i'm sure there are plenty of blokes (and blokettes) around here that can let you in on good local woods to use. but, for what it's worth, i just added my list of favorites in the Firecraft section of this forum. might be worth checking out. maybe you have related species over there.
it would be difficult to help you unless i was there with you, but i think newcomers to hand drill fail to get an ember because:
- the wood is cut green. it is much more advantageous to use dead, slightly decomposed and weathered wood for spindle and hearthboard. sucker sprouts (adventitious growth from stumps and cankers and burls) work well--and are usually straighter than the usual twig and branch fare.
- applying too much pressure. allow the spindle to rotate smoothly. it seems disadventageous to bear down with all of one's might. last year i went to the doctor...not for an ailment, but to use her more-accurate weighing scale to do hand drill on. she humored me and i got to take the scale outside. i did hand drill eight times on it, all using Seep Willow (Baccharis viminea) on sotol (Dasylirion wheeleri): four times performing it "normally" to an ember, four times using the floating method exclusively to an ember. i averaged all the maximum bearing-weight measurements. doing hand drill normally, it took 3.5 kilos of downward pressure; using the floating technique it took 2.0 kilos. not too much is required...
- applying too little pressure. if your spindle tip and/or socket is developing a smooth, glassy sheen to it, this is an indication that either you are applying too little pressure or that the wood is too dense.
- stamina is inadequate. when a friend first showed me how to do hand drill, i spent a couple days practicing. upon retrospect, the wood i was using (California Fan Palm on itself) was the best and easiest combo this country has to offer. but my stamina wasn't developed enough to last long enough, physically or mentally, to get the ember. thousands (literally) of embers later, i can regularly get am ember within 15 seconds--sometimes under 5 seconds with the right wood. [i do want to stress that i hold the Hand Drill as a sacred testament to our inherent inter-connectedness to the land--speediness and references to "world records" are irrelevent to me and serve to dishonor the practice on a spiritual level, for what it's worth]
examine the wood dust you are creating. is it like a fine powder, or does it remind you of tiny, thin sticks? if you are creating mininscule, dark splinters, you're in for a rough time.
and to answer one of your queries...i've made over a thousand hand drill embers, and i've
never once blown on the wood powder to get an ember. blowing on it is irrelevant and can only do harm by dislodging the pile of wood powder. once the wood powder (or char) reached roughly 800 degrees F., it will spontaneously combust and turn into a glowing, red fire-egg. add it to tinder,
then blow, and hatch the fire-egg into fire! at least that's my experience...
if you have any questions you can e-mail me at
storm@stoneageskills.com
When is the best time to stop drilling and start blowing?
