Harvesting Red Gum (Australians Only :P)

[Twignberry]

A win for the Aussie pyro's and one less chem I need to purchase from pyro suppliers . I thought I would post up my findings in the hope that it helps out another Aussie pyro or interests the rest of you to know where it comes from.

 

According to my research, the entire worlds supply of Red Gum (yacca or accroides) comes from just Kangaroo Island. Not to be confused with the kino of the eucalyptus tree "Red Gum", Yacca actually comes from the Xanthorrhoea family of plants. The old fashioned name we call them is "Black Boys", or the more politically correct name "Grass Tree". They look a little like this and grow EVERYWHERE in Aus

 

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p132/rangaz/Red%20Gum/IMG_4822_zpsbwbwxr9f.jpg

 

The exact species that grows on Kangaroo Island isn't available to me but I had read somewhere that it was sometimes sourced from the mainland so I figured, may as well give these ones a shot. Not knowing where the gum was actually collected from, I went to take a closer look and found these.

 

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p132/rangaz/Red%20Gum/IMG_4824_zpse0uodttl.jpg

 

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p132/rangaz/Red%20Gum/IMG_4825_zpsarfkboqu.jpg

 

They look a bit like puss oozing out of the tree but are hard and brittle like glass. There are usually a good number of smaller ones that look like roo droppings on the ground around the base of the tree as well

 

The resin resembles thick molasses if you place it in boiling water and it was only the more charred trees that had the nodules so I figure it must flow as it is heated during bushfires. The resin seems to act as a glue to hold the leaf bases together.

 

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p132/rangaz/Red%20Gum/IMG_4823_zps1dadbjk3.jpg

 

Quite often, the transplanted trees tend to die, and as they do, the trunk crumples to reveal the individual leaf bases. When crushed, you can see that they hold the red gum as well but I'm not sure yet how to efficiently separate the outer shell from the gum powder inside or if its even necessary to..... More tests to come

 

When I had a closer look at my course ground commercial sample, it seemed to have a few pieces of the shells from the leaf bases in it and all my comps have worked perfectly

 

From a quick 5 minutes, carefully wiggling the nodules so as not to damage the tree, I had 160 grams worth

 

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p132/rangaz/Red%20Gum/IMG_4828_zpst7xkqqgp.jpg

 

With a bit of help from the mortar and pestle, it was easily reduced down to a size for the coffee grinder

 

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p132/rangaz/Red%20Gum/IMG_4829_zpsurunkevj.jpg

 

And after a bit of blade milling, it was ready for use

 

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p132/rangaz/Red%20Gum/IMG_4830_zpskgllufss.jpg

 

I don't have video of it, but I did a quick powder composition test 80:20 Ba(ClO3)2 : DIY Red Gum and got a beautiful, easily ignitable and consistent burning green flame.

 

So it seems it is that easy. Going for a stroll down any bushwalk could easily yield a few kg's in a hour, especially if there has recently been a bushfire or controlled burn.

[MrW]

Twig good to hear, I got my supply from SA (the main supplier) for a reasonable cost for I think 20kgs shipped (saved me the hassle of walking around the bush at my house).

Just a word of caution on milling it, from what I have been told by woodworkers is that the fine dust/resin causes major lung issues... Just what I have been told.

[Exo]

Hi Twignberry,

Thanks for the great info,I will keep an eye open for it when go for my next bush walk.

Cheers from S.A.

[MrB]

Just a word of caution on milling it, from what I have been told by woodworkers is that the fine dust/resin causes major lung issues... Just what I have been told.

 

This is true for every kind of powdered substance that the body cant break down, and transport away. Use a mask. And i don't mean the stupid "1 use" pant supply rubbish ones. Get a real one. You generally don't need the activated charcoal filters, and that gives the "extra bonus" that you don't really need to replace them that often.

B!

[Shunt]

Thanks for the post Twig! Nice pics and details of the harvest.

 

You got me to thinking about all the yellow pine trees that pretty much do the same thing here in the eastern USA. I know pine charcoal is good for pyro comps, but never thought about harvesting the resin as you have done. It is amazing how pyros can do so much with so little as it was done in the old days.

[stix]

Thanks for the great info Twigs. I always assumed it came from the standard river red gum.

I'll have to keep an eye out.

 

Cheers.

[pyrokid]

Thanks for the post Twig! Nice pics and details of the harvest.

 

You got me to thinking about all the yellow pine trees that pretty much do the same thing here in the eastern USA. I know pine charcoal is good for pyro comps, but never thought about harvesting the resin as you have done. It is amazing how pyros can do so much with so little as it was done in the old days.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulverized_Vinsol_resin

 

I use this stuff as a 1:1 substitute for red gum, and it works very well. It seems that many of these natural resins have similar properties, at least for our purposes.

[Shunt]

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulverized_Vinsol_resin

 

I use this stuff as a 1:1 substitute for red gum, and it works very well. It seems that many of these natural resins have similar properties, at least for our purposes.

 

Thanks for the link pyrokid. I will collect some and see what I can do with it on my next 'walkabout' as our clever friends down under say

[MWJ]

Very interesting, thanks for the info. I live in the US but this information is nice to know.

[Blacknightpyro]

Hello there twig was just wondering from where abouts you abouts you managed to find Ba(ClO3)2 ?

And any other tips or pointers to where you managed to find chems as my main supplier diverse hobbies has closed

Cheers BNP

from one Aussie to another ! SA rep

[Twignberry]

Hey Mate,

 

PM sent, short answer you can't, have to make it

[MadMat]

Thanks for the info Twig! I'm not in Australia, but it was interesting nonetheless.

Shunt, as far as pine resin goes I'm sure there are possible uses in pyro. I've seen Alpha-turpineol used as a thinner/binder in screen-printable conductor inks in the electronics industry. Hmm... I think I see some interesting experimentation in the near future

[Peret]

Pine resin is also known as "colophony resin". There are a few formulae in Shimizu but it's not a common ingredient. Powdering it is extremely difficult because of its low melting point. I have heard of it being done by melting it with an equal amount of common salt, chilling and powdering the mixture, and then dissolving out the salt with water. Seems like a lot of work, and getting rid of the last traces of sodium would be very difficult.

[sora]

I wonder if Shorea Robusta tree resins can replace red gum in some compositions at least. That tree grows profusely in many parts of India and commonly known as the "Sal tree" The resin is not very expensive and can be pulverized and sieved to yield a very fine powder. Mostly used in making incense sticks, I came across a few archaic pyro compositions containing the resin. It was mostly used in fountains and some KC based compositions where it replaced sulfur.

Edited November 24, 2015 by sora

[Mumbles]

Seems like it's worth a shot. It sounds sticky and has similar properties to red gum or shellac. Let us know if you try it out.

[Maserface]

Cool! If nothing else you can rub it on your string to help hold knots

[sumagg27]

Red gum,shellac,vinsol resin,pine resin is same/similar properties but some one know about lac resin(sorry for poor English). here is lots of shellac & lac.

[Mumbles]

Lac resin and shellac are the same thing as far as I know. Well at least shellac is the final refined product from harvesting it. Are you asking about the less pure intermediately refined states?

[lexelpet]

thanks for the info. will definately look into this

[stix]

lexelpet, as suggested above, Redgum is NOT a requirement. There are many alternatives these days.

Edited December 19, 2018 by stix