The World's Smallest bow drill

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rich59

Maker
Aug 28, 2005
2,217
25
65
London
I had an idea on this a while back. It drills nicely but no coal as it stands, but maybe we can suggest improvements:-

bow - your own hand with a loop of string round it
spindle - whatever works - I tried wood between pencil and match size
top axle - the top of a biro (this needs to be something harder)
hearth board - if going for slimg drills needs to be a hardwood I suspect

It is beautifully simple and moves nicely in the hand but needs further work. I will try and submit a photo in the next week.
 

rich59

Maker
Aug 28, 2005
2,217
25
65
London
I have been trying out my minature kit. It consists of:-

bow = 1 piece of string - using my forearm for the sturdy part
drill = about 7cm x 8mm pyracantha
hearth = about 2cm x 2cm hardwood - with 2 nails to fix it to the floor
axle - currently a bottle cap

I need to replace the axle with something more secure as the drill keeps slipping out. Not sure about the legitmacy of nailing down a tiny hearth board. Come to that having a bow entirely made out of string is probably novel too. The hearth board works fine when tested with a more conventional bow and my favourite but large axle - ice cream scoop.
 

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