Bow Drill Tutorial

tiros said:
I try to make them at least 1/4 inch. This is usually all I have the materials for. The breakage usually occurs at the split I have in the ends of a willow bow as I am very careful to string it so the cord doesn't rub itself.

I splice the milkweed when its still in its fibrous state before I begin the initial twist. So that may be part of the weakness as well?
Click to expand...

IMHO, you're creating problems for yourself in the way you're splicing. First of all, it's got to be a big pain in the a!! to do it that way.

The 3 ways I know of splicing fibre is:
1- when you're coming to the end of a ply you fan the fibres out on the short end and also on the end of the bundle you're splicing in. You 'mesh' them together and continue on with the reverse twisting. I don't like this method for a couple of reasons - weak splice and causes a larger section to your cordage-not so important in a bow drill string, but not something you would want in a (archery) bow string. Also not esthetically pleasing, although in a survival situation, who cares?

2. when you coming to the end of a ply, you take the bundle to be spliced in and form a 'Y' - you lay the 'Y' on top of the juncture of the 2 plies with the short end of the 'Y' laying on top of the longer of the 2 plies, and the longer end of the 'Y' on top of the shorter ply (I hope you can understand this :( ) and then you continue with the reverse twisting- the same short comings as in #1 apply, except it is stronger than #1.

3. as you 'reverse twist', your fingers will detect when one ply is becoming a bit smaller in diameter- at this point, you take a few fibres and lay them on top of the ply that is becoming thinner (with the loose end sticking out past the main body of the cordage). You then continue to reverse twist. When it starts to get a bit thinner again, repeat. When you're finished making the cordage, you can go back and cut or burn the loose ends off. This is the method I use and I like it because, once you get the hang of it, there will be no sudden enlargements of the cordage (esthetically pleasing), because you are continuously adding fibres, there is no particular weak spot and once you get used to it, it moves along smoothly.

I know this is probably hard to understand. If so, I'll try to clarify for you.

Doc
 
Hey tiros,

Possibly interesting to you, during the late summer and fall, green Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) skin (including the fibres) can be 3-braided and used as a fire bow string. I've done this once successfully (only tried it once). It wouldn't have survived a 2nd attempt though.

Actually, green Milkweed skin stripped off of the plant at these times of the year can be used, as is, as an expedient cordage material, for binding arrow shafts, shelter building, etc.

You mentioned in your post about the string breaking at the 'split' in the Willow bow. Is it possibly the sharp edges or sharp bend (around the split) is contributing?

Doc
 
DOC-CANADA said:
IMHO, you're creating problems for yourself in the way you're splicing. First of all, it's got to be a big pain in the a!! to do it that way.

The 3 ways I know of splicing fibre is:
1- when you're coming to the end of a ply you fan the fibres out on the short end and also on the end of the bundle you're splicing in. You 'mesh' them together and continue on with the reverse twisting. I don't like this method for a couple of reasons - weak splice and causes a larger section to your cordage-not so important in a bow drill string, but not something you would want in a (archery) bow string. Also not esthetically pleasing, although in a survival situation, who cares?

2. when you coming to the end of a ply, you take the bundle to be spliced in and form a 'Y' - you lay the 'Y' on top of the juncture of the 2 plies with the short end of the 'Y' laying on top of the longer of the 2 plies, and the longer end of the 'Y' on top of the shorter ply (I hope you can understand this :( ) and then you continue with the reverse twisting- the same short comings as in #1 apply, except it is stronger than #1.

3. as you 'reverse twist', your fingers will detect when one ply is becoming a bit smaller in diameter- at this point, you take a few fibres and lay them on top of the ply that is becoming thinner (with the loose end sticking out past the main body of the cordage). You then continue to reverse twist. When it starts to get a bit thinner again, repeat. When you're finished making the cordage, you can go back and cut or burn the loose ends off. This is the method I use and I like it because, once you get the hang of it, there will be no sudden enlargements of the cordage (esthetically pleasing), because you are continuously adding fibres, there is no particular weak spot and once you get used to it, it moves along smoothly.

I know this is probably hard to understand. If so, I'll try to clarify for you.

Doc
Click to expand...

Clear as a bell Doc, I'm gonna go with the 3rd option I think as its closest to the method I have been using. Thanks for the info! :) I have tried green milkweed on a twist braid before with terrible results but never 3-braided, I will have to give that a try this upcoming summer. Milkweed grows all over the place in my area. Are there any other uses for this plant besides the flammable seed down and fibers for cordage?
 
tiros said:
Clear as a bell Doc, I'm gonna go with the 3rd option I think as its closest to the method I have been using. Thanks for the info! :) I have tried green milkweed on a twist braid before with terrible results but never 3-braided, I will have to give that a try this upcoming summer. Milkweed grows all over the place in my area. Are there any other uses for this plant besides the flammable seed down and fibers for cordage?
Click to expand...

Just in case I'm not clear - when I talk about using the skin (with fibres) as an expedient cordage, I'm talking about, as is, no braiding, no reverse cordage, just remove the skin in strips and use it for lashing.

As far as other uses, I guess I'll never learn. I typed out a response and wanted to check out a link for you and this forum logged me out again. Anyway, in the linked website, there is all the information I was going to type, and a lot more, so check it out. BTW, the only other use for Milkweed that I've tried is for removing warts, and yes, it does work.

Doc
 
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