Making my bowdrill set.

[nettles150390]

Hi,


So i've been at this earlier on today, making a bow drill so i got a nice piece of dead sycamore off a tree and tried making it into a bow drill and it didnt work i couldnt get the drill to spin properly. anyway ive done some reading and it seems i shouldnt have been using all one wood and that i did the drill too thin. so im gunna attempt again and i was thinking of using this combination.


hearth - birch
drill - sycamore
block - holly

what do you think would this combo work, im not entirely sure which is harder birch or sycamore so they may end up switching.

thanks.

 

[Mesquite]

Sycamore is one of the top woods for bowdrill so there's no reason why you can't use it for both the drill as well as the hearth. I've used it that way very successfully many times.

Holly for the bearing block is good a well

 

[lannyman8]

as above, Sycamore is my fave used for both hearth and spindle, i have also used birch both hearth and spindle, your combination should work just fine though, technique is the key with bow drill though, most woods should form a coal if you take your time and have good technique.

best of luck and dont forget the pics.

regards.

chris.

 

[chimpy leon]

Your set up sounds great, some ideal woods. It just takes a bit of time and practice to get that ember. Your drill needs to be around 20mm thick tapering to a point at the bearing end and dont forget to lube it up with a bit of greenery.

 

[nettles150390]

Sycamore is one of the top woods for bowdrill so there's no reason why you can't use it for both the drill as well as the hearth. I've used it that way very successfully many times.

Holly for the bearing block is good a well

maybe i just got naff wood haha, oh well we will find out when i get time to make this new set

as above, Sycamore is my fave used for both hearth and spindle, i have also used birch both hearth and spindle, your combination should work just fine though, technique is the key with bow drill though, most woods should form a coal if you take your time and have good technique.

best of luck and dont forget the pics.

regards.

chris.

thanks chris, and unfortunatly i dont have a camera mines broke getting a new one for xmas though so maybe in the new year.

Your set up sounds great, some ideal woods. It just takes a bit of time and practice to get that ember. Your drill needs to be around 20mm thick tapering to a point at the bearing end and dont forget to lube it up with a bit of greenery.

thanks, hopefully we will see and thanks fir the lube tip.

 

[Mesquite]

maybe i just got naff wood haha, oh well we will find out when i get time to make this new set

Stick the spindle and hearth board in the airing cupboard for a week to make sure it's totally dry then have another go with it

 

[Stringmaker]

As a general rule I always try to use the same wood for the drill and the hearth; hazel is my favourite.

The idea is that woods of equal hardness wear evenly and generate good friction, heat and combustible dust.

Keep at it; there is nothing like the memory of your first ember

 

[ozzy1977]

Ivy is supposed to be good for hearth board too.

 

[nettles150390]

ok so went out today and made an attempt for a bow drill set. so i cut down a living branch, i thought this would give me decent wood once i dried it. so i made three spindles sycamore all about 1CM im diameter. and the i got a thicker bit for the hearth.

It is about 5CM in diameter so i couldnt split the large log so im guessing that could be cos its green and i should wait till it drys. however its probably more likeky that its os im useing a swiss champ pen knife so hopefully when i get a proer knife ill be able to split it

so anyways they are drying over my radiator as we speak.

 

[ammo]

Good luck. I've been trying fire by friction, with no luck as of yet. I'm going to get me some sycamore, see if that helps. Anyway keep trying mate, we will get there.

 

[nettles150390]

thanks and you can have some sycamore spindles if you want i have plenty hahaha

 

[lannyman8]

i find sycamore normally has dead limbs on the tree which are best anyway, as long as they are still hard and not started to rot.... birch, hazle and many others work just the same. if you have never managed with wild woods try starting with an old broom handle, cut down the drill with a knife to make it thinner so it fits into the base piece of handle... you should find it easyer to start with and then progress to wild woods when you have a better idea of technique.

hope this helps.

regards.

chris.

 

[stevethestig]

Ivy is very good for both hearth and drill, also western red cedar is very good. I use both and it is very fast and easy to get an ember.