Wood-Tar Pitch: Tar Boiled Down (Ure, 1839)

Pitch is tar with its volatile part boiled away. Ure (1839): boil tar in an open iron pot until the volatile matters are driven off. What is left is brittle when cold and soft when warm, the binder for a chaser's pitch bowl. Boil birch tar outdoors over a gentle fire, test a drop on a cold stone, and pour it out to set. The picture: our diagram of the pot and the drop test.