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tweaking the fire bow

B

Bushman5

Joined
Oct 31, 2007
Messages
9,833
pics as soon as i can borrow a camera........


played around with a few homemade fire bow spindles and handholds today. Made perfectly smoothed and domed spindle ends (at the top, not at the hearth), by using 400, 800, 1000, and finally 2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper. Tried various ways to lubricate them, using wax, lip balm, plants, high temp synthetic grease. Out of all those, the grease and the wax worked best in keeping the friction down. The lip balm was third, and the plant matter dead last. Using the waxes, the wood developed a mirror polish and there was almost no friction.

but what really kept the handhold and spindle end cool and friction free (almost), AND self lubricated, was filing "fluting" on the spindle * end with a chainsaw file. This creates air gaps and reduces the surface contact area on the spindle end in the hand hold divot. What makes it "self lubricating" is you can now pack wax, lip balm into the fluted areas, and it self lubricates.

yea, i have too much time on my hands today......:D

* sp[indles need to be hardwood, i used maple dowels

wait until you see my next project , but for now its a secret....... ;)
 
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Y'know, that really is intriguing. Now here's another damn thing I've gotta try. Seems like it's just one thing after another... thank goodness.
 
Okay, Bushman, now you've done it. You made me start thinking about this, something I'm ill equipped to do, and my warped little brain started thinking "what if."

All the parts of a fire drill set can be made in the field, of course, but the socket where the spindle fits could be a lot better than a simple divot cut into a block of wood. I'm thinking (see what you caused?) that I should go find a set of bearings that I can mount in a block of wood. Since, as we all know, we can make the rest of the outfit in the field, the bearing block would be something we could carry with us. Now I've got to try that as well as your "fluting" technique.
 
I'm thinking outside the box, but it would be cool to form a bearing block by cutting out a divot hole in a Doan stick!

Any takers??? Come on any takers???

As for the drill, I find a bid of spit does the trick....At least I'm working on the idea of the moisture having high heat capacity and producing a cooling effect....There are of course other orifaces that can be used to extract lubricants :eek::eek:
 
kgd said:
I'm thinking outside the box, but it would be cool to form a bearing block by cutting out a divot hole in a Doan stick!

Any takers??? Come on any takers???

As for the drill, I find a bid of spit does the trick....At least I'm working on the idea of the moisture having high heat capacity and producing a cooling effect....There are of course other orifaces that can be used to extract lubricants :eek::eek:
Click to expand...

Okay, Ken, now I'm staring at an old Doan magnesium block and wondering. Maybe tomorrow I'll give it a try.

As for spit, it's never worked for me. The heat of the spindle dries it out too fast. I don't think I want to talk about the other orifices at this point.
 
dawsonbob said:
Okay, Bushman, now you've done it. You made me start thinking about this, something I'm ill equipped to do, and my warped little brain started thinking "what if."

All the parts of a fire drill set can be made in the field, of course, but the socket where the spindle fits could be a lot better than a simple divot cut into a block of wood. I'm thinking (see what you caused?) that I should go find a set of bearings that I can mount in a block of wood. Since, as we all know, we can make the rest of the outfit in the field, the bearing block would be something we could carry with us. Now I've got to try that as well as your "fluting" technique.
Click to expand...

damn, you figured it out....my plan was to machine an rectangular aluminum block, with a pressed in double sealed tapered roller bearing for the spindle end to fit into. The rest of the block would be machined out to fit PJCB and to use as a handhold.... :D The spindle would be a aluminum rod, with a drilled out receiving end for a piece of hardwood dowel. :D
 
Bushman5 said:
damn, you figured it out....my plan was to machine an rectangular aluminum block, with a pressed in double sealed tapered roller bearing for the spindle end to fit into. The rest of the block would be machined out to fit PJCB and to use as a handhold.... :D The spindle would be a aluminum rod, with a drilled out receiving end for a piece of hardwood dowel. :D
Click to expand...

I am awed, simply awed, by your awesome awesomeness. You're way beyond my pitiful thoughts. My head is now bowed in shame at my limited thought process.
 
this is what happens when the beer is readily available - i fire up the drill press next to the fridge and start making stuff......... :D :p :D :p
 
For your birthday I'm getting you a match. Just one.

OH OH! make a sulfur tipped spindle.
 
nice work... as for a handhold.. I have a small stone with a divot I put in with a dremel, Works like a charm.
 
powdered graphite works better than anything else I've tried for lubricating the bearing block. A little goes a long way and it lasts quite a while.
 
While you do lose speed to friction at the head peace, I don't think it is so critical to the process to engage in engineering extremities. Thinning the point of head piece end seems to work pretty good for me. The biggest issue with forming the drill is making your drill straight so that it drills on-centre and has stability. A little headpeace box that is both ergonomic and functionalized (e.g. storage) is cool though.
 
A carefully dented Zippo - divot as a headpiece would of course be the height of irony :D :D (Visions of BaldtacoII working on this one, drilling away with a lit fag in his mouth :D )....
 
Man, I saw the coolest thing last week. A clove hitch to hold a bow drill spindle. That sucker never came out!

clove_hitch.jpg
 
I found a palm-sized piece of fatwood that fit my hand really well. I carved an indent in it for the top of the drill and gave it a try. The dry resin seemed to act as a lubricant and it worked well.

DancesWithKnives
 
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