Discovering a Fatwood Goldmine in a Windblown Hemlock

This episode is a follow-up to my last video ( • Old Growth Storm Damag... ) where I took you on a hike to meet the fallen giants, a cluster of wind blown hemlocks in a fairly inaccessible part of the property.
I was going through the potentially dangerous task of liming the tree (removing the branches and making the area around the trunk safer to work in) and I stumbled onto a "Fatwood Goldmine" and decided to learn how to harvest and process fatwood from this giant windblown evergreen tree. As I do more research I also want to check the stump and tap root of this and other downed trees in the area for bigger chunks of fatwood, so I may do a whole other episode on that if people are interested.
If you're interested in getting your hands on some Fatwood without going foraging for it, it's readily available online: amzn.to/3LEDedV - and if I do manage to locate and process a significant amount of the stuff here on the property I might have enough to put some small bags of it together for you guys. Let me know in the comments if that's something you'd be into. Thanks for watching and learning with me!
TOOLS & EQUIPMENT USED
I am a big fan of Helko Werk German hand forged axes and hatchets: amzn.to/3nAfwHF - I have two, the "Rheinland Hatchet" I use in this video and for splitting mini-firewood for the Cubic Mini Stove, and a splitting maul "Spaltaxt" I use for splitting my full-size firewood for all my camp sites. They're the kind of tool that'll last a lifetime.
The BRUSH AXE I use here (and in many videos) is my favorite outdoor tool of all, this exact model I bought 15 years ago isn't made any more, but I just ordered the new version to see how it compares: amzn.to/3LF6elS - It's basic concept; combining a hooked pull-knife, with a nicely weighted chopping tool, and a blunt hammer style tip is really great and I assume it's based on the "Woodman's Pal" (amzn.to/42vTLaY) which is a WWII era design that's made in the US, and is considerably more costly. I also have one of those, but I prefer this lighter stainless steel version from Elk Ridge as my everyday carry.
In this video I use my DeWalt 60V 16" electric chainsaw (DCCS670X1 - which has sadly been discontinued) but I hope to upgrade soon to the much more beefy DCCS677B - 20" 4hp version from the DeWalt electric chainsaw line: amzn.to/3nfbqVk - Or if I can't save up enough cash for that, I'll go for the 18" version instead: amzn.to/42td3Ob [DO NOT buy DeWalt's 12" 20v mini-saw, it's junk].
I'll miss this 16" saw though, it fits perfectly into my ATV Tek Cargo Bag (amzn.to/44xWqTh) and the Earth Pak roll-top waterproof backpack I use all the time to haul tools and supplies (amzn.to/3M1ukIP) used in this video for hauling this harvest of fatwood.
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[@chopsddy3]

Holy Smoke! I have several huge hemlocks down. I must be sitting on a bunch of that! Gotta go check.
Thanks so much! 👍

[@CaughtYaSlippin]

Nice video, I’ve got some fatwood that’s completely dark Orange, almost red all the way through out.

[@lumberingshenanigans]

Oh that’s good stuff for sure. There will usually be big chunks like that in the root ball of really resinous species of pine. This tree was a hemlock, and all I was doing was trimming the branches to make the site accessible, so these little chunks were just a fun discovery. Thanks for watching! :)

[@i.m.askance7996]

Thanks for this information! I know that limb wood is great firewood but didn't realize that you can make fatwood from them.

[@lumberingshenanigans]

I’m no expert, and it’s definitely not as instantly combustible as root-ball fatwood, which I have yet to attack on this tree. But anywhere the resin collects will be fat in the right species.

[@cellerfeller1474]

LOL I was in the woods yesterday doing the same thing! My tree was a Larch that I cut two years ago for carving spoons but found it was too resinous for spoonwood. I cut the limb sections away like you. Near the top I cut one limb hatchet handle length and bucked down throught the log both sides of the stub to make a commander. This is just a little wooden maul to use to whack the hatchet. I switched from my limbing hatchet to a coarse wedge splitter and a tap with the wooden maul easily splits the fatwood without damaging my hatchet head or risking flying metal pieces. On the way out of the woods I got some Chaga for a nice cup of tea after all that work. Shout out from Nova Scotia!

[@lumberingshenanigans]

Sounds like you’re much more resourceful than I am. Good job finding Chaga, I don’t think we get that over here in the PNW. Thanks for watching and commenting. 🪓

[@dee-jae9989]

Impressive

[@Dillybip]

My wife found some fatwood over at the neighbors last month 😢

[@lumberingshenanigans]

🥁 🙄

[@HjuBb-wo7ob]

Does fat wood came only from pine trees 🤔

[@lumberingshenanigans]

The BEST fatwood does. Even different pine types have different levels of goodness. But any resin rich evergreen will produce resin rich wood at stumps and joints. Same way Sugar Maple has the BEST syrup, but any Maple (Acer), and many other species can also be tapped for syrup. Hickory, Birch, etc.