Hello to you all and Hi Stuart it was a pleasure meeting you and your wife at the Wilderness Gathering I find it a great joy when I meet people like yourself who have a real enthusiam and passion for wilderness skills. After speaking to you I had a look through this fantastic site - it's a credit to you all. I'm personally not one for spending much time at the computer so I will probably pop in now and again, hopefully with something useful.
I thought you might like to look at this bow drill which I made from a cow's rib and strung with rawhide which is still turning the spindle after two years use. The spindle is made from elder with a hazel plug to accommodate the bearing block which is part of a leg bone. This style of bow drill is ideal for trying out many different types of wood and can be put to work as a primitive "Black & Decker" by use of wooden plugs fitted with flint or bone, lashed with nettle and sealed with pitch. I always find that one has to make tools to make more tools! The bow could also be made from deer ribs by cutting a join in them and lashing with sinew.
I also thought this shot of autumn goodies I gathered today might bring a smile to you all, as it did me. Isn't this a fantastic time of the year?
Regards
Patrick
Backwoods Survival School
I thought you might like to look at this bow drill which I made from a cow's rib and strung with rawhide which is still turning the spindle after two years use. The spindle is made from elder with a hazel plug to accommodate the bearing block which is part of a leg bone. This style of bow drill is ideal for trying out many different types of wood and can be put to work as a primitive "Black & Decker" by use of wooden plugs fitted with flint or bone, lashed with nettle and sealed with pitch. I always find that one has to make tools to make more tools! The bow could also be made from deer ribs by cutting a join in them and lashing with sinew.
I also thought this shot of autumn goodies I gathered today might bring a smile to you all, as it did me. Isn't this a fantastic time of the year?
Regards
Patrick
Backwoods Survival School