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Recipe

Pine resin adhesive

A hot-melt adhesive from pine resin, beeswax and a dark filler. Traditional for tool-handles, fletching and canoe seams.

Every A New Field recipe has been run in a domestic kitchen or community hall. Read the safety notes before you start and adapt for your venue.

What you’ll make

Dark, hard, reheatable, water-resistant.

Flexible slots (flex around your material)

  • Resin

    Resin3 parts

    Sticky, hardening tree exudate. Used in adhesives and varnishes.

    Examples Pine resin, rosin

  • Filler

    Natural pigment / dye1 part

    Coloured plant, mineral or animal matter. Yields colour in water or alcohol.

    Examples Charcoal, ash

Fixed ingredients

  • Beeswax · 1 part

Equipment

  • Double boiler
  • metal container
  • heat-proof stick.

Refinements and variations

  • Add more wax for flexibility, more resin for stiffness.

Source notes

Indigenous and traditional craft practice across many cultures.