bow and dril green or dry wood?

psy-ops

psy-ops

Joined
Sep 27, 1999
Messages
3,164
I am trying a bunch of different types of wood for my bow and drill.
does it matter if the elements are green or should I let them dry out?

baseboard: 1 pecan, 1 birch, 1 dry cedar
drill: 2 hedge, 1 birch, 1 willow
bow: 2 hedge, 1 willow

bearing block will be carved out of purple heart.



also what woods have you tried?
 
i am certainly not an expert on this but have been successfull with sasafras, birch, poplar, cottonwood. all wood should be as dry as you can get it. i would bake mine in an oven for a couple hours to get it right.

you need a lot of persistance to make it work. took me a month off and on trying, then one day it happened, got smoke and a coal, when you get smoke you are only about half way there.

alex
 
I remember reading a site where all the folks there did firestarting by hand. I think they all used dry wood for all components. I think that the board and drill have to be dry or it's not going to work. Maybe you can get away with the bow being a litte wet.

I've tried to do this once and got smoke but not flame after an hour of drilling. I think the combination of woods that you use is critical. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

S.
 
Bone dry is best. I have had luck with some type of cedar for the baseboard and a wooden dowel that I don't know what it is. I'm currently drying many other types of wood to use as the spindle. Here is a photo of my Acacia spindle bearing. This is the natural color of the wood. I cut this cross section with a small pocket Sierra saw. Working on this project has been a blast. The first materials that I picked worked very fast. I had a coal in 30 seconds but other materials have not produced like that. Experiment!

DR31525.jpg
 
I forgot to ask one more thing, is it necessary to remove all the bark from the bow and drill?

and do people carry bearing blocks with them or improvise everything each time in the woods?

I imagine I would want to carry stuff ready to go though it would be interesting to try to make it out in the woods!


thanks
 
most people carry the whole set after they have made one, the bearing is the hardest part to fashion in the woods, sometimes you can find an antler, or a stone with an depression in it , or make a depression with a smaller stone.

i would not try hard woods like oak, hard maple, and definately weeping willow DOES NOT work, i have tried the weeping willow, you get smoke but no coal.

THE GUYS INTO THIS IN A BIG WAY SAY THAT IF YOU CANT PUSH YOUR THUMBNAIL INTO THE WOOD AND MAKE A MARK, ITS TOO HARD, IF YOUR NAIL GOES IN DEEPLY THEN ITS TOO SOFT, ALL YOU SHOULD MAKE IS A LINE ON THE SURFACE.

hope this helps, and remember keep trying you will get it. also look at ron hoods tape about fire, he gives you the step by step instructions. i would have taken a lot longer without the tape.

alex
 
alco141,

Doesn't Ron use willow in the video?

Thanks Jeff, I read the link exactly where I am at, just gathering my materials before all the callouses and fustrations begin. came at the right time.
 
yes ron uses native willow species to make his fire set, interestingly weeping willow does not work, after much frustration, i had a chance to talk to ron and he said he has never been able to get it to work. he has even put it in a drill press to spin it fast and long. so you need to get a plant book and find some native willow species they are everywhere, and they will work. but then again a lot of different things will work. also dont get a cedar roof shingle to use, yes the cedar is very good wood for fire sets , but the shingles are treated with a fire retardant chemical so they wont work.

alex
 
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