Cedar spindle and hearth

[stovie]

Just as a small point of interest, while on hols in Canada, I had a little competition with my host...he being a bit of a backwoodsman, we had a friendly game of make a bowdrill set and first to ember and flame. We used the same materials (cedar for spindle and hearth) and both had good results...Thumb thickness for spindle and Inch thick hearth. He beat me to it by a matter of a couple of minutes...

This is all very interesting (I hear you say) but get to the point....Okay my point is this...For all those that find the expenditure of energy a little tiresome, I say, choose Cedar. In the past i have used many woods, some with better success than others, but with Cedar I found I needed little energy and less downward pressure in order to get a good, smoking ember...so much so, that I look back and think, why did i bother with all those other woods...

Just a thought, for what its worth...

 

[Retired Member southey]

Cool1 but did you bother with the other woods due to what's available over here in more areas than cedar may be?

 

[stovie]

Cool1 but did you bother with the other woods due to what's available over here in more areas than cedar may be?

Fair point, and yes...but cedar is widely available (as a plank in timber stores if nothing else), and I only offer it up as a "fairly" easy way to success for those that might not have tried yet, or find other commonly used woods (ivy, willow, hazel etc) a little on the tricky side.

I was just surprised at how little effort (relatively) was needed to get a good ember.

 

[Retired Member southey]

oh definatly! I dare anyone to try ivy more the twice!ooof! thats some nasty smoke

 

[Tadpole]

oh definatly! I dare anyone to try ivy more the twice!ooof! thats some nasty smoke

Ivy? I find it the easiest wood to use for both harth and Drill. ember in a minute or less first time almost everytime.

 

[Retired Member southey]

every time ive used it i end up in a choking mess on the floor! it just kills me, i dont get that reaction with any other wood that ive tried,

 

[Stringmaker]

In my limited experience so far I find hazel very good as a drill but I am cheating with old pallet as a hearth. Does anyone know the composition of pallets?

I have some hazel and willow drying in my garage ready to make two "married" sets.

 

[The Big Lebowski]

As far as I know... The majority of pallets are made from poplar. Something to bear in mind though is below.

Discarded wooden pallets should not be used for fire wood or crafts unless it has been determined that the wood in these pallets has not been treated with wood preservatives, fungicides and/or pesticides. Various pyrethrins and propiconazole are common treatments for wooden pallets. In addition, imported palletized goods are routinely fumigated with highly toxic pesticides. During use, harmful materials or chemicals also may spill on the pallet wood and be absorbed.


I use Hazel on Goat Willow, and its superb for making a good pile of char, before the final friction lighting. A great starter combo if you want an ember every time.

al.

 

[udamiano]

I would be interested in how these perform as hand drills, over the years I've tried many woods in bow drills some good, some bad. however if you take these drill and convert them into hand drills then what was good under the bow is completely useless as a hand drill. I would be interested in others opinions especially experiences..

 

[stovie]

I would be interested in how these perform as hand drills, over the years I've tried many woods in bow drills some good, some bad. however if you take these drill and convert them into hand drills then what was good under the bow is completely useless as a hand drill. I would be interested in others opinions especially experiences..

The image below is one of Edward Curtis' taken at the turn of the last century. The spindle and hearth look like cedar, and the proportions would almost suggest a bow drill, rather than hand drill. While I appreciate that many of his images are staged, I have no reason to doubt the authenticity of the Koskimo native and his choice of tools. This may go some way to answering your query Udamiano.

I have another of an apache using a hand drill, but the tools are not so clear...

 

[udamiano]

Thanks Stovie, the images are great and helpful. I think the main problem is the relative humidity at the time, some woods soak up ambient moisture more than others, this i think has a major effect on the performance, this is why when we see it being done on the african savana, or the American planes the process seems a lot easier (as well as the expertise of the person), while in good old blighty.......Any thanks for that It an experiment Im doing at the moment.

 

[lannyman8]

As far as I know... The majority of pallets are made from poplar. Something to bear in mind though is below.

Discarded wooden pallets should not be used for fire wood or crafts unless it has been determined that the wood in these pallets has not been treated with wood preservatives, fungicides and/or pesticides. Various pyrethrins and propiconazole are common treatments for wooden pallets. In addition, imported palletized goods are routinely fumigated with highly toxic pesticides. During use, harmful materials or chemicals also may spill on the pallet wood and be absorbed.


I use Hazel on Goat Willow, and its superb for making a good pile of char, before the final friction lighting. A great starter combo if you want an ember every time.

al.

also bear in mind pressure treated wood is also toxic, probably beacuse of the chemicals.