Bow drill wood choice, limited options...

[Javapuntnl]

Hello all, I really like to master the art of the bow-drill fire but i like to do it with materials i find at or near my camping spot.
My go to woods are very swampy and therefore very moist (most of the time), there is only a limited variety of trees that grow there and I am hoping you Bushcraft wizzards and Gurus could point me in the direction of the best wood to use to attempt a first timers bow-drill fire... Trees available in my neck of the woods: mostly pine (pitch pine, whitre pine) and oak(white, swamp white, chestnut, red, black and scarlet oak) some beach, maple (Mountain maple, sugar, white and red maple) and hickory (shagbark, mockernut and pignut) also some ash, chestnut, sassafras and 1 or 2 birches(black, yellow and river)...

Thank you much,

Jacob V.

 

[Chinkapin]

Let me be upfront and say right off that I have not done this. However, I have been reading articles on the subject and from what I have read, I would say that most of the trees that you have listed are probably too hard for optimum results.

Eastern White Cedar is recommended. This should be readily available in your area. Also the Sycamore (or its close relative the London Plane Tree) are considered good by many people.

Most say to avoid Oak or any wood that is exceptionally hard. Some say the "drill" itself can be very hard. Some say this is the most desirable. But the "footboard" should be relatively soft. Not too soft or it won't get hot enough to make burning powder. One guy on the internet who makes a fire in a video, used White Cedar for the drill and the footboard.

I'm familiar with the Sasafras tree but I really don't know how hard it is. It might work.

Good luck and keep us posted as to your results.

 

[littlebiglane]

http://www.wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/fire/bowdrill/storm_inquiry/index.html

you might find this interesting

 

[addo]

You could try the Maple out of the ones you mention. Being an Acer it could be similar to our Sycamore (Acer psuedoplatanus) which works ok.

If its a wet area, do you get Willows, Poplar, or Alder type trees over there, as the soft woods that tend to grow near water, are very good Hearth/drill combinations.

Over here the best combo by far is Hazel drill, Lime basebord, not just for the coal production, but also longevity of the parts and the least amount of carving time.

Good luck.

 

[Chinkapin]

Thanks addo for the tips on bow/baseboard woods.

Apparently, from what I read, the tree known in Britain as the "Lime" tree is known in Europe as the "Linden" and in America as the "basswood" tree.

Some botany books put the Hazel in the Birch family but some of them now include the Hazel in the Hornbeam category. Hazel does not grow in large parts of America. So, if you live in a Hazel free zone, like me, I'm thinking a hornbeam drill and a basswood baseboard should be very close in keeping with addo's recommendations of Hazel and Lime.

Here where I live there is an abundance of Bois D'arc trees (French: bois = wood and D'arc = bow) Some of the Indian tribes made their bows from this wood. Bois D'arc, along with hophornbeam, is possibly the hardest wood in America. I'm thinking that I will try Bois D'arc as the drill and get some basswood for the footboard.

By the way, Bois D'arc wood is a beautiful slightly greenish yellow color and makes one of the nicest knife handles that you can imagine. It is so hard that you can just polish it on a buffing wheel and it takes a high shine with no varnish or anything. If you make knives and are reading this, you owe it to yourself to give it a try. It generally does not show much grain, but the color is striking. I like it so much that I'm going to get another EnZo blade and do it up in Bois D'arc this time.

 

[Stanleythecat]

http://www.wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/fire/bowdrill/storm_inquiry/index.html

you might find this interesting

That's very helpful.

Sorry to hijack the thread but does anyone have a similar reference to British native trees and shrub species, or at least those available in the UK including introduced and commercial species?

I notice from the summary table Cherry seems to be a 5 star species on hazel, ivy, willow, rhododendron and red cedar... any thoughts or experiences to confirm or to the contrary!

Leo

 

[addo]

Thanks addo for the tips on bow/baseboard woods.

Apparently, from what I read, the tree known in Britain as the "Lime" tree is known in Europe as the "Linden" and in America as the "basswood" tree.

Some botany books put the Hazel in the Birch family but some of them now include the Hazel in the Hornbeam category. Hazel does not grow in large parts of America. So, if you live in a Hazel free zone, like me, I'm thinking a hornbeam drill and a basswood baseboard should be very close in keeping with addo's recommendations of Hazel and Lime.

Here where I live there is an abundance of Bois D'arc trees (French: bois = wood and D'arc = bow) Some of the Indian tribes made their bows from this wood. Bois D'arc, along with hophornbeam, is possibly the hardest wood in America. I'm thinking that I will try Bois D'arc as the drill and get some basswood for the footboard.

By the way, Bois D'arc wood is a beautiful slightly greenish yellow color and makes one of the nicest knife handles that you can imagine. It is so hard that you can just polish it on a buffing wheel and it takes a high shine with no varnish or anything. If you make knives and are reading this, you owe it to yourself to give it a try. It generally does not show much grain, but the color is striking. I like it so much that I'm going to get another EnZo blade and do it up in Bois D'arc this time.

I belive you are correct with the alternative comman names for the Lime. The genus in Latin is Tilia, and all 3 main species are good here I think. The most comman found here is Tilia x europea.

For your drill I wouldn't go too hard though. Birch and Hazel over here are a small tree with medium hardess to the wood, which helps in the production of the friction dust but also lasting a bit longer than carved lime one.

Mind you if you can find lime/basswood, try a spindle and hearth from it. Works very well indeed.

Cheers for the knife handle tips, one more wood for the memory banks. Our english Yew, Taxus baccata, sounds similar in hardness and nice smooth finish. I use that with my knive handles. It was/is used for our long bows.

 

[dwardo]

Yew mention ash, this works well with hazel if its about, or ash on ash.

 

[badgeringtim]

Just to hijack the post;
Looking in my boot i see i have some oak, hazel and birch. All dry split logs.
From reading the above I think it would be a hazel spindle on hearth of oak in this combination. I have been meaning to try this for an eternity only did once with some nylon string - needless to say it didnt work. So what general purpose store string is good?


Thanks in advance

 

[badgeringtim]

Ok please ignore the above i have now looked at the table which at a glance seems briliant!

Although does it bare out for UK spp...i wonder..

 

[wilekayote]

I had the same problem here in NSW, Australia. I found this site www.bobcoopersurvival.com and sent them an email. Bob very kindly wrote me out these guidelines.


Try any fast grow parts of plants or medium hard woods – the test is, if you shave of some bark and can make an indent with your thumb nail in the wood in 90% of the time use it for fire lighting. Any wood that has a Driftwood feel about it – I have lit fires in Africa and the jungle of Malaysia with wood that I have no idea what it was, it just felt right.

With any friction method I discovered years ago that ‘chalking up’ the end of the drill with charcoal makes the friction work 30% easier

Traditional people around the world use a few grains of sand in the base plate for that extra friction

In NSW you could try Hibiscus braches, flowering stems from some species of Grass Tree, Poplars, Cypress, dry Fig tree sections and dry Eucalyptus (Gum Tree) roots

I have had good success with Eucalyptus roots as both base plate and drill

Remember to tighten the string on your bow with your fingers as it stretches as it warms up – this allows you to apply slightly more pressure with your other hand on the head stock which all adds up to more heat

Best of luck !!!

 

[dwardo]

If you have help about its handy if you use two people on the bow, one pulls the other pushes. This method works well when you are trying out new woods. Once you have your set made and you know the combination and materials work you can do it your self.

 

[Chinkapin]

Wilekayote: Thanks for passing the guidelines from Bob Cooper on to the rest of us. I have heard the tip about using your thumb nail, but had forgotten it. Never heard about using the charcoal or sand. Sounds like good advice to me.

Thanks.

 

[Javapuntnl]

Thanks all,
I'm just gonna keep trying. My limited wood options are 'kinda' self imposed, i can find softer, more suitable woods elsewhere but not in my goto forest/swamp. Here it's just the harder woods I mentioned above. My feeling is that i should be able to produce a fire with the materials available to me at that time at that place, the bow drill method sounds to be the method with the highest success rate (still bringing a knife and a length of cordage to the scene, try to eliminate those later...).
I feel i came the closest with hickory on hickory (hard to say really...). I'm going out tomorrow again for a 2 day stay and i think it's about time to make it happen (haha, we'll see...)
Anyway if not I probably should get me some more suitable woods and try it in the comfort of my home and stop being so darn stubborn...