bow drill woes

[Man of Tanith]

All i am getting is a horrific screeching noise and the tip of my drill is smoking more than the base of my drill?
i've lubricated the bearing block with some waxy leaves and this has stopped the drill tip smoking but still getting a noise which is distressing the whole neighbourhood
what am i doing wrong?

 

[Mesquite]

Try varying the pressure you're placing on the drill, might need a little bit more to stop it screeching Sam

 

[Man of Tanith]

Next nap time for the boy i'll try that
or possibly throw the whole damn thing across the lawn......

 

[Kepis]

You need one of these Sam, reduced friction bearing blocks, they work a treat.

 

[Man of Tanith]

they naturally occouring or worked?
not quite there yet although gettin close

 

[Kepis]

all worked mate, i make them myself

 

[Man of Tanith]

hmmmmmm
i found sometihng i thought would be suitable at the seaside but didnt have deep enough hole when i tried today

 

[Man of Tanith]

Kepis
is it a case of pecking the hole out of a suitable piece of stone?
i might have to investigate further

 

[Kepis]

just dropped you a pm mate

 

[Man of Tanith]

pinged you a reply

 

[lannyman8]

Try varying the pressure you're placing on the drill, might need a little bit more to stop it screeching Sam

as above Sam, once the drill warms up it should be allot better too, try just leaning into the brill as appose to pushing with your hand, and lean back a little to ease off...

what woods are you using Sam???

 

[Man of Tanith]

what woods are you using Sam???

Erm the ones i made my set out of a couple of years ago on my fuundamental, memory ain't what it was
i have birch and ivy waiting the next attempt from scratch

 

[Kepis]

Do you have any Sycamore and Willow up around your area?, if so try a Sycamore hearth with a a Willow drill, works really well i find, as does Syc on Syc and Willow on Willow.

 

[lannyman8]

Do you have any Sycamore and Willow up around your area?, if so try a Sycamore hearth with a a Willow drill, works really well i find, as does Syc on Syc and Willow on Willow.

what he said....

 

[Man of Tanith]

weeping willow yes
sycamore possibly
it just depends if i can harvest it

 

[lannyman8]

try grass in your bearing block too, add some every time you remove the drill, also have a look at the link, the main bit to look at is the dust particles, the light brown fuzzy stuff is what your after....

the bow drill is quite easy once you know how to read the dust and wood which will come with time, the video i just did for you showed dark black flakes, this was because i was pushing too hard, trying to speed things up for the video, and the wood was a little damp having been sat out in the rain for a few days, rushing the coal just made the ember crumbly....

http://www.wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/fire/bowdrill/pmoc/basicbowdrill.html

hope this helps mate....

 

[lannyman8]

weeping willow yes
sycamore possibly
it just depends if i can harvest it

sycamore branches should be dead on the tree, they normally are, weeping willow should work fine, the stuff i was using was white willow i think???

 

[outdoorpaddy]

I had the same problem on my fundamental course, a deafening squeaking sound, chances are you've polished the end of the drill, making it harder to get enough friction. It can be solved by applying more pressure on the bearing block, as hard as this may seem but it really makes a difference.
cheers

paddy

 

[Snowfire]

I use two limpet shells one inside the other. Fairly sure I got it off here a while back. A lot less friction than with a wood bearing block (I struggle to get smoke using one of them, never mind an ember!). I think the two shells were recommended to stop your hand getting burnt.

Also try this video - copying what she says got me my first ember

 

[wildranger]

Squeaking could be caused by oak or resinous woods