Hand Drill

[ocean1975]

Hi all,I have been having a go at the hand drill,Not as yet got an ember plenty of smoke but no ember.
I am using a hazel drill 800mm long with an elder tip that's 12mm wide and the thickness to the pith is 2mm.
The hearth board is cut down clematis and dried indoors that is 15mm thick.
I am also using paracord on the hazel drill to apply pressure.

 

[Mesquite]

Looking at the way your elder tip is cutting into the hearth board you might want to consider changing to one with less pith and more wood.

That can usually be collected from branches that second year growth and if you cut them right at the junction to the main branch the wood is a lot more dense.

 

[Wildernessman1]

Perhaps try something a lil more manageable and less fancy and perhaps a lil thinner. I use a simple small hand drill without any para chord. Also, try a different type of wood if you have any. Overall, your set up looks good but it is how it performs that matters and in a survival situation, you won't have all that fancy stuff. The more simple you keep things, the better. Hope something I wrote helps.

 

[ocean1975]

Yes it was going to be my next move to try another tip with less pith Will cut it close to the main branch.

 

[ocean1975]

Perhaps try something a lil more manageable and less fancy and perhaps a lil thinner. I use a simple small hand drill without any para chord. Also, try a different type of wood if you have any. Overall, your set up looks good but it is how it performs that matters and in a survival situation, you won't have all that fancy stuff. The more simple you keep things, the better. Hope something I wrote helps.

Any chance of some pictures of your hand drill set

 

[FerlasDave]

Id suggest changing your drill. It looks like your drill isnt really causing much friction its just sawing away at your hearth which is probably due to over exertion of pressure because your using paracord to push down. Warming your drill before actually trying to get an ember is a valuable tip, basically gentle rotations of your drill until you get smoke then stop. Do this a few times will drive any moisture out of your set before starting for an ember. Also try learning a technique called floating, it makes it alot easier to keep continuous pressure without stopping and wearing yourself out with downward pressure.

 

[Treemonk]

my gut feeling is that you have too much pressure and not enough speed - give it a go without the loops. Perhaps cut the notch very slightly deeper too so that you get less of a peg - that will offset the pith issues a little

 

[FelixAvery]

ive tried twice so far at the hand drill, first time i used ground elder for the drill and scots pine for the hearth and i tried really hard but all i got was blisters! I tried again with a drill from a proper elder tree and hearth from a poplar log from the woodshed that i chopped into a board and this time i got smoke.

so am i right in thinking that a good drill would be thicker at the bottom for more friction and less pith and thinner at the top for more rotation? is poplar a rubbish wood choice , ive heard it burns badly when green but this stuff is dry and burns like wildfire in the stove. There is a clematis going up the side of the shed but its really flaky and i dont want to chop is down , other woods growing on my land are pine, cherry, holly, apple lots of poplar and oak ash and thorn. any tips or pictures of sets that work well would really help me out, thanks!

 

[rich59]

Ocean!! This is good. Your setup is pretty good. Your materials are good and of pretty ideal dimensions. You are getting lots of smoke so you have enough power/ weight. You are nearly there and just refining some technical points could see you to success. I think I could get a coal with your set. That button of wood in the middle of your depression is absolutely fine. No need for thicker rim of wood.

4 issues/ modifications to suggest:-

1) You want the drill to run freely in the depression and not rubbing on the sides. So when you get a deep depression you need to reem out the edges between drilling efforts. You could do this with a knife, or by drilling at angles. You want a flat-bottomed or dimple-bottomed cone.

2) The notch would be better a little wider- about 50 to 100% wider.

3) With a 15mm thick hearth - when starting with a new notch the 15mm fall for the dust cools it. So you need to half fill your notch before your start drilling to reduce the fall. In fact the most likely point of getting a coal is when the notch is actually full and the hot, smoking dust is just shifting sideways onto the heap of dust.

4) Use the three phases of drilling - a) Get to smoking point with some hard drilling. b) Hold it at smoking point with lighter or intermittent drilling - just enough drilling to repeatedly get a little smoke - this heats up, dries and chars the friction surfaces. Do this for perhaps 2-3 min. It should get easier and easier to get to smoking and the smoke should lose a white colour and be more grey. Also the notch gets partially filled c) Drill hard and fast as you can for about 30 secs - getting lots of hot char and smoke, filling the notch with smoking dust moving sideways onto the heap. Then stop drilling, keeping the hearth still and carefully take the drill out. See if you have a coal.

Richard

 

[swyn]

I have a lovely set of picures if rich59 and a fantastic selection of fire lighting equipment that he was playing with some years ago.
Do as he says, ocean1975. You will not go far wrong. This is my favorite way to make an ember and I have a very similar set up. My disadvantage is a crooked finger from breaking and not realising, this catches which is frustrating but does not stop me.
I would suggest speed, plus perhaps ask a friend to help. Get her/him to sit opposite and when your hands get too low friends hands are at the top continuing the effort.
Wishing you the very best with this, I would love to see your grin when you finally get your ember!
Swyn.