Making Willow Charcoal

[mtsage]

question, did you peel the sticks or leave them clothed?

stripped um

 

[Dude]

What happens if I don't strip the bark off?

 

[MSW]

interesting topic ... i am given to understand that the bark will make something of a mess of your charcoal

 

[Captain Eddie]

The stove I'm using is a heating stove, not cooking. The door is only about 12 x 18 so a 1 gallon paint can just fits. I have a lot of old lumber that I use for fuel. Last time I made charcoal I used grape vine prunings. Didn't seem to work any better than the poplar.

 

[deerstalkert]

interesting topic ... i am given to understand that the bark will make something of a mess of your charcoal

have been making my own charcoal for 60+ years and that is a answer i can't address. i have never left the bark on. can't remember why i always strip the sticks but just have. maybe i'll run a batch with its bark on just to see. inquiring minds want to know!

 

[sgtsquid]

What happens if I don't strip the bark off?

The key is to have low ash content (what's left over after the carbon burns away) and the bark has a lot more ash than the wood. It will just burn a lot dirtier.

 

[Dude]

Thanks, Squid. Makes sense. It seems like a hassle to strip the bark unless there's a good reason. Now I see why.

 

[Archer 756]

I heard from a friend who lives in Montana the the fire ban has been lifted

 

[beardedhorse]

Regardless of your heat source if you use a metal can with a lid it has to have the lining or coating on the inside burned out first. Wood charcoal or charcoal briquettes do get the wood hot enough to make charcoal.

 

[sgtsquid]

Regardless of your heat source if you use a metal can with a lid it has to have the lining or coating on the inside burned out first. Wood charcoal or charcoal briquettes do get the wood hot enough to make charcoal.

We were just discussing how to make clean burning charcoal. That's all. Really.

 

[Henry Miles]

What did the old timers use instead of a ball mill to make powdered charcoal, since they obviously didn't have a ball mill? Mortar and pestle?

 

[Winchester97]

Just to chime in. I have had excellent results with cedar for charcoal. I use a gallon paint can in the wood stove during heating season. A whole can takes maybe 15-20 minutes, maybe less if the coals were really hot to start. For a ball mill, I use a Frankfurt arsenal case wet tumbler, and a bunch of lead round balls... only takes about 2-3 hours to make super fine dust.

 

[necchi]

Mortar and pestle?

Two flat rocks, With rubbing motions and muscle applied,,
Take out the bit's that aren't chard,, and rub some more.
It's that simple,,

 

[Dude]

What's the best way to remove the bark? I've got some willow and it doesn't peel all that easily, so I whittle it off with the pocket knife. I can lift the bark with a finger nail and pull off a strip, but it goes much quicker with the pocket knife. Is there an easier way? The willow is pretty fresh.

How do you do it?

 

[deerstalkert]

pretty much just like that. it just requires patience. the whole process is very rewarding with the right mind set. listening to the clink on a finished batch makes me smile!

 

[Dude]

I was afraid of that. I'd hoped there was an easier, less hands-on, method - like leave it out in the weather and the bark would fall off.

I thought the larger branches would yield a larger wood/bark ratio - but now I'm getting the idea that's not necessarily so.

How did they make charcoal 160 years ago, like for the CW? Did a bunch of kids whittle on sticks all day? Or was there some sort of automated process?

 

[deerstalkert]

weather will make that bark draw up tight. next batch i make i am just going to leave it on, i mean after doing it one way for sixty years i may as will live on the wild side eh?
makes me wonder if the silisalic (sp) acid will affect the finished product.

 

[Dude]

Looking forward to the report.

Next time we get the burn barrel fired up, I'll be all set with a gallon paint can of willow.

 

[J. Paul]

I have peeled fresh and have peeled dead willow. What works best for me is cut it into length correct for the retort, then peel and split those as I fill it up. I keep a box of cut lengths in my shop that I grab and peel on a make work basis.

 

[SOLANCO]

whenever i venture into my storage units, AKA the shacks by the wife, it is like Christmas!
so! thats where that went, so! i knew i had one of those!
i even found a old sxs 12ga i had forgotten. of course i promptly forgot what i was looking for in the first place!

I take a note into the basement so I remember why I'm there.