I have been dabbling with this method to complete the set as it were.
I know that elder on clematis is used a lot but I don't have any clematis handy so have used willow for the hearth board. My elder stem is good and dry, with about 50:50 pith to wood. I also have dry teasel, buddleia and golden rod stems but I've not tried them yet.
My limited observations so far suggest that I am not getting the initial friction needed to even begin burning the set in, let alone go for an ember. I am using thumb loops but all that happens is polishing of the elder stem and the hearth, so my question to you hand drill dudes is this:
How much pressure and how fast do I need to drill initially? Obviously with the bow drill you can adjust this as you go because you have a virtually constant rotation and therefore don't lose heat. I have seen a video of a guy using elder/willow so it should work.
Rich59 said once that when he was sussing this method he used a power drill to hold the bit to satisfy himself that an ember should be possible with the materials he was using; I might try that next but any tips welcome.
Thanks.
I know that elder on clematis is used a lot but I don't have any clematis handy so have used willow for the hearth board. My elder stem is good and dry, with about 50:50 pith to wood. I also have dry teasel, buddleia and golden rod stems but I've not tried them yet.
My limited observations so far suggest that I am not getting the initial friction needed to even begin burning the set in, let alone go for an ember. I am using thumb loops but all that happens is polishing of the elder stem and the hearth, so my question to you hand drill dudes is this:
How much pressure and how fast do I need to drill initially? Obviously with the bow drill you can adjust this as you go because you have a virtually constant rotation and therefore don't lose heat. I have seen a video of a guy using elder/willow so it should work.
Rich59 said once that when he was sussing this method he used a power drill to hold the bit to satisfy himself that an ember should be possible with the materials he was using; I might try that next but any tips welcome.
Thanks.