So, after 3 weeks of trying 2-3 times a night, i finally got my first coal.
Ive gone through various types of woods, Beech (I think) dry kiln stuff and back to a better dried beech (I think)
Now, this is only the first time ive ever done this successfully, so dont take what i say as gospel, im an absolute noob, just wanting to pass on what i learned to others.
So what did i learn?
Form, i seemed to have the form straight off the bat and thought this would be easy to master, how wrong was i?
I could build up the black dust, but when i thought i was ready, i would press harder and faster but would create tiny little black curls instead of dust which would not conduct the heat as well. No matter what i read, i could not work out what was causing this, no one had a definite answer for me.
The answer was..... Pressing too hard during the end / fastest stage. (and possibly the wood)
I start of with more pressure and a pretty slow pull / drag to begin with to get smoke and build up the dust, then i actually STOP, take the spindle away carefully, catch my breath and reset.
Once ive reset position, i start off slowly to get the motion correctly, then i speed up the action, much faster than i expected too also thinking about it, but most importantly of all, less pressure.
The way i think of it, im using the same amount of energy by going faster in my stroke but by reducing the pressure, im still exerting the same energy as when i had increased pressure at the beginning phase.
THE BEARING BLOCK - OMG THE BEARING BLOCK.
This is something i refused to take on board in the first 2 weeks, i was adamant that i was going to do this with a wood bearing block until i got so disheartened i swapped for a shot glass to reduce friction. They all say this and i would not listen, so guys, please take this on board.
Anyway, its not proof unless you have pics.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_EOclp7_Rm_N0ZoWUdXb2VzT0E/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_EOclp7_Rm_U1VUSTZ6akk3bFk/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_EOclp7_Rm_VldYTnloZDlPa2M/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_EOclp7_Rm_VmdMX2MzblNIOFk/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_EOclp7_Rm_cUhrMFB3UFZJNEk/view?usp=sharing
I wish everyone who takes up this skill the best of luck as it was frustrating as hell for me. Something i shall be practicing on a daily basis for now with different woods etc.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask and i shall get back to you as soon as i can.
Good luck all
Narza
Ive gone through various types of woods, Beech (I think) dry kiln stuff and back to a better dried beech (I think)
Now, this is only the first time ive ever done this successfully, so dont take what i say as gospel, im an absolute noob, just wanting to pass on what i learned to others.
So what did i learn?
Form, i seemed to have the form straight off the bat and thought this would be easy to master, how wrong was i?
I could build up the black dust, but when i thought i was ready, i would press harder and faster but would create tiny little black curls instead of dust which would not conduct the heat as well. No matter what i read, i could not work out what was causing this, no one had a definite answer for me.
The answer was..... Pressing too hard during the end / fastest stage. (and possibly the wood)
I start of with more pressure and a pretty slow pull / drag to begin with to get smoke and build up the dust, then i actually STOP, take the spindle away carefully, catch my breath and reset.
Once ive reset position, i start off slowly to get the motion correctly, then i speed up the action, much faster than i expected too also thinking about it, but most importantly of all, less pressure.
The way i think of it, im using the same amount of energy by going faster in my stroke but by reducing the pressure, im still exerting the same energy as when i had increased pressure at the beginning phase.
THE BEARING BLOCK - OMG THE BEARING BLOCK.
This is something i refused to take on board in the first 2 weeks, i was adamant that i was going to do this with a wood bearing block until i got so disheartened i swapped for a shot glass to reduce friction. They all say this and i would not listen, so guys, please take this on board.
Anyway, its not proof unless you have pics.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_EOclp7_Rm_N0ZoWUdXb2VzT0E/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_EOclp7_Rm_U1VUSTZ6akk3bFk/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_EOclp7_Rm_VldYTnloZDlPa2M/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_EOclp7_Rm_VmdMX2MzblNIOFk/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_EOclp7_Rm_cUhrMFB3UFZJNEk/view?usp=sharing
I wish everyone who takes up this skill the best of luck as it was frustrating as hell for me. Something i shall be practicing on a daily basis for now with different woods etc.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask and i shall get back to you as soon as i can.
Good luck all
Narza
