Think I need some help here...

[chrisvreugd]

Think I need some help here...
________________________________________
I now twice, tried to make a fire with the bow, but Im running into some problems...

first it is going like ive read, within a few seconds, its smoking, but then the problems begin, the friction not only produces heat, but is also producing al lot, and then I mean a lot of noise, a very high tone and I think I never read something about that..... but oke I continue "bowing" and brown powder is the result, and then one of my neighbours comes up...

"what the **** are you doing??? what??? who do you think you are? a Indian or what..." (oke not that angry, (im good with my neighbours) but they dont like me making noise... )

so, perhaps someone can help me with the noise??? I would like to get rid of it..

and then an other fire craft problem... its not very clear for me with which part to make the fire, Im making smoke(and noise), but dont know how to go on..... are there some "manuals" for on internet??

thanks already....

Chris
ps. did you had a nice Christmas???

 

[RovingArcher]

My experience is very limited, but I've used a bit of oil from my nose/face to lubricate the handhold socket that holds the spindle in place. Quieted the operation right down.

 

[bikething]

something else to try is packing the hole in the upper block with fat oily leaves such as holly, to act as a lubricant.
Or the non-bushcrafty answer is to use soap!! - play around with the pressure on the spindle too, and sometimes having the spindle not quite perpendicular to the hole in the hearth board can cause noise.

The squeeky noise is normal....It's "the call of the fire-bow bird"

HTH

Steve

 

[Ogri the trog]

Chris,
Have you got an ember despite the noise, or have your neighbors thwarted all attempts?
Having only recently learned the art of bowdrill firemaking, the noise seems to be a regular thing, but there are some things you can do to quieten things down.
Bikething suggested soap on the top of the spindle which, if it works will show that you are onto a good thing. If it works, try a non wooden bearing block, shell, stone etc to see what works.
The bottom end of the spindle might be getting too smooth - cut ridges into the blackened surface to make it rougher.
As to which part to use - there are definate stages - and they've only made sense to me since learning the art. Once everything is carved and made ready, burn-in the hearth board, this is just drilling the spindle in the hole to blacken both parts and it will prove whether the set is going to work by producing plenty of smoke. Once this is done, have a rest and cut the notch, prepare tinder etc. When you go for it, if everything is right, your ember will form in the notch that you cut in the hearthboard on top of the ember pan. When you stop bowing, carefully remove the bow and spindle without moving the hearth. Then use a stick to gently hold the ember in place while you roll the hearth away from it. You can then take another breather as the ember forms itself into a coal - if the ember is viable, it will smoke of its own accord, and you can gently fan it with your hand to help it along. Lift the coal on the ember pan and transfer it into the middle of your tinder bundle; from where you can blow it into life.

The feeling you get when you first get flame is something that cannot be adequately described, you'll get it soon enough.

Good luck

Ogri the trog

 

[rich59]

Noise is caused by vibration - nobbles, oval stick, crack in the wood can all cause this. You need to check that your drill head is perfectly round and smooth. If not then rub it down till it is.

Hope this helps

 

[Longstrider]

I have only managed to get an ember with the drill in the last week or so, after 34 years of trying, but the thing I read was that if there is noise, an ember is very hard to get. The noise means that there is vibration that is robbing the drill of heat-building energy. Try adding pressure to the bearing to stop the squealing. If this doesn't work, check for cracks, make sure the drill is round etc etc. Also check what woods you are using for drill, hearth and bearing, some combinations seem to do nothing but squeal. My first success came with a hazel drill on a lime hearth. There was no noise at all when I eventually got it all together and made my first glowing coal.
Since my first success, I've been playing with different woods and have noticed that those that squeal make no coal, and those that make no noise are the best for coal generation.
Worth mentioning that I was amazed at just how tight I needed the string of my bow (once wrapped around the drill) in order to prevent slipping whilst applying enough pressure to the set-up to make a good coal. Another point that I never noticed in others tutorials was that the bow seems best if it does not flex at all. This means that you need to measure the length of the string pretty carefully, but a bow that flexes will lead to slack line and slippage on the pull stroke of your bowing action, resulting in a lot of effort for very little success.
Hope this helps.

 

[chrisvreugd]

hy,
thanks for the reply so far, the noise is not coming from the top of the spindle, but from the part where it only should make a lot of heath...
so I think Im going to try some other woods, hope that will solve the problem.

perhaps some of you know where to get good tutorials from??

greetz
Chris

 

[rich59]

Worth mentioning that I was amazed at just how tight I needed the string of my bow (once wrapped around the drill) in order to prevent slipping whilst applying enough pressure to the set-up to make a good coal. Another point that I never noticed in others tutorials was that the bow seems best if it does not flex at all. This means that you need to measure the length of the string pretty carefully, but a bow that flexes will lead to slack line and slippage on the pull stroke of your bowing action, resulting in a lot of effort for very little success.
Hope this helps.

Getting a good bow string system is an important part of a good bow drill set. Take a look at mine. The hand end of the bow is seen at the bottom of the picture.

The string slides in a groove in the end of the bow so that I can moment by moment adjust the tension. Thin cords like this one tend to stretch with use - a nightmare unless you can adjust the tension as you drill.

Recently I have tried a much thicker cord - it lasts much longer and tends to stretch less.

A variation of putting 2 or more loops round the drill can mean you need less tension. The extreme version of this is the Egyptian bow drill with multiple loops and tied in the middle.