Where there's smoke there's fire.

J

JackBauer24

Joined
Mar 13, 2006
Messages
850
horseshit.:mad: Next person that tells me "where there's smoke there's fire!!!" they're going home a few teeth shy of what they left with. IF, this were true, there'd be a blaze in my back yard that I created via fire drill. I get tons of smoke! GOOD! no burning char. Drill pops off and hits me in the face. I get mad, throw bow as far as I can into the trees. Dog brings it back. :o I go again. Same. I throw drill into a tree so smartass can't bring it back.
 
Hell i'm still having trouble with the firesteel. It seems like would does not make good tinder now matter how dry and thin. The only way i can get a fire going is by using the cotton ball and PJ method.
 
I like the old piece of flint and a steel strike rmethod.

I can get a fire going with fatwood, tinderfungus, and jute almost every time.
 
I can work wonders with a spark. It's not having any thing that's a real pain. I keep asking people that I know that really should(or I would expect have a good idea how this works) know how to do it. I get answer like how to char cotton in a tin for super tinder. WTF? If I was going to do that I'd have a damn lighter or at least my PSK with flint and PJ soaked cotton balls. (btw, a little rubbing alcohol on those suckers makes them flash in a hurry) I REALLY like when I ask people if they know how. Thier answer is "YES". OH yeah? well have you actually done it? "NO". wtf. leave me alone.
 
I had a hard time learning the bow drill,I first tried it when I was 14 0r so and gave up several times,I didn't think it was posible at least for me,but I started trying a again a few years latter and after plenty of cusing,blisters and smoke I finaly got a coal.I didn't know anbody that new anything about fire from friction,so I had to teach my self and it was a SLOW processe!

Once you get the hang of it you can have a coal in less than a minute (if you have a good kit),and it's a rewarding skill to learn.

What kind of wood are you using?
 
I've had good results with hearths made of tulip poplar,cotton wood and soft maple.
Their are alot of woods sutible for the spindle,as long as it is harder than the bottom board.Hard maple,and hickory work well for spindels,and though not found everywhere naturaly, pecan and privet hedges work very well for spindles.

Good luck
 
A chunk of hair works well as tinder, but its a bit shtanky:D

Also, if you can scrape together some pocket lint, it works REALLY well.
 
JackBauer24 said:
My guess is, that is my biggest problem. I don't know the first thing about different kinds of wood. I've tried various soft and hard woods, I can get a flood of smoke with nearly anything.
Click to expand...
Come on, you're Jack Bauer for pete's sake:D I'm just starting out myself, but I have made fire with the bow a few times and I have discovered that the fire-board needs to be from softer wood than the drill or spindle.
I have had no luck using the same wood for the spindle and fire-board, lots of smoke and a pile of dust, but no smoking coal. Another tip is to be sure your spindle is lubricated at the top where it mates with the hand piece, you don't want any burning up there after the initial burn in. I used a cedar shingle for a fire-board when I was first starting out, I knew it would be easy to get a coal and it was a great confidence booster. I have since moved on to what I find in the woods. Keep trying, the tough part is getting the coal to the birds nest and making fire, at least it is for me.
 
I`ve never tried making a fire by friction myself, other than two feeble attempts, of which i`ll not mention with another word. :p

A good point to stop the drill from flying away from you, when you create too much tension on the string, would be the process detailed in this webpage.
http://primitiveways.com/e-fire.html

Also, here`s a list for a bunch of species of wood, that might help you further in your venture of the all-consuming firemaking.
http://primitiveways.com/Fire Making Materials.html

Hope that helps a little.
 
I feel your pain!

It took me several months trying to get fire going with the bow and drill... I would say to my wife "I'm heading out to the garage for a smoke" :)

I was finally able to get one going... what a day! Keep persisting! :thumbup:

I'm not sure what's more frustrating... golfing or bow/drill fire-making.
 
IUKE12 said:
Come on, you're Jack Bauer for pete's sake:D I'm just starting out myself, but I have made fire with the bow a few times and I have discovered that the fire-board needs to be from softer wood than the drill or spindle.
I have had no luck using the same wood for the spindle and fire-board, lots of smoke and a pile of dust, but no smoking coal. Another tip is to be sure your spindle is lubricated at the top where it mates with the hand piece, you don't want any burning up there after the initial burn in. I used a cedar shingle for a fire-board when I was first starting out, I knew it would be easy to get a coal and it was a great confidence booster. I have since moved on to what I find in the woods. Keep trying, the tough part is getting the coal to the birds nest and making fire, at least it is for me.
Click to expand...

Well I should have called CTU and had them re-flash the rom on my PDA so that it would ignite my memeory card. Oh well hindsite is 20/20.

Yeah, I guess i've been stuck on using only things I find but it would help get one going first. I do get a ton of dust.
 
Hey Jack....

I'm still working on mine..Frustrating Yes!!

However if you are getting really dark,, black dust you are Very close my friend..

what you need once you have black dust is Speed..
Reduce pressure and let it rip...

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
IUKE12 said:
Come on, you're Jack Bauer for pete's sake:D I'm just starting out myself, but I have made fire with the bow a few times and I have discovered that the fire-board needs to be from softer wood than the drill or spindle. Respectfully, I disagree. Many woods are quite good as both hearth and spindle - American Basswood (Tilia americana) is a great example, in fact my favourite. However, if you are using 2 different types of wood, then I agree, the drill should be harder than the hearth - at least that's been my experience.
I have had no luck using the same wood for the spindle and fire-board, lots of smoke and a pile of dust, but no smoking coal. Another tip is to be sure your spindle is lubricated at the top where it mates with the hand piece, you don't want any burning up there after the initial burn in. I used a cedar shingle for a fire-board when I was first starting out, I knew it would be easy to get a coal and it was a great confidence booster. Unlike Tom Brown, who I believe thinks it's a good idea to start out with less than ideal materials to make you perfect your technique, I agree with you. Getting that first fire is most important because after that, when you have a problem, you at least know that you can do it.I have since moved on to what I find in the woods. Keep trying, the tough part is getting the coal to the birds nest and making fire, at least it is for me.
Click to expand...

As far as getting the coal to the bird's nest, if the problem is a crumbling coal, before you move the coal from the hearth, use a coal extender (something like punky wood, True Tinder fungus (Inonotus obliquus) or False Tinder fungus (Fomes fomentarius). Start the extender glowing, then transfer the coal and the extender into the tinder bundle. You can drop the coal and the extender and the coal will fall apart but the extender, like the Energizer bunny, keeps on going and it is sufficient, by itself, to start up that tinder bundle. The other benefit of the extender is it's increasing the size of the smouldering mass which increases the heat and helps spread the glowing (for lack of a better word).

The other problem people have with the tinder bundle is they either make it too loose, thereby not having the bundle material in contact with the coal (in which case it won't spread), or they have it too tightly packed which also has the same effect. One other thing, don't be shy with the size of the tinder bundle. Nothing worse than almost having it and you run out of material. Another thing you can do is contain the tinder bundle in a piece of bark to prevent you from burning your fingers.

A battery powered fan also helps. :rolleyes:

Good luck.

Doc
 
JackBauer24 said:
Well I should have called CTU and had them re-flash the rom on my PDA so that it would ignite my memeory card. Oh well hindsite is 20/20.

Yeah, I guess i've been stuck on using only things I find but it would help get one going first. I do get a ton of dust.
Click to expand...
Ha, looks so easy on TV for sure, Listen to what these guys say and keep at it, sounds like you're almost there. Best of luck.
 
DOC-CANADA said:
As far as getting the coal to the bird's nest, if the problem is a crumbling coal, before you move the coal from the hearth, use a coal extender (something like punky wood, True Tinder fungus (Inonotus obliquus) or False Tinder fungus (Fomes fomentarius). Start the extender glowing, then transfer the coal and the extender into the tinder bundle. You can drop the coal and the extender and the coal will fall apart but the extender, like the Energizer bunny, keeps on going and it is sufficient, by itself, to start up that tinder bundle. The other benefit of the extender is it's increasing the size of the smouldering mass which increases the heat and helps spread the glowing (for lack of a better word).

The other problem people have with the tinder bundle is they either make it too loose, thereby not having the bundle material in contact with the coal (in which case it won't spread), or they have it too tightly packed which also has the same effect. One other thing, don't be shy with the size of the tinder bundle. Nothing worse than almost having it and you run out of material. Another thing you can do is contain the tinder bundle in a piece of bark to prevent you from burning your fingers.

A battery powered fan also helps. :rolleyes:

Good luck.

Doc
Click to expand...
Hey Doc, thanks for the great tips. My comment regarding the drill/fire-board is based on my limited experience and perhaps my feeble attempt at properly identifying wood species. The problem I have with the birds nest or tinder bundle, is probably due to my own impatience since I tend to blow the embers out rather than gently coaxing them to ignition. It is fun to just get a fire going with easy materials at first and I am glad you agree, sometimes you need to understand how something works before you can understand why it does not. You have some good info to offer and I always look forward to reading your posts. This is cool, now when the wife asks me why I am spending so much time on the computer I can truthfully tell her a that I am consulting with my DOC. Now back to that tinder bundle:D
 
JackBauer24 said:
horseshit.:mad: Next person that tells me "where there's smoke there's fire!!!" they're going home a few teeth shy of what they left with. IF, this were true, there'd be a blaze in my back yard that I created via fire drill. I get tons of smoke! GOOD! no burning char. Drill pops off and hits me in the face. I get mad, throw bow as far as I can into the trees. Dog brings it back. :o I go again. Same. I throw drill into a tree so smartass can't bring it back.
Click to expand...

You don't need no stinking fire, just keep playing fetch with the dog and you'll be plenty warm.:D
Stay with it Jack, you've got a ton of humidity down there and it is a factor.
CHEAT! Keep the kit in the house maybe even warm it in the oven when the missus aint lookin.
I like the fire board to be about a 1/2" thick, thicker seems for me to be too muh of a heat sink. Don't make the notch too deep, and try your darndest to be steady, it'll come and then you'll post a " I finally did it" post.:D
 
mewolf1 said:
You don't need no stinking fire, just keep playing fetch with the dog and you'll be plenty warm.:D
Stay with it Jack, you've got a ton of humidity down there and it is a factor.
CHEAT! Keep the kit in the house maybe even warm it in the oven when the missus aint lookin.
I like the fire board to be about a 1/2" thick, thicker seems for me to be too muh of a heat sink. Don't make the notch too deep, and try your darndest to be steady, it'll come and then you'll post a " I finally did it" post.:D
Click to expand...

lol very true about fetching. Don't make the knotch too deep huh? well crap. I thought I wasn't making it deep enough.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top