Bow drill fire lighting

[tomtom]

what book do you have? it should be in there!

 

[ScottC]

Well I don't think I have it because i've looked through all of it and couldn't see it. I'm at school and I shouldn't really be on but I'll make sure when i get home

 

[Paganwolf]

the trees look like this

and the leaves look like this

hope thats ok

 

[Leon]

I tend to always try and use new shoots form coppiced hazel - these tend to be dead straight poles, that make very nice spindles with minimal effort.

find a coppiced hazel, with nice straight poles - and cut (saw) one from the crown. Then take this and leave it somewhere warm, but not too hot, to gradually season up. I find my airing cupboard works quite well, but I have previously found cut/broken poles in coppices that have seasoned themselves nicely outdoors.

You can then cut off spindles to the correct length, and keep a ready supply for when you need more...


Hazel Coppices

Thanks for that, Match. I'll be getting hold of some tomorrow. :biggthump

 

[Hoodoo]

What does a poplar tree look like? It's not in my book :?:

I'm surprised they are not in your book. They are a pretty poplar tree. :hurra:

 

[Snufkin]

My favourite combination is ivy hearth, willow spindle and antler bearing block. The antler works really well but you do get a slight burnt hair smell until the hearth starts smoking

 

[maddave]

the trees look like this

and the leaves look like this

hope thats ok

That looks like Manchester Poplar "Poplous Nigra Betulifolia"


For bow drill firelighting I find most of the "Middle Woods" work ok.

Softwoods like pine, spruce etc work OK but wear through very quickly
Hardwoods like OAK can also work but with HUGE amounts of effort.

Keep to woods like:

Willow
Hazel
Ash
Ivy
Sycamore
Birch
Poplar
Elm
Lime
Alder

There are loads to try. Some good indicators of a good tree are a) smooth bark and b) broad leaves. Having said that, willow has roughish bark and slim leaves :?: The best thing to do is keep an eye out when walking. Grab some deadfall branches and try them. If they work remember the tree (It's shape, bark, colour texture foliagae etc) and don't forget to make a mental note of the whole shape of the tree as they can look very different loaded with fruits and foliage in the summer, than they do in winter devoid of leaves and berries. :biggthump

 

[Dan]

HI,

I'm not sure if anyone's mentioned it, but I've found Red Cedar hearth and a hazel spindle works. If you're learning it produces an ember really easily.

Additionally, the inner bark from the cedar is a fantastic tinder as well as making relatively good cordage (probably not good enough for a bow string though).

 

[den]

Has anyone done any experiments to see which is best thick or thin spindles of the same woods?
I've made some sets up which im just about to try.

 

[Dan]

Has anyone done any experiments to see which is best thick or thin spindles of the same woods?
I've made some sets up which im just about to try.

I've found that spindles about thumb thickness work well.

 

[den]

Thats what i have said to now but a set i made with a really small spindle worked really well .
On the down side the coal was smaller but not a problem. I'm going to look into this a bit more. try a few different wood too.

 

[KIMBOKO]

A lot of pallets are made of poplar not pine as might be thought.

 

[gurthang]

:idea: I'd never heard that limpet shell idea before what an excellent idea. :idea:

I usually use sycamore for both the Hearth and spindle I dont know if this is a good combination but it works most of the time for me

I'll have to try some of the other combos mentioned here as although the sycamore works most of the time it sometimes takes a while

 

[shinobi]

Has anybody ever tried Yew?

I found a lovely piece that fits my palm perfectly for a hand-hold. My only concern is that I know that yew leaves and berries are poisonous, but I'm not sure if the smoke caused by friction is noxious. Any ideas?

Cheers,

Martin

 

[den]

I have used Yew for the bearing block in the past. I wouldn’t know though if the smoke was poisonous. Are you on about getting smoke from the end where the bearing block meets the drill or using yew as a drill?
If you are getting smoke from where the block meets the drill try and reduce the friction with more of a point on the drill. A bit of lube like fat, holy leaves etc always helps.

 

[match]

If you are getting smoke from where the block meets the drill try and reduce the friction with more of a point on the drill. A bit of lube like fat, holy leaves etc always helps.

A lot of people cringe when I mention this, but good sources of lubricant are ear wax, and the oils from the side of your nose - if you've got oily skin lik me then it is often enough to just rub the non-hearth end of the spindle against the side of your nose a few times. Now you might not want to do this for your displays to other people, but if you're stuck in the middle of nowhere fashioning a drill set out of what comes to hand, then use these natural lubricants!

(Bang goes my chances of a date with anyone reading this post! :rolmao

 

[shinobi]

Are you on about getting smoke from the end where the bearing block meets the drill or using yew as a drill?

Sorry, there is a bit of confusion here. I'll split the piece of yew and I'll use one piece as the handheld and the other piece as the Hearth after levelling it out. So the smoke will be at the hearth end (Hopefully) !!

As to the lubrication, Yup, I too use "Body oil", especially if I've been in the bush for a few days :yikes:

Cheers,

Martin

 

[tomtom]

ideally you want the hand held block to be a very hard wood much harder then the hearth then the there is a much more effective energy transfer between the spindle and the hearth you dont want to be heating the block, thats just wasting energy

 

[jack29g]

i tried in my garage, gave up because i could see it was'nt going to work. I think it's the wood that's the problem. But theres just no where near me where i can get it. or it's that i just don't know what to look for. I knopw which woods to use but i never seam to see them!!!

 

[tomtom]

the hearth wants to be soft enough that you can just about push your thumb nail in to it.. but not to soft other wise your drill will just burn through too quickly... the spindle wants to be straight and between the diameter of a 1p and a 50p bow wants to be as long as your arm! now that leaves 101 other things to go wrong.. good luck