reducing friction on a firebo cord

[petrochemicals]

Strikes me on a firebow, the cord gains most wear and friction from the two sides rubbing against each other, where they cross over. Has anyone got any ideas on how to reduce it. A peg to seperate the two wouldn' t work, carving a spiral would be complicated and not certain to work. I'm stumped!

 

[Tommyd345]

Clove hitch? Egyptian style!

 

[Limaed]

IMO a lot of the friction is generate by the tension of the bow and a single turn on the spindle. I've tried several times with natural cordage only to have the cord break before an ember is achieved. Aside from making better cordage I would agree with Tommy that a different method of cordage attachment reduces friction on the cord.

I've been playing with using toggles and multiple turns of cord instead of a bow - it's very easy with two people, with one you can push down with the bearing block in your teeth. Recent thread here might be of use:

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=121510&p=1597456#post1597456

 

[petrochemicals]

Thanks for th suggestions. I tried the Egyptian clove hitch, and it got complicated. In the skilled hands of a master it may work but in my hands it just had even more snarl ups and friction. Thanks again.

 

[Jack Bounder]

How about this (recommended to me by someone on here). I haven't tried it but it looks good.

[video=youtube;83KfeCTJ_fA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83KfeCTJ_fA[/video]

 

[petrochemicals]

How about this (recommended to me by someone on here). I haven't tried it but it looks good.
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Thanks jack. It looks like you will get a lot of purchace on the drill with the string, but it still looks like a cord killer. It rides up and rubs against itself, and it does seem to snarl up in the coil. It is a bit of a difficult thing to work out, but there must be a way.

 

[mick91]

A friend of mine reckons he uses crossbow wax

 

[mrmike]

A friend of mine reckons he uses crossbow wax

One of mcqbushcraft's videos mentions using beeswax on firebow strings to help it grip the drill better.
I would imagine that it protects the string and increases its useful life also.

Sent from my SM-T230 using Tapatalk

 

[petrochemicals]

Well using wax does seem to be counter intuitive where grip is imprtant, but I suppose it makes it more supple. Synthetic cord seems to melt, and hemp seems to wear. I'll give it a go and i'll try a few other things at making it a bit more supple, water etc.

 

[petrochemicals]

Yup that definatley works, making it a little more supple stops it wearing any where as quick.