So you want to rub some sticks together?

Don't forget Willow (Salix spp.). There's probably some in your area. You find it all over and there are many species.

Doc
 
Hhmmm... Doc seems to be a power-horse contributor to this forum. Always posting some REALLY good life saving wisdom. I am definitely not in your class range Doc, but I am getting there. :)

Thanks for all the very beneficial posts!
 
I have just moved out of a rural area ad cannot get basswood.

I have some spruce drills which seemed to work for TF. I also have red cedar as a fire board. Will these work?

Pine as a board will not work because of resins?
 
psy-ops said:
I have just moved out of a rural area ad cannot get basswood.

I have some spruce drills which seemed to work for TF. I also have red cedar as a fire board. Will these work?

Pine as a board will not work because of resins?
Click to expand...

What woods are available, are dependent on where you live. I picked Basswood for the tutorial because it is a proven material and I wanted to eliminate as many variables as possible because of the difficulty of doing this on line. A lot of urban areas plant Lindens (Tilia spp.) along city streets, etc. They may be worth trying as they are similar to and in the same genus as Basswood. And, of course, I'm not advocating you cut down a city's tree in the middle of the night :( but finding a dead branch shouldn't be too difficult.

Other woods that work well (in my area) are Willow (some people say they have lots of problems with Willow (Salix spp.) but it works for me. Poplars, Cottonwood (Populus spp.) works well as does Manitoba Maple/Box Elder (Acer negundo). Another wood worth trying would be Butternut (Juglans cinerea) in fact, that may be a project for this weekend.

Somebody earlier in this thread mentioned the fingernail test (Hartsell?) for hardness. That would probably be your best guide. Just because you haven't seen a certain wood or combinations of wood mentioned does not mean that they won't work. Experiment.

I can't ever remember trying Spruce, I guess because of the availability of other good woods, but it seems to work well for TF. Generally speaking, it's better to avoid resinous wood but one time a buddy and I tried an old piece of Pine that had been sitting on the ground, but was fairly dry, and it worked. Conversely, Larch/Tamarack (Larix laricina) which has been recommended by different survival books (including TB Jr) as being a good choice never worked for me.

In my experience, a lot of mixed combinations will work, but if there is a difference in hardness, the drill should be the harder material but it's best if there is not a lot of difference in hardness, otherwise you will just be drilling holes.

Anyway, I hope this answered your questions. I mentioned earlier that keeping a log noting wood combinations, difficulties encountered, etc. can be a useful reference for questions such as yours. Unfortunately, although I kept a faithful log of hand drill efforts, I didn't with bow drill and have to rely on my 62 (bordering on 100 :() year old memory.

Doc
 
Hey psy-ops,

Just reviewed part of the thread and saw this:
TF:
I have also a species of pine to try out - I will give that a shot tomorrow.

Then I will start mixing and matching.

Here is what I have to test:

Pine
Poplar
Red and White Cedar

I will mix and match those and record the results.
Click to expand...

So stay tuned! :D

Doc
 
I will definitely stay tuned.

I AM GOING TO MAKE FIRE WITH A BOW AND DRILL THIS SUMMER!

I have been trying for a while. Thanks to you and k-estella, I have gotten close.

This is the summer.
 
Psy,

I am not an expert - I have made perhaps 30 coals in my life - it took about 8 hours (on two days) for me to get my first coal. I was using red cedar on red cedar... Not as easy a combo...

Here is what I have found - thus far - is the easiest - White Cedar on White Cedar.

Here is my advice. Go to Home Depot and go to the wood section. Get the clearest board of white cedar you can and build a kit to Doc's specifications - and give it a shot. Doc recommends Basswood - and if it is as easy as White Cedar or easier - this is going to give you a good shot at succeeding.

Also - while you are at Home Depot. Head over to the drill bit section and get a 1/2 inch masonary bit. Find a good comfortable rock that fits in your hand well and drill a dimple in it with the masonary bit. I found that I needed to peck a small divot before the drill bit would take - I used a nail and hammer. One small peck so the drill bit would not wander did it.

BowDrill004.jpg


This will give you a good nearly frictionless top bearing (hand hold - top rock). Also while you are there - like Doc said - get some cheapie clothes line cordage. The most frustrating part is having your cordage slip on you.

This will cost about 12 bucks and you will have enough wood for dozens and dozens of bow drill fires.

I worked in my garage so that I didn't have any stray breezes blowing my coal around when I got a good one.

One last thing - like Doc says - there is TWO phases - pressure and some speed to get dust in the notch - and then less pressure and as much speed as you can muster to get that dust to combust. You don't need that danged much pressure to get a bow drill fire - I have found - especially with white cedar (and I am guessing basswood). Also - if you don't succeed - and the dust looks good like this:

PMOCperfectpowder.jpg


Then keep it for the next round of attempts. I go RIGHT for the speed phase when I have a pile of good coal dust - I have found I can get the existing coal to flame just like I did it in one step.

Okay two last things: Keep good tinder handy - nothing is more frustrating than getting a good coal and not blowing into a flame. Cheat if you need to for the first one - drop it into char cloth (I used REALLY dry cedar bark I got at Home Depot and a small can) if you need to.

Get that FIRST success - prove to yourself you can do it - even if it is in ideal conditions - and then move to harder stuff.

Give me an hour or so - and I will test Spruce on Red Cedar and give you my thoughts.

I will edit this post:

EDIT

Well - I used a Spruce drill / spindle and a red cedar board. It was not as easy as an all red cedar kit. In fact, I was beginning to wonder. I have ideal situation in my garage - and I had to try three times to get a coal. The drill was harder than the hearth and began to eat up the hearth without producing a good coal. I had to go a bit longer and with a bit more speed to get a coal. I would say this one was moderately hard - Spruce on Spruce and Red Cedar on itself both being easier - White Ceder being easy.

Good luck bro - I hope I helped a little.

TF
 
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I have tested a few more woods that I would like to share. Let me get a list for you:

White Cedar on White Cedar - VERY easy - be careful about too much pressure.
Radiata Pine on Radiata Pine - VERY VERY easy - Too much pressure will cause curls.
Red Cedar on Radiata Pine - Moderate - seemed to want a lot of pressure and speed.
Spuce on Spuce - Moderate.
Red Cedar on Red Cedar - Moderate.
Poplar on Poplar - Moderate - a harder wood that seems to need more pressure for a good coal.

Spruce Drill on White Cedar Board - Moderate.
White Cedar Drill on Spruce Board - Moderate.

This was an odd combo - the drill seemed to EAT up the board - you could only get two coals out of a socket.

Spruce Drill on Red Cedar Board - Moderate to hard.


I will keep testing and let you all know.

TF
 
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Thanks

I have been trying the wrong drills for a few years. That is embarassing to admit.

I found the book Primitive Technology. It has an article by Dick Baugh. In it he gives some of the trees that have worked for him. I went out and harvested a piece of California Buckeye. He said that was a good one.
 
psy-ops said:
Thanks

I have been trying the wrong drills for a few years. That is embarassing to admit.

I found the book Primitive Technology. It has an article by Dick Baugh. In it he gives some of the trees that have worked for him. I went out and harvested a piece of California Buckeye. He said that was a good one.
Click to expand...


Dick Baugh is the man! :thumbup:

Psy-ops check out Dick's article on using damp wood. Excellent article and it works!

Doc
 
Mispelling - I will correct.

It is Radiata Pine. (Pinus radiata) also known as a Monterey Pine.

Sorry about that.

It is a very common pine sold at Home Depot and the like - but grows in California and moderate temps.

TF
 
DOC-CANADA said:
Another wood worth trying would be Butternut (Juglans cinerea) in fact, that may be a project for this weekend.
Click to expand...

Well I got out for a hike today with a buddy of mine. My back is still on the mend, so I let him do all the work. Yes, Butternut does work!

Phil preparing the fireboard with the small Linders.

PhilwiththeLinders.jpg




Phil fanning the coal (with my RC-3 in sight, of course :D)

Philfanningthecoal.jpg




The coal.

thecoal.jpg


Doc
 
Hey Doc,

I have learned a few things myself - I am glad you brought this thread back up.

1) Oak is HARD - but you can get fire. I got fire out of softer spindles - such as pine and White Cedar.

2) Chestnut works great!

There you go!

FF
 
Doc - great tutorial (didn't expect anything less).

Regarding the pine question, most (yellow) pines are too resinous and not worth the effort. i have heard of those accomplishing a coal, but again, not worth it. The exception pine is white pine.

White pine (Pinus strobus) is an excellent wood for the bow drill. Is a great kindling too. Inner bark tea is a good expectorant and has protein, fat, carbs, iron, riboflavin, vitamins a & c. Also makes a good anticeptic wash. White pine is the species of pine you want to be eating the inner bark from in a survival situation if you have a choice.

Sorry to digress, here is a list of bow drill woods for me...

- yellow poplar
- white pine
- atlantic white cedar
- box elder
- eastern red cedar
- willow (salix)
- eastern cottonwood
- yellow birch
 
Bumpity bump for a most excellent thread. Planning to get this down by the end of the year :thumbup:
 
Glad this got bumped, I've tried this bowdrill several times and always just end up pissed. I'll try it your way.
 
OREGON FAL'ER said:
Glad this got bumped, I've tried this bowdrill several times and always just end up pissed. I'll try it your way.
Click to expand...

Hey OF or Russell, if you have any problems or questions, feel free to email me at primitive at sympatico dot ca. That goes for anybody else, as well. Just be sure and put 'bow drill fire' in the subject line so it doesn't get deleted as junk mail.

Doc
 
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