How long to dry out wood samples?

[Broke]

'Crafters,

How long do you let a branch sample dry out before you consider it ready to be used for a fire-by-friction fire?

I've had a stick of lantana (which supposedly is very easy to make an ember with) drying out over my dehumidifyer for the past week or so. I stripped off a section of bark and held it to my wrist for a moisture check, and it seemed dry enough. But when I prepped the stick for use as a spindle and hearthboard, I only could get it to smoke a lot--no ember but plenty of nice, powdery char (aka punk?) though.

How long should I have let this stick sit and dry?

Broke

 

[Greg]

'Crafters,

How long do you let a branch sample dry out before you consider it ready to be used for a fire-by-friction fire?

I've had a stick of lantana (which supposedly is very easy to make an ember with) drying out over my dehumidifyer for the past week or so. I stripped off a section of bark and held it to my wrist for a moisture check, and it seemed dry enough. But when I prepped the stick for use as a spindle and hearthboard, I only could get it to smoke a lot--no ember but plenty of nice, powdery char (aka punk?) though.

How long should I have let this stick sit and dry?

Broke

Could I possibly be cheaky and ask the same question of Ivy?

 

[weaver]

You can dry it in the microwave. Five to nine 30 second bursts at 30-50 percent power should do it. You may have to adjust the power or the number of cycles depending on how wet the wood is and how thick. If you see water bubbling out the end decrease the power or shorten the time, you don't want to boil it. Let it out to air a few minutes between cycles.

 

[jasons]

in the airing cubord a week . or find some dead standing and you should be ready to go or try it out for you self that the best way

 

[Broke]

You can dry it in the microwave. Five to nine 30 second bursts at 30-50 percent power should do it. You may have to adjust the power or the number of cycles depending on how wet the wood is and how thick. If you see water bubbling out the end decrease the power or shorten the time, you don't want to boil it. Let it out to air a few minutes between cycles.

great! i'm going to give this a try! this sounds even better and faster than my "tied to the dehumidifier" method, lol.

 

[weaver]

great! i'm going to give this a try! this sounds even better and faster than my "tied to the dehumidifier" method, lol.

Be sure to let us know how well it works.

 

[Greg]

Good info guys, cheers!:You_Rock_

 

[rich59]

Hi Broke,

There is a key point in your description of your testing of dryness. You said you stripped off some bark. In nature one main purpose for bark is to hold moisture in. So, I would advise stripping off the bark at the time of collection, and then dry it. With this method and putting the wood in a warm dry place (hot water tank cupboard for me) I can get fire after 2 days storage.

 

[Ogri the trog]

I can get fire after 2 days storage.

Yes,
But lets face it Rich, you are the one person on this planet, capable of starting a fire under water

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[rich59]

Yes,
But lets face it Rich, you are the one person on this planet, capable of starting a fire under water

ATB

Ogri the trog

No, I can't do that!

 

[Broke]

Yes,
But lets face it Rich, you are the one person on this planet, capable of starting a fire under water

ATB

Ogri the trog

well if he can, then i'll listen to his advice--all the bark is coming off tonight when i get home!

the bark holds in moisture...why the heck didn't i think of that???

 

[Ogri the trog]

well if he can, then i'll listen to his advice--all the bark is coming off tonight when i get home!

the bark holds in moisture...why the heck didn't i think of that???

Hi Broke,
Rich59 is a bit of a demon when it comes to lighting fires in less than ideal conditions, This is just one of his threads on the subject http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?t=14445&highlight=roof
... but he has also written articles for the BCUK magazine which sometimes make me want to give up - he's a genius.

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[Broke]

that's not particularly what i was asking about, but great info nonetheless!!!

instead of wrapping my tinder in birchbark (lol we have no birch here!) i've wrapped it in toilet paper once and also another time in the "bark" of Pandanus Odoratissimus (see picture below). The bark is very papery and gives off black smoke when burnt. Also, dead trunks of this plant are very very fibrous and take sparks from ferro rods well.

(additionally, the "fruit" pictured is reportedly edible, although extremely bitter)

 

[BobFromHolland]

Hi Broke,

You could also partly dry out your drill and hearth board by repeatedly going for smoke and waiting half a minute. There is a thread about this technique somewhere here, but I can't seem to find it.

From your smoke / powdery char remark it sounds that you are nearly there. Did you decrease downforce and increase speed at the end of your efford? This sure is helpfull in getting the wood-powder above its criticle temperature to sustain a coal.

Best of luck, you'll get there!

Bob

 

[paulcd]

Hi
A bit off thread, but in my Trees for LifeDiary I have several birches pictured in Daisetsuzan National Park, Hokkaido, Japan...so looks like you do have birch!

that's not particularly what i was asking about, but great info nonetheless!!!

instead of wrapping my tinder in birchbark (lol we have no birch here!) i've wrapped it in toilet paper once and also another time in the "bark" of Pandanus Odoratissimus (see picture below). The bark is very papery and gives off black smoke when burnt. Also, dead trunks of this plant are very very fibrous and take sparks from ferro rods well.

(additionally, the "fruit" pictured is reportedly edible, although extremely bitter)

 

[Broke]

Hi
A bit off thread, but in my Trees for LifeDiary I have several birches pictured in Daisetsuzan National Park, Hokkaido, Japan...so looks like you do have birch!

i'm sure you are 100% correct! alas, i live on the tropical island of Okinawa, which is the southern-most island of Japan...no birch here sorry to say. i DID forget to mention another interesting fact about the plant i pictured above: when the long, spike-studded leaves are fully dry, they blaze up quickly! so i suppose this is our version of birch bark, lol.


i logged in today to pass some good news!! thanks to the methods mentioned by members here of how to thoroughly and quickly dry my lantana samples, i found out that lantana works BEAUTIFULLY!!! it is VERY easy to produce a large coal with this plant!

thanks to all!

 

[weaver]

thanks to the methods mentioned by members here of how to thoroughly and quickly dry my lantana samples, i found out that lantana works BEAUTIFULLY!!! it is VERY easy to produce a large coal with this plant!

thanks to all!

Which method did you use? How long did it take to dry?

 

[Broke]

first, rich59's advice to strip off the bark, then your microwave advice.

thanks guys! i got a super quick ember again today from the same bowl in the hearthboard stick i used last time!

 

[demographic]

Never tried it myself but I have been told by my joinery tutor that people who turn wooden bowls use a microwave to dry them out.

 

[weaver]

The newest technique is to soak the bowl in denatured alcohol for a day then keep it in a paper bag for a week after which time it is turned to the finished size. Alcohol displaces the sap and dries equally from all parts reducing the tendency to split the wood due to differences in drying speed.