I have created fire.

DOC-CANADA said:
Go out in the woods and find some American Basswood (Tilia americana) and make both drill and hearth from this material. Sure, there are other materials, but you need success. You said you had lots of smoke with the hard woods, so your technique is probably ok. Basswood usually has lot of suckers including dead pieces so you should not have too much trouble in finding good pieces and Basswood is found in just about every continental U.S. state. If you can't find any dry Basswood, then cut some green (preferably off one of the suckers so as not to kill the tree, or a branch) and let it dry.

Doc
Click to expand...

Thanks Doc, my problem is that I wouldn't know Basswood from a large mouth bass, although I'm trying to get better about that :)

The scenario I see is this: I'm out in the woods in winter and stuck in place (a dumb idea but let's go with it) and I need to make a fire, but don't have the makings, but I do have a knife and a good shoe-string. So I think about the bow and drill and I look at the wood around me.

I'm surrounded by birch and cherry, and that's a regular combination in my neck of the woods. I may think I'd rather have some basswood, and we do have it up here and I know what it looks like, but I don't know how far away that might be.

Maybe I've answered my own question, I get up and go looking for basswood, if I'm going to do the bow and drill, and I have no other resources.

DOC-CANADA said:
You mention that you did not see much point in going to Home Depot to find perfectly dry woods............ You seem to be worried that somehow you're cheating. Don't worry about that, what you need is to succeed! (hey more poetry :) ) Once you succeed, you know what it feels like to do it correctly and more importantly, you have established that, yes, you too, can do it.

So get out there and either post your results and questions or email me directly. You are going to make fire, mister! :)

Doc
Click to expand...

Yessir! Thanks Doc, no jokes here, but you have me inspired to go out and try it again. I understand your point about getting one simple success under the belt, just to see how it's done.

I understand that I may have been trying with the wrong woods in the middle of winter...but I want to be able to start fire in the middle of winter.
 
All of the primitive fire starting techniques just remind me why matches and lighters were invented. It does keep things in perspective though. Especially how fire was actually a tradable commodity like salt, copper etc.


"Hey.... I'll trade you this stick that is on fire for your Ipod."
 
I first made fire Jan 1, 2007 about 12:30am, how is that for a new years start! I tried on and off for a couple months. Each time becoming frustrated and smelling of smoke and sweat.

A good rule of thumb is if you press your thumb nail into the wood it should work just fine. To make things easier make sure the fireboard is squared off and about 1/2 thick or a bit more, to thick and you will have a hard time piling up the chared material into a pile. Use a stiff bow, but with a bit of flex, remember while using the bow to have a couple fingers on the string to pull tighter if needed while moving. If you notice a bit of slipping just press down on the string and it will tighten the tension up.

Get the motion down, moving slowly, be smooth, make sure the drill is straight up and down without rubbing on the sides you want all the friction near the bottom. Use a shot glass between your hand and drill, less friction and easier to use. The feeling is hard to describe but once you get going, you will feel the friction start a few seconds into it, followed by a bunch of smoke. Count to 20 going harder and faster and SMOOTH. Slowly stop, and watch for smoke to continue.
 
Coldwood said:
Thanks Doc, my problem is that I wouldn't know Basswood from a large mouth bass, although I'm trying to get better about that :)

Might be refered to as Linden out that way as well.
basswood_leaf.jpeg

tilamets.jpg
Click to expand...
 
Coldwood said:
Thanks Doc, my problem is that I wouldn't know Basswood from a large mouth bass, although I'm trying to get better about that :) Thanks to mewolf, you now have a starting point. If you do a 'Google Image Search' on Tilia americana, you will have all kinds of pictures to help you. Also your library will have more than enough books to help you down this road. I'm pretty sure that your tree species is pretty much the same as mine, so, if that's the case, it will be the largest, (mostly) heart-shaped leaf (usually has an asymmetrical base), with teeth along the margin (leaf edge) that you will find (see Mewolf's pictures). The only other trees that come close, that I can think of off the top of my head, is Catalpa (Catalpa speciosa) which would be an introduced species in your area, and Redbud (Cercis canadensis) which probably won't be found there. And, lucky for you, both of these trees have leaves with no teeth along the leaf margin. (margin refers to the edge of the leaf).

The scenario I see is this: I'm out in the woods in winter and stuck in place (a dumb idea but let's go with it) and I need to make a fire, but don't have the makings, but I do have a knife and a good shoe-string. So I think about the bow and drill and I look at the wood around me.

I'm surrounded by birch and cherry, and that's a regular combination in my neck of the woods. I may think I'd rather have some basswood, and we do have it up here and I know what it looks like, but I don't know how far away that might be. If you have Birch (Betula) and Cherry (Prunus) then I would be amazed if you don't have some Basswood available, all around you.

Maybe I've answered my own question, I get up and go looking for basswood, if I'm going to do the bow and drill, and I have no other resources. No, that's not what I'm suggesting. In the winter, you will already know how to make friction fire and will have advanced to learn the properties needed for success so a lot of other woods will be available to you. Let's not put the cart before the horse. You first have to learn the technique, don't cloud the issue.

Yessir! Thanks Doc, no jokes here, but you have me inspired to go out and try it again. I understand your point about getting one simple success under the belt, just to see how it's done.

I understand that I may have been trying with the wrong woods in the middle of winter...but I want to be able to start fire in the middle of winter.
Click to expand...

Of course you want to be to start fire whenever you want, but first let's learn the technique. You may be surprised to learn that under some circumstances, friction fire is actually easier in the winter, at least where you and I live, because quite often, in the winter, the air is drier.

What you want to do is up to you, but if you want to continue, email me. Other people, of course, respond to the posts here in the forum, because they want to help, and that's admirable, but they actually make it more difficult because everybody has their own way and sometimes it seems contradictory, which just makes it more difficult. I found this when trying to help SkunkWerx get a coal.

And JackBauer, if you want to participate, feel free. We can make it a 3 way email and you might learn from each other's questions.

So, that's the offer. Take me up on it, if you will.

Doc
 
And Coldwood, if you need any more incentive to learn to identify Basswood, consider the following:

"This is the Basswood tree. The bright red, waxy buds of the Basswood often served as famine food to the Native Americans during the Hunger Month of February. The buds may be eaten raw or cooked and make a very mucilaginous but agreeable food. (WL268) The inner bark was also used as a famine food. (WL307) On a brighter note, if you steep a handful of the flowers in a cup of water, it supposedly makes, at least according to one author, one of the best tasting herbal teas in the world, and a strong infusion is very relaxing. (WM63) It's been used for nervousness, stress, high blood pressure, headache, and insomnia, (WM63) and for many other ailments. There is a warning, however, that frequent consumption of flower tea may cause heart damage. (EC288) Utility-wise, the wood is very soft and easy to carve. It's been used to make spoons, bowls, and dishes. It is also a very good wood for making friction fire, both as a drill and as a hearth.

The other part of the Basswood used for utility applications, was the bark. It was used as splints for basketmaking (OJ61), but most importantly, the fibres from the inner bark were used for cordage, i.e. rope, string, twine, etc. These fibres were obtained by removing the bark from the tree and soaking it in a lake or river for 7-10 days, (WL299) at which time, the inner bark could be readily separated from the outer. The inner bark could be further processed for width and thickness. Sometimes, it was also boiled, which was supposed to make it stronger. Due to the fibre lengths, strength, and availability, Basswood was a most important cordage material to the native peoples of the Western Great Lakes region. (PG185) They used this cordage for things like shelter construction, matting, baskets, bags, fish nets (KS-56-1915), traps and snares, and pretty well anything else they needed cordage for.

By the way, did anybody cut themselves today? You see, another interesting application for Basswood fibres was the suturing of wounds (KS-56-1915), and I've never tried it yet...........

So, this is only one of many plant sources, in our area, capable of making cordage, but it its one of the two best. We'll see the other one shortly."

So aside from the other considerations, Basswood will supply every single thing you need for bow drill fire - hearth, drill, bow, cordage, and a piece of Basswood, lubricated with oils from the side of your nose for a head piece.

Doc
 
Any one here made a fire with only hand spinning a stick? I have seen it done, but have never had the patience to do it. I have successfully done the bow and drill method in scouts when I was younger.
 
Avoid the resinous woods. a combination of 2 different woods work great. One wood wears down the other creating more friction. 2 pieces from the same tree seem to only rup/polish and create a lot of squeeking. Avoid hard woods. If you can leave a mark with your fingernail it's probably a suitable wood.
Keep in mind - the softer the wood = the lower the combustion point = the less heat you have to produce to crate an ember.
Combine your tinders - that way if one catchs it will help to flame the others.
Basswood, Cedar, Manitoba Maple, Mullen, Juniper, Sage.
Again - try mixing your woods -learn the characteristics of the woods that work and look for it in otherws of the trees you can't name.
 
Mewolf1, thanks, now that I see the leaf and you say it's also known as Linden, a name I've heard before, I'm pretty sure I know where there is a large stand in town...if not in my own back acres. I'll check it out.

Doc, thanks for the offer, I emailed you off-forum.
 
Coldwood, there are a couple of trees in the Tilia genus, that, while not native, were planted quite commonly for landscape purposes. They are Little-Leaf Linden (Tilia cordata) and White Linden (Tilia tomentosa). They are very similar to American Basswood (Tilia americana) which some call American Linden but I do not know how well they work for friction fire. Probably well, but to avoid causing more problems, let's stick with Basswood (T. americana).

You shouldn't have any problem finding Basswood in your area. I don't know if there is a college, or botanical gardens, or nature interpretive centre in your area, but there should be somebody, perhaps a local Scout leader that could help you with the identification.
Doc
 
soft wood is what you want for a fireboard and fiberous is what you want for a drill . in the woods very dry wood is hard to come by. i cary my fire kit with me, a chunk of ceder dosnt take up much pack room. for my drill, marestail works so well i can sometimes get a coal in under a min.thats in the hot dry desert. i did once get flame in a rain storm in switzerland with this combo . but it was a fight . i havent yet used a fire bow and use just my hands to turn the drill. took a lot of blisters to get my hands to the point where they dont offen blister now.still if i had my druthers, a zippo thumb drill is what i would hope to have in a survival situation. but knowing how to do without is a usefull and fun to learn skill
 
congrats, buddy. as for choice of wood, my book here says:
in descending order:
dry balsam fir
cedar
cypress
tamarack
basswood
cottonwood
im too lazy for this method. i go with the flint when i have to or when i feel like it. usually, i bring a blow torch with me. :D
 
After no success with a bow drill using a white pine base and an oak drill, I went inside our workshop and tried the whole deal again with a drillpress. (Yes, a big motor and high RPMs) All I got was a much shorter drill and lots of smoke...no coal.

I`ll stick to flint and steel.
 
Chosen-frozen said:
After no success with a bow drill using a white pine base and an oak drill, I went inside our workshop and tried the whole deal again with a drillpress. (Yes, a big motor and high RPMs) All I got was a much shorter drill and lots of smoke...no coal.

I`ll stick to flint and steel.
Click to expand...

Email Doc. He's got something going and if he doesn't mind another participant, my guess is you'll be very happy.
 
Chosen-frozen said:
After no success with a bow drill using a white pine base and an oak drill, I went inside our workshop and tried the whole deal again with a drillpress. (Yes, a big motor and high RPMs) All I got was a much shorter drill and lots of smoke...no coal.

I`ll stick to flint and steel.
Click to expand...

White pine is too resinous and the oak might be too hard. Don't give up! Try to find a medium hard wood and match the spindle and fire board.:thumbup:
 
blood_constellation said:
congrats, buddy. as for choice of wood, my book here says:
in descending order:
dry balsam fir
cedar
cypress
tamarack
basswood
cottonwood
im too lazy for this method. i go with the flint when i have to or when i feel like it. usually, i bring a blow torch with me. :D
Click to expand...

Can I ask you what book that is?

Doc
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top