Drying wood

[Lucyc]

Hi. I've been exploring our farm recently, (which unfortunately has no woodland) and I've found an elder (I think - the one with the pithy interior that can be hollowed out) tree which I thought I could use for my spindle for a bow drill (I've heard it's good for that?), but it's been raining and it's soaking. If I snap a good piece off, can i stick it beside the fire to dry off? Will that work? It's the same for the hearth - the only logs we have are apple, which I've heard is terrible, but I've found an old log heap of what I THINK is horse chestnut (it's right beside a horse chestnut tree..), but again - soaking. I haven't actually checked but it may be rotten, in which case that'll be know good anyway! Will putting them beside the fire to stew fix this? Will an elder spindle on horse chestnut hearth even work? I've heard they're both good individually, but I don't know about the combination..

Thanks, Lucy

 

[Thrym]

An elder spindle with a horse chestnut hearth should work fine in theory, however i have never used this combo so i can't confirm this.
Josh

 

[JonnyP]

Hi Lucy, and welcome here... Elder is good for fire by friction but if you use it as a spindle you will need a bit that does not have the pithy center as you cannot form it into a point... There is a way around this though by wedging into the pithy center a small piece of a harder wood that will go into your bearing block.. The wood you use needs to be fully dried. Best to cut the elder rather than snapping it... Elder often has dead branches, these are better used rather than having to wait for a green branch to dry out....

 

[Ogri the trog]

Lucy, Elder IS good for fire by friction,
By the Hand drill method, which is a little different from the bow drill method. I find the best spindles for bow drill are Hazel, the hedgerow bush that had the cob nuts on at the start of the winter. You can still have a go at drying your piece though, peel or scrape the outer bark off so that its clean and then leave it somewhere to dry slowly - check it every so often to see that its remains straight, if not, you can locally heat and bend it so it stays straight. For a Hand drill spindle, you'll need a piece 1/2 inch diameter at the bottom and around 2 feet long - and for a bow drill spindle, a bit thicker, say 1 inch and up to 14 inches long (it depends on the length you get comfortable with as they wear out after a few uses).
As for the hearths, split the wood into pieces about a finger thick and of a size that you find pleasing. Dry a few beside the fire so you can have a good trial and let us know how you get on.
Bow drill is a skill that I tried for ages to learn until "Falling Rain" on the forum ran a Bow drill workshop. He showed me all the tips and tricks to getting it right - I might advise that you find someone to show you the method too - as it can be a little frustrating with no one to point you in the right direction.

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[Lucyc]

Hmm.. I now know I have immediate access to:
Elder, Hazel, Elm, Ash, Holly, Oak, Hornbeam, Pine, Apple, Poplar
(possibly willow, if I can get some from school - dodgy)

What would be the best combination of those for a bow drill hearth and drill? I probably could get hold of some willow for a drill, but not enough for a hearth..

 

[Ogri the trog]

Hmm.. I now know I have immediate access to:
Elder, Hazel, Elm, Ash, Holly, Oak, Hornbeam, Pine, Apple, Poplar
(possibly willow, if I can get some from school - dodgy)

What would be the best combination of those for a bow drill hearth and drill? I probably could get hold of some willow for a drill, but not enough for a hearth..

For a bowdrill combination, Hazel spindle on a willow hearth would be one of the better mixes. Holly would be great as a top bearing block, Oak is probably too hard to use anywhere. Pine contains resin which has a tendancy to gum up things and so is of little use in a bowdrill set. Elder might work as a spindle, though you'll have to slave in a tip of something else to get good friction. As for the others, I haven't tried.
If you can get enough willow for a spindle, think about getting enough for a "Two stick hearth board" - two sticks tied together to form a hearth with the spindle acting between them.

There are bound to be more auggestions along soon so don't just take my word for it.

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[Lucyc]

If we take willow out of the equation (it's possible I can get some, but I'd rather the gardeners didn't catch me stealing their wood..), is there anything else there that would work for a beginner?

 

[bushcraft Sam]

it deppends wheather you want to burn it or simply dry it off.
if you want to simply dry them of then setting a few pieces round a fire in a tepee formation, this should do the trick.

 

[Ogri the trog]

If we take willow out of the equation (it's possible I can get some, but I'd rather the gardeners didn't catch me stealing their wood..), is there anything else there that would work for a beginner?

There should be plenty,
Hazel on cedar is my favourite, hazel on ivy is supposed to be better, but I haven't tried yet. Sycamore, poplar and alder are aparently reknowned as being good.
It's the "technique" that rattled me for over a year before I was taught the finer points - and with those under your belt, you should be in with a fighting chance with many different combinations of woods as you'll know the signs of what is likely to work and the methods of overcoming problems along the way.
It might be a long journey, but it'll definately be worth it.

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[Lucyc]

There should be plenty,
Hazel on cedar is my favourite, hazel on ivy is supposed to be better, but I haven't tried yet. Sycamore, poplar and alder are aparently reknowned as being good.
It's the "technique" that rattled me for over a year before I was taught the finer points - and with those under your belt, you should be in with a fighting chance with many different combinations of woods as you'll know the signs of what is likely to work and the methods of overcoming problems along the way.
It might be a long journey, but it'll definately be worth it.

ATB

Ogri the trog

So something on a poplar hearth would work? Like hazel maybe?

 

[Ogri the trog]

So something on a poplar hearth would work? Like hazel maybe?

In a nutshell "yes",
I'm not going to promise that it'll work, but it will be somewhere to start. The best advice I can offer is to get along to an area meet or team up with a few others and get someone who can do it, to show you how.
I treat friction firemaking as a numbers game or a percentage thing - at every step, you have to maximise your chances of success - maybe tightening the string, reshaping the drill or cutting a new notch - if it needs doing, then stop and get it done, or you'll waste energy chasing your tail.

Good luck

Ogri the trog