GOOD WOODS FOR BOW DRILL.

[demented dale]

What different woods do you consider useful for making a bow drill set? What have you used? what worked/didn't work? I looked on the forum and whilst there is a tremendous amount of knowledgeable postings they are scattered. I could not find a thread specifically discussing just this one aspect. As ever I look forward to your collective knowledge and experience. d x

 

[Stew]

Such a big subject.

I like lime on lime for super speedy.

Some old elder is good - old so you can carve a solid spindle out of a side.

Clematis is nice but super soft so you need to be a bit more gentle.

Once you have it down witha combo, it’s fun to see what you can achieve with other woods. It’s a while since I’ve done any but had a challenge to use yew. I need to revisit it!

 

[Broch]

I'm currently using an elder drill on a maple (sycamore) hearth - it's very reliable for me. I think the dried pithy core actually helps produce a good ember. One wood I have not found so reliable for the drill is hazel. It's tempting to use 'cos it has nice round stems but I have failed to get an ember on more than one occasion - I do know others have succeeded with it.

As Stew says, find a combo that works, practice so you know you've got a good technique, then try other combinations. That way you know a failure is down to the wood not your technique.

 

[Toddy]

My present one is an ivy hearth (astonishing how thick and branchlike old ivy stems can be. This came from one as thick as my wrist, and a hazel drill.

 

[Broch]

There you go!

 

[Toddy]

@Broch, sorry, I totally contradicted you there. Not intentional, but I've been using hazel as a preference for my drill for over thirty years now.
I find it works well. It works on ivy, elder, pine.....the man who taught me how to use a bowdrill to make an ember and fire used pine and hazel, so it kind of stuck with me.

I think it's much the better being old dried hazel though....the ends cut from walking stick blanks were the ones we used at first.

 

[demented dale]

Thank you everybody. I am using all lime wood, ivy bearing block and hazel bow but would like to try something different .
ps does any one have any experience with poor materials or others difficult to work with? I also like to hear what doesn't work xx

 

[Pattree]

As someone who has never tried this but is intrigued may I also ask what cordage you all use? Is that OK with you Dale?

 

[Broch]

@Broch, sorry, I totally contradicted you there. Not intentional, but I've been using hazel as a preference for my drill for over thirty years now.
I find it works well. It works on ivy, elder, pine.....the man who taught me how to use a bowdrill to make an ember and fire used pine and hazel, so it kind of stuck with me.

I think it's much the better being old dried hazel though....the ends cut from walking stick blanks were the ones we used at first.

No, no problem at all @Toddy, I know some people have great success with it, and I have managed to get it to work but not as well as others

 

[Broch]

As someone who has never tried this but is intrigued may I also ask what cordage you all use? Is that OK with you Dale?

I'd like to say I 'use natural cordage' but that would be a lie

I have found the best cord to use is starter cord for strimmers and such, it doesn't stretch at all.

 

[slowworm]

I also use starter cord. Hearth sycamore and I thought the drill was hazel and didn't have any problems. I must collect some ivy as I have a fair number of very large ivy stems laying about after clearing up storm damage.

 

[AlexUK]

Ivy for spindle and hearth. Particularly Ivy that has been dead for a while. It works very well.

I don’t understand what the point of having different spindle and board wood is. You are after friction at the point of contact. Whether the dust comes from the spindle or hearth board is irrelevant? Better therefore to have best wood for both.

 

[demented dale]

As someone who has never tried this but is intrigued may I also ask what cordage you all use? Is that OK with you Dale?

Yeah for sure, In fact that's an important part of a bow drill set so its good you mentioned it. . Paracord is good but this week I was teaching my mate and we used an old pull cord off a petrol lawnmower. It is very strong and fit for purpose. Btw my mate had 3 goes, got 3 embers and made fire from two of them.
I have only learned in the last year and I found this video very informative and at a slow enough pace so as to really absorb what was being said.x

 

[Broch]

Ivy for spindle and hearth. Particularly Ivy that has been dead for a while. It works very well.

I don’t understand what the point of having different spindle and board wood is. You are after friction at the point of contact. Whether the dust comes from the spindle or hearth board is irrelevant? Better therefore to have best wood for both.

I think that's the point, there is no 'best wood', so having more than one species provides a better likelihood of success

 

[demented dale]

As someone who has never tried this but is intrigued may I also ask what cordage you all use? Is that OK with you Dale?

Yeah for sure, In fact that's an important part of a bow drill set so its good you mentioned it. . Paracord is good but this week I was teaching my mate and we used an old pull cord off a petrol lawnmower. It is very strong and fit for purpose. Btw my mate had 3 goes, got 3 embers and made fire from two of them.
I have only learned in the last year and I found this video very informative and at a slow enough pace so as to really absorb what was being said.x

 

[demented dale]

As someone who has never tried this but is intrigued may I also ask what cordage you all use? Is that OK with you Dale?

forgot to quote but theres a reply and a link I sent you further down the thread x

 

[Stew]

Ivy for spindle and hearth. Particularly Ivy that has been dead for a while. It works very well.

I don’t understand what the point of having different spindle and board wood is. You are after friction at the point of contact. Whether the dust comes from the spindle or hearth board is irrelevant? Better therefore to have best wood for both.

It just depends. If both are too soft or both too hard then the rate they wear might not work well enough to produce viable embers.

Speed, pressure, notch size all come into play.

 

[demented dale]

I'd like to say I 'use natural cordage' but that would be a lie

I have found the best cord to use is starter cord for strimmers and such, it doesn't stretch at all.

Do you find the strimmer cord wears a groove in the spindle? I used a lawnmower cord for the first time this week and it wore a groove and started to slip. x

 

[Broch]

Do you find the strimmer cord wears a groove in the spindle? I used a lawnmower cord for the first time this week and it wore a groove and started to slip. x

No I haven't TBH; the spindle/drill is well seasoned and the cord I'm using is not that 'hard'. There are probably starter-cords and starter-cords I know there are some that are 'shiny' which are probably more likely to slip.

 

[Toddy]

As someone who has never tried this but is intrigued may I also ask what cordage you all use? Is that OK with you Dale?

When I don't have to make it all from scratch, I use paracord

I was taught on a bow that was strung with blue polypropylene rope...cheap as chips, site was on a very tight budget, and we could go through metres of that stuff for a couple of quid.
In hindsight it was utterly carp stuff, but it worked.

Nettle fibres, hemp fibres, lime bast, linen, they all work, but they need care. Sinew, if carefully cleaned and braided, works, but it really does need care.
Horsehair braid was surprisingly good, I had a spare bit I'd made up as fishing line.
I've demo'd using just string. It's not brilliant, but it worked well enough to get a hot ember.

M