fire plough/ fire saw

[forrestdweller]

hi! has anyone experience with fire plough or fire saw? if yes-which woods are you using?
thanks.

"disappointed by the monkeys, god created man. then he renounced to further experiments." mark twain

 

[elevenses]

Hi Forresdweller

I am currently trying to master this also and was going to post my own question but I thought it might be ok to tell you what I know and get help at the same time.

not trying to take over your thread


I have been using what I think is hazel (its dead wood and may be mixed ?) and all the wood I am using is from one branch including the bow.

the annoying thing is I am getting a small ember and lots of black dust but in the bearing block !!

the larger flatter end is just going a shiny brown and producing no dust yet the smaller bearing end is burning !??

I have had embers drop on my finger I would just turn it over but the bearing block is about 2" thick

so the wood seems fine I just need to know what I am doing wrong ?

 

[forrestdweller]

Hi Forresdweller

I am currently trying to master this also and was going to post my own question but I thought it might be ok to tell you what I know and get help at the same time.

not trying to take over your thread


I have been using what I think is hazel (its dead wood and may be mixed ?) and all the wood I am using is from one branch including the bow.

the annoying thing is I am getting a small ember and lots of black dust but in the bearing block !!

the larger flatter end is just going a shiny brown and producing no dust yet the smaller bearing end is burning !??

I have had embers drop on my finger I would just turn it over but the bearing block is about 2" thick

so the wood seems fine I just need to know what I am doing wrong ?

sorry for answering not earlier, elevenses. obviously there seems to be a misunderstanding: when i understand you correct you are talking about the bowdrill, fire making by ROTATING a stick on a base; but i mean firesaw or -plough -moving a stick BACKWARDS AND FORWARDS in a base or ACROSS it. sorry for being not clear enough.

if i understand you correct your whole set is made out of the same type of wood(hazel; i used it many times successful)- including the bearing block. the bearing block should be made from much harder wood(i used beechwood) than the drill and hearthboard. i made this mistake once by myself(after many previous successful attempts) before realizing that my bearing block was too soft... hope that helps!


"disappointed by the monkeys, god created man. then he renounced to further experiments." mark twain

 

[andy_e]

Sorry if this is a bit obvious, but have you tried a search forrestdweller? A quick look found this ...

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28997&highlight=fire+plough

P.S. elevenses, stick a couple of crushed leaves in the socket of your bearing block to lubricate it and apply more pressure and speed when bowing.

 

[elevenses]

Cheers for the tips will try that

 

[forrestdweller]

Sorry if this is a bit obvious, but have you tried a search forrestdweller? A quick look found this ...

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28997&highlight=fire+plough

P.S. elevenses, stick a couple of crushed leaves in the socket of your bearing block to lubricate it and apply more pressure and speed when bowing.

ahh.... thanks, that sounds helpful! somehow i managed to miss it out when i searched


"disappointed by the monkeys, god created man. then he renounced to further experiments." mark twain

 

[Galemys]

Here is a thread on the fire saw (I can't see the pictures but if you send me an E-mail to the adress I put in the PM to you, I can send you a homemade article on the bamboo fire saw with Patrick M's picture's & also the scanned articles of the bulletin of primitive technology mentioned below)
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?t=13246&highlight=bamboo+fire

Some more info:
•Bushcraft (Ray Mears) pages 81-82
•Ray Mears' Extreme Survival (DVD/video), episode Costa Rica (demonstration of the bamboo fire saw)
•The Bulletin of Primitive Technology, 25. 2003: three articles, including one that uses North American woodtypes:
Richard A. Baugh, The fire saw, another frictional fire technique
Barry Keegan, A fire saw…using native wood
Barry Keegan, Bamboo fire saw: as demonstrated by Mel de Weese
•http://www.primitiveways.com/pt-firesaw.html
•Pictures of firesawing Philipinean negrito's (scroll down to pictures XL & XLI):
http://www.bohol.ph/books/nz/nz.htm#d0e8296

Cheers,

Tom

 

[Ivan]

Hi Forrest,
I have had success with both fireplow and firesaw using a number of different wood types. Where are you? If in the UK you might try horse chestnut on itself for the fireplow as this is one that has worked for me. Don't be let down if you fail as it is extremely difficult. Sounds like the tropical Hau Tree is the best wood for the fireplow. I've got a beautiful varigated one in a pot which I may one day make use of. Hope that helps.

 

[Landy_Dom]

Hi Forresdweller

I am currently trying to master this also and was going to post my own question but I thought it might be ok to tell you what I know and get help at the same time.

not trying to take over your thread


I have been using what I think is hazel (its dead wood and may be mixed ?) and all the wood I am using is from one branch including the bow.

the annoying thing is I am getting a small ember and lots of black dust but in the bearing block !!

the larger flatter end is just going a shiny brown and producing no dust yet the smaller bearing end is burning !??

I have had embers drop on my finger I would just turn it over but the bearing block is about 2" thick

so the wood seems fine I just need to know what I am doing wrong ?

Ideally the bearing block should be a lot harder, but my first bowdrill ember came from a hazel on hazel set using a soft pine bearing block ( ! ) but then the recess was packed with castrol LM grease - i wasn't taking any chances

I had the bottom of the drill glaze over a few times too - there's a couple of ways of dealing with that - either roughen both hearth and drill surfaces with coarse sandpaper or make a series of tiny radial cuts with your knife before starting. The bearing end needs to be quite pointy and very smooth.

Another problem I came across was the drill jumping out of the hearth (usually out of the notch). This was caused (in my case) by either the notch being too deep or the board not being flat and therefore drilling at an angle.

I'm only just near Chester so depending where you are, you're welcome to come over for a play with it if you want to compare notes?

Best of luck,

Dom.

 

[andy_e]

I had the bottom of the drill glaze over a few times too - there's a couple of ways of dealing with that - either roughen both hearth and drill surfaces with coarse sandpaper or make a series of tiny radial cuts with your knife before starting.

You can also use a bit more pressure and the glaze will turn into fantastic black powder for your coal.