost to share our talents and unique products we can bring here. Did I step over the line this time Dana? You know me. I just have to say what I think. All discussion is welcome.

One other thing and I'll quit. Once I start shipping the pitch out, I'll start a new thread titled: PITCH SHIPMENTS. This thread will be a way for you to check when your pitch was sent out and give you a loose idea of when to expect it. It will also give you the green flag to send me the greenbacks. I'll post all the totals in that thread to make it easy for you. If I have time I'll also still send you an email. In fact, I will strive to do both like I said earlier. I appreciate all of your cooperation so far and look forward to all of your reactions about how this pitch works out for you. It's wonderful stuff, make no mistake. I'll shut my pie hole now.

[Chris Daigle]

No line was crossed as far as I'm concerned Max. You don't know me from Adam, but others in the Outpost do. As far as I'm concerned, if I stiff you over a few pounds of pitch, you have the right to string me up!

I look forward to using a little of the stuff.

Chris