Stringybark resin

[matthew]

I was waiting for my daughter's piano lesson to finish and my eye fell upon an old stringybark tree in the park, with a gash in the side just oozing with crystals of resin.



Isn't it beautiful?

I harvested as much as I could and am now extracting with alcohol. It tends to be a bit brittle when used as a finish but it's nice and transparent. I mix it with some shellac to make it more durable and flexible. Haven't used it on an instrument yet but test pieces are promising.

[TimS]

Hi Matthew,

Let me now how you go. My uncle used to finish his furniture using the same technique.

regards

Tim

[Serge]

Oh that is so cool, thanks Matthew, looking forward to see the fruits of your experiments !