finally, bow-drill success...thanks to The4gotN!

JV3

JV3

Joined
Mar 17, 2010
Messages
4,256
i've been trying to get this skill for two years now with random wood i found while hiking and never got it. mudman recently started his own thread about his own bow-drill failure and i mentioned how i'm on the verge of paying someone for proven wood now because it has eluded me for so long and i'm downright frustrated...then The4gotN pm'd me for my address and he sent me a bunch of proven wood two weeks ago :D i already offered twice to pay for shipping but i haven't heard from him yet.

anyway, here it is! the first two holes are his and i used the 3rd one. the hearth is poplar and the drill is cottonwood (that's his hand-writing to help me out).

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i was stunned it worked! i kept blowing on it, watching it glow...long enough to burn through the newspaper and the old mat i used as a kneeling pad.

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this is the box of wood that he sent me...only thing i used is my own bow/string and hand-socket.

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the kicker? i'm pretty drunk right now :eek: i was drinking and just hanging out in the garage with my cousin visiting from the philippines when he finally had enough and went inside...i decided to finish off the bottle of maker's mark...and like good ideas i have every time i drink :rolleyes:, i decided to give the bow-drill another go...and bamn! success :D this was literally just 20 min ago...huge thank you to The4gotN! i'm going to try the other wood when i'm sober just to make sure i'm not hallucinating all this :p
 
forgot to say the first go was a failure (just a big pile of dust that stopped smoking as soon as i stopped). the whole notch was covered in dust so i took a break and drank some more and left it the way it was. after i caught my breath i then gave another go. i think that's what did it, on the 2nd try there was already a big pile of dust to absorb all that heat and it finally started burning on it's own.
 
scruffuk said:
Congratulations amigo.

Hope you can do it again....sober! :D
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thanks! i actually quit drinking last november (have done too many dumb things because of it) and only recently drank the hard stuff again because my cousin is here...i gotta show him how we roll here in the states. for a special forces mil guy, i'm surprised he can't hang with me when it comes to booze :D

the lucky bottle next to my bow/string and hand socket with an aluminum piece for reduced friction:

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Congratulations JV3 - it's about time! :D

Guess you don't have to make the trip up here, after all.

Doc
 
Good stuff man! The most important think about using proven wood is that you can focus on your technique and not let the doubt creep in about whether the wood is right. Really this its a confidence thing and then establishing a bit of muscle memory and balance during the practice sessions. Now when I'm foraging natural wood for bowdrill, I give it a quick go and will make a decision right away as two whether I think the wood is suitable or not or if I should just find a better piece whereas initially I'd just tire the heck out of myself out on a piece of junk wood. Keep it up now that you have the bug!
 
Good stuff brother,, Congrads.
I would refrain from telling anyone that you have friction burns on your wood though

Nice job again.. That is a huge accomplishment.
 
I have some Makers Mark in the cupboard, maybe it will be the help I need !:D
 
DOC-CANADA said:
Congratulations JV3 - it's about time! :D

Guess you don't have to make the trip up here, after all.

Doc
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thanks, doc! i'll give myself a few more years to get this down then move onto hand-drill. i'll toughen up my soft, silky hands first before attempting hand-drill and ask for your help :D


kgd said:
Good stuff man! The most important think about using proven wood is that you can focus on your technique and not let the doubt creep in about whether the wood is right. Really this its a confidence thing and then establishing a bit of muscle memory and balance during the practice sessions. Now when I'm foraging natural wood for bowdrill, I give it a quick go and will make a decision right away as two whether I think the wood is suitable or not or if I should just find a better piece whereas initially I'd just tire the heck out of myself out on a piece of junk wood. Keep it up now that you have the bug!
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thanks, ken! i watched your bow-drill video here awhile back and i learned a lot from it technique-wise. i was tiring myself out before this proven wood, glad i finally have a good set to start with.


RescueRiley said:
Good stuff brother,, Congrads.
I would refrain from telling anyone that you have friction burns on your wood though

Nice job again.. That is a huge accomplishment.
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thanks, john! heh, i'd also refrain from saying i offered to pay someone for wood.


jcl-MD said:
Ha Ha!!
Great Job man!!

Do you still want the box o wood from me?
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thanks! i won't be greedy so i'll say i'll pass since i have enough. i'll return the favor though and will send someone some wood too once i get it down pat.


sicily02 said:
Great job, man.
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thanks!


pitdog said:
I have some Makers Mark in the cupboard, maybe it will be the help I need !:D
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try it, it loosened up my muscles...and improved my hand-eye coordination :D


HikingMano said:
Congrats! I'm looking forward to nailing this myself this year :thumbup:
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thanks! i'll get it down pat and will send you some proven wood if i can do it consistently enough down the road.


LMT66 said:
Congrats! I'm still struggling with this.
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thanks, man! i'll send you some proven wood down the road if i can do it consistently enough.
 
coal #2 just a few minutes ago, this time i'm sober :D i used poplar on both pieces and the drill just kept making squeaking sounds and brown dust everywhere but not much smoke...so switched to another poplar drill and bam, got it.

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lesson i learned: if i'm running out of breath i'm doing it too fast. on this 2nd attempt, i was breathing normally and could've gone continuously until the drill went through the board...i only stopped because there was so much smoke already. i'll try a couple more and then videotape it for more proof :p
 
JV3 said:
[...]
thanks! i'll get it down pat and will send you some proven wood if i can do it consistently enough down the road.
[...]
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That'd be cool, let me know if you do so I can send you some money :thumbup: My biggest obstacle in starting has been figuring out what wood is best in my area, and simply making time to just try stuff.

Nice coal and :thumbup: for the additional thoughts.
 
Thanks Doc, I've seen that page before and it's a great primer. It's just a matter of plant IDing now. And making some time on my outings to actually sit down and give it a go. I'll post a thread when I am successful :thumbup:
 
poplar wood from lowes for practicing bow-drill.

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my 3rd coal...this wood is crazy easy to get coal!

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for people who are having problems with bow-drill, i recommend heading to lowes and pick up poplar.

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HikingMano said:
That'd be cool, let me know if you do so I can send you some money :thumbup: My biggest obstacle in starting has been figuring out what wood is best in my area, and simply making time to just try stuff.

Nice coal and :thumbup: for the additional thoughts.
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no need for money, it'll be my pay-it-forward deal...i'm going to send you that proven set :) pm me your address.


555 said:
Bow Drill Woods



http://survivalinstructor.blogspot.com/2006/08/bow-drill-woods.html
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beech - no wonder! we have a ton of those here and that's what i've been using for the past two years with no success.
 
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