Bowdrill practice and two sticks of frustration.....

[j williams]

I originally went out to clean up the shop and do some filework to my trailhawk. I gots sidetracked with bowdrill....

I have spun out a coal every day for 5 days in a row now. Ive been trying to get back into friction fire since my knee injury last summer. I noticed on Weds when I did one in the woods that my knee didnt seem to be bothered. So I brought home some wood that worked for me that day and decided to try to do one coal every day for a month. Dunno if I can do it every day, but at least the seed is planted. lol

One method I have wanted to try is the two stick. I made up a set with yucca on yucca and went to town. Its my understanding that a notch is not needed? I had no luck. A solid no-go x3. The first time I drilled right through the set(and my handhold )...I made a second attempt. Still no luck. My spindle was getting short so I then made a longer one. At this point I thought maybe it was just me having an off day so I made another hole in my cottonwood hearth and spun out a coal dang near with no effort. I took a break and had a cup of coffee, and then went at it a third time. No luck so I decided to notch out the hole a bit and try again. I went to frickin town. I mean I threw it down!! While I got some dark dust, and a ton of smoke, I still was just drilling right through the hearth.

Heres some pics.

First attempt..

Drilled right through.

I dont think I was getting it hot enough. That dust looks very light.

Better pic of the hole

This is when I decided to try a traditional hearth to see if it was operator error...Carved in another divot

Spun in the hole and notched it.

That tell tale whisp of smoke.

Nice coal.

3rd time a charm?

After a bit, I notched the hole a bit. Just to see.

Even after the notch and all the effort. No-Go.

I had plenty of dust it just wasnt goin.

School me on wtf I am doing wrong here. I looked in Mors book, and he does one with a hole drilled through the bottom and top, as well as a 2 hole method. Is this what I should be doing? I thought i read that you didnt need to notch anything and the dust will collect in the space between the sticks. Which it was, it just wasnt touching off.

Thanks......

 

[tknife]

Hey J, I have done this method a few times and while a notch isn't needed, you may need to carve the split between the pieces. There needs to be enough space for air to get through and for a coal to be able to fall through. Sticks that have a slight bow to them work best and you won't need to carve them. Hope that helps a little, I know all about the frustrating friction fire! :thumbup:

 

[RescueRiley]

Nice work Bud... I notice with the 2 stick method I have a tendency to push down lighter (because I'm subconsiously afraid of pushing the hearth apart) that leads to light piwder like you have there.. Might be the same Problem?

 

[Rick Marchand]

I never notch out holes to start, especially with the 2-stick fireboards. They are very different than using the traditional notched board. It is a bit of a learning curve but like anything, once your succeed a few times, you'll understand what to look for and how to adjust your technique. It looks like you aren't getting hot enough. More speed, less pressure is the rule for 2-stick boards.

 

[tonym]

Hey J, I have done this method a few times and while a notch isn't needed, you may need to carve the split between the pieces. There needs to be enough space for air to get through and for a coal to be able to fall through. Sticks that have a slight bow to them work best and you won't need to carve them. Hope that helps a little, I know all about the frustrating friction fire! :thumbup:

Hey T, When I did it I had the coal form at the top of the splits where you see J's pile of powder.

I would say by looking at your light brown powder and the fact that you are drilling through the sticks that you should try less pressure more speed and cook that powder to a coal.

I never liked the split stick method, but I can see some benefits of it. I am just much more proficient at the good ole hearth board method.

Hey look, my advice is the exact opposite of Riley's! What a surprise... Mora people....



Edited, Looks like Rick beat me to it!

 

[j williams]

You guys rock.....

I took all of your advise in and went out to do it again. Got a coal on the first attempt. Things I did differant:

Used a longer bow
Less pressure overall
shaved a slice off the yucca to promote airflow

Im not sure if I needed to shave some off, but it worked. After I switched to a longer bow I was able to save more energy for spinning faster for longer. Therefore I think I could get it hotter faster and not need the gap. Im crapped out for now though. Enough spinning for one day.....

Heres the 4th attempt. With success!

coal

set it in a pile of dust to extend it....

Heres where the coal formed

Thanks again guys!

 

[tknife]

You are probably right Tony, I haven't made fire this way since last year so the coal may have been on top. No memory in my old age

Cool you got it to work J :thumbup: Where there is lots of yucca and mulefat around me this method is faster and doesn't necessarily even require a knife.

 

[kgd]

More speed, less pressure is the rule for 2-stick boards.

Thats pretty much my rule everytime I fail at bowdrill....Congrats on pushing through and getting that coal.

 

[j williams]

Thanks guys....Im a stubborn guy.

I appriciate the tips.....Its like having a firecraft tech support on stand by.

 

[sicily02]

Great job on getting your coal, J. Sometimes having a longer bow does help. I noticed when I showing my nephew how to do the bow drill he he did much better with a longer bow too then with a shorter one.


Bryan