Hand Drill Mullien questions.

[Diomedes Industries]

I am back in Michigan for a time - and cut three large straight Mullien stalks.

Please give me advice on using these to practice my hand drill. How do I dry them? What to use as a hearth with these? ANY advice would be great.

Thanks,

TF

 

[DOC-CANADA]

Take the mullein, and break them into little pieces and then go find some Teasel! (sorry, just my biases showing )

Make sure you clean up the stalks well, or it will chew the hell out of your hands. I like to use a piece that is about head high when I'm kneeling down.
Start with your hands in a bit of a 'V' shape and a bit more open at your fingers than at the base of your palm (this is much more difficult to describe that to actually do ).

The part of your hands that contacts the drill should be the bottom of your palms. A picture (the blackened area is the part that contacts the drill):

This is the part of the hand that will blister, break, bleed, and eventually callus up.

As you're working down the drill, concentrate on moving both hands, rather than moving one hand, while the other is stationery. When you get to the bottom, hold the drill with one hand (so that it doesn't pop out of the board) and quickly move the other hand back to the top. Then move the second hand up to the top.

Usually when I start back at the top, I speed up for the first couple of twists (?) to bring the temperature back up.

Make the depression in the hearth a bit larger than your drill end. Burn in the depression so that you can see where the drill is riding, and then cut your notch. The notch does not need to go as deep into the depression as with bow drill, at least with Teasel because it's just the outer edge that creates the friction.

Also, relax your shoulders, the way you do a reverse punch, otherwise the muscle strain will cause premature fatigue (where's the laughing smilie )

I'd recommend that you do not try for the coal the first few times, although you may get it anyway. Just work the drill, letting the muscles tune up for this movement. Also, let the hands toughen up. Of course, you probably won't do this, but that's what I recommend.

Or take the short drive up here and I'll show you first hand!

Doc

ETA, as far as hearths, Basswood, Poplar, Willow, etc. Pretty well the same hearths as for bow drill. I'll see if I can find my drill/hearth combos.

The drills may be dry enough, as is, once you trim the bottom off. BTW, Teasel (Dipsacus sylvestris) stalks can be straightened somewhat, using heat, like arrow shafts.

An older thread you might like to check out.

 

[Mistwalker]

Take the mullein, and break them into little pieces and then go find some Teasel! (sorry, just my biases showing )

I knew that was coming as soon as I saw you had replied. Thanks for your input on technique though I definitely get what you are saying.

Ok, Doc...I'm all for trying this Teasel you talk about... but in all of the images I find for it the stuff looks spikey as h#ll to me. Take a look at the last ones here....

http://www.google.com/images?q=Teas...esult_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CCsQsAQwAA


Do you have any good pictures of the type you are talking about?

.

 

[DOC-CANADA]

I knew that was coming as soon as I saw you had replied. Thanks for your input on technique though I definitely get what you are saying.

Ok, Doc...I'm all for trying this Teasel you talk about... but in all of the images I find for it the stuff looks spikey as h#ll to me. Take a look at the last ones here....

http://www.google.com/images?q=Teas...esult_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CCsQsAQwAA


Do you have any good pictures of the type you are talking about?

.

Hey mistwalker,

That's the type I'm talking about. The flowerhead is what's shown in most of those pictures. The stalks, themselves, have little prickles on them, that can easily be removed by scraping with a knife blade or a rock edge, for that matter. In practice, Teasel is easier on your hands, at least to me. It almost seems like it cushions the hand a little bit, in comparison to Mullein (Verbascum thapsus), which doesn't

Also, with the knife edge, carve smooth, the areas where the leaves join the stalk so there's no rough transition area when you are working down the drill.

I should mention, though, that it might be more difficult to find good Teasel this late (last year stalks) in the year. A split in the stalk, depending where it is, will not necessarily cause any problems.

One other thing, when using Teasel, at least this late in the year, is the wall thickness.

In this picture you'll see the difference in wall thickness that I'm talking about. If the wall is too thin, you'll still get smoke but you will be hard pressed to get a coal.

That's about I can think of for the moment, but, of course, if you have any questions............

Doc

ETA in this picture, you can see what I mean about the outer edge of Teasel doing the work rather than the whole end.

 

[jcl-MD]

Thanks Doc!!
I will give teasel a try!

RP#141

 

[Mistwalker]

Thanks Doc, I really appreciate the pictures and input. I know I have seen that in my wanderings here somewhere...I'll look for it more purposefully next outing.

Is that a Basswood hearth board?

 

[DOC-CANADA]

Is that a Basswood hearth board?

Don't remember, for sure, but probably. That or Eastern Cottonwood (Populus deltoides).

Doc

 

[j williams]

Great pics Doc....

 

[Diomedes Industries]

What Poplar Doc - my father has a TON on his property - but it seems VERY hard. Any latin names or pics.

I KNEW you would come through for me.

TF

 

[jds1]

Thanks for all the info Doc. I've got some lengths drying out right now.

Jeff

 

[Mistwalker]

What Poplar Doc - my father has a TON on his property - but it seems VERY hard. Any latin names or pics.

I KNEW you would come through for me.

TF

The green poplar I have on hand (from a lumber store) isn't hard...learned that trying to use some for a bearing block...haven't tried it for hearth or spindle yet though.

 

[DOC-CANADA]

Great pics Doc....

Thanks jw. Good to see you're still about. And thanks to jds1 and jcl-MD.

What Poplar Doc - my father has a TON on his property - but it seems VERY hard. Any latin names or pics.

I KNEW you would come through for me.

TF

AFAICR, the only Poplar I have used is Eastern Cottonwood (Populus deltoides) and it works fine. It's not that hard. kgd may pop back here one of these days and I seem to recall he's done quite a few bow drill coals with Poplar so he may have something to contribute.

One of the things to consider with Eastern Cottonwood and probably the other Poplars, as well, is that the coal produced is rather flimsy, so it's a good idea to fire up a coal extender before transferring the coal (and extender) to the tinder bundle. The same thing is true with Basswood (Tilia americana).

Doc

 

[abo4ster]

Take the mullein, and break them into little pieces and then go find some Teasel! (sorry, just my biases showing )

LOL!!!! Knew it was coming too!

So mullein is something that is normally harvested in late fall, early winter and even a little beyond... obviously depends on your latitude. I like it with eastern red cedar, sapwood of course. Will work with willow (Salix spp.) but a little more difficult in my experience. So Doc will cringe again, but check out this video of yours truly...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kUctQNOhHs

Doc ~ I tried the boxelder on the same day. A no go in my first go around. I believe it can be done in the same day, but you would have to cut in the morning and sit it in the sun. You can see it here, purely entertainment value...
http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15131