Bow drill.

[crushthesystem]

Ok so I just finished my first 4 bow drill sets ever made and loved every minute of it. One hearth is willow and the other 3 are hickory? (can't remember the name of the wood but it seems a similar density/hardness to willow) anyway it's the same story with the spindles one willow and the rest this other wood. At first i thought bow drill was some mystical art that takes years to master and I'm sure it is but on a sunny afternoon like it is today i appear to be able to get coals very easily (I may just have some of the easiest wood to do it with or something) but it had been a brilliant afternoon spent and if anybody hasn't tried it yet i suggest you get some willow and do it, it's a very big sense of acheivment . Thankyou for reading i just felt like letting people talk about bow drills for a while and give me any tips they feel may help.

 

[dave53]

hi crushthesystem dave here nice thread how are you and yours buddy we havent got any willow by me so i will go hunting for some how dry has have i got to get it speak to you soon regards dave

 

[addo]

Willow is tip top for bow drill hearths.
As your gaining coals easily I'd only say keep an eye on dampness/storage in the future and keep making the spindles as straight as possible.
Use parts of the right trees for the set parts, that resemble the eventual part needed to reduce carving time and effort.
Other than that, keep it up!

 

[crushthesystem]

yeah cheers my buddies are good dave and i got mine off a tree and left it until it was a lot lighter and obviously that occurs when the moisture leaves it so leave it aslong as you want i'm no expert just beginners luck on timing i guess but as a rough guide i got the wood when i was at the mayday meet at egerton and used it today for the first time so a month seems to have let it dry sufficiently. and thanks addo i will definately make sure it stays dry and i hope willow isn't the easiest wood i'd like to be able to call it some form of acheivement.