How to Make & Use Cedar Pitch Glue

If you are in the wild and need to seal your structure from the elements, you can make and use cedar pitch glue. Pitch glue can be made from the pitch of coniferous trees, some charcoal and dry plant material. A camp fire is needed to produce charcoal and heat the pitch to a boil. Gathering the materials needed to make cedar pitch glue can be more difficult than the actual mixing process. You should make and use cedar pitch glue to seal your structure before you experience bad weather.

Things You'll Need

  • Cedar pitch
  • Charcoal
  • Dry shredded plant material
  • Pot or pan
  • Fire
  • Stick
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Instructions

    • 1

      Gather clumps of cedar pitch. Pitch is used by a cedar tree to heal its wounds. If you can not find a cedar tree oozing pitch from its trunk, make a hole in a cedar tree's trunk and wait for pitch to accumulate. Cedar pitch is the main ingredient in cedar pitch glue so gather as much as you can.

    • 2

      Find and collect shredded natural plant material. Animal droppings are an excellent source of shredded natural plant material. Collect animal droppings for best results or gather dried plant leaves and shred them yourself.

    • 3

      Make a fire. Make a pit and start a fire in the pit using flint, steel and tinder. Strike the steel against the flint over the tinder to create a spark cast off into the tinder. After the tinder ignites, introduce larger flammable objects like dried wood and sticks.

    • 4

      Acquire charcoal from your fire. Once the fire in your pit dies down a bit, gather some charcoal to be mixed with the pitch and plant material.

    • 5

      Heat the cedar pitch over the fire until it boils. Place the cedar pitch in a pot and place it over the fire until you see bubbles rising from the bottom of the pot. Cedar pitch is flammable so keep the pitch and pot a safe distance away from the fire while still allowing it to be heated.

    • 6

      Mix the ingredients together. Mix one part charcoal and one part plant material with five parts cedar pitch. Stir the mixture with a stick until it becomes thick. Remove the pot from the fire, letting it cool slightly.

    • 7

      Apply the pitch to your structure. Take the cedar pitch glue from the pot and spread it on joints in your shelter that could leak in the event of a fire. Make sure the pitch is not hot enough to cause flammable items such as leaves and stick to catch fire before applying the pitch to them.

    • 8

      Save excess pitch glue. Roll the excess pitch into a ball before it hardens. Simply re-heat the ball of pitch glue over a flame to make it malleable once again