I watched a group of yours at Common Ground almost 20 years ago working the bow drill. One item I recall the most was the importance of thanking the sun, I still try to use that today. After 20 years I still have never seen a spindle get longer after use. Knee high to start.
+downeast primitive skills Thanks brother. Best gift of what we do is being allowed to know how some of those seeds sprouted. Rock on man. That made my day.
Sounds like an interesting quest! Finding beaked or witch hazel in these parts big enough will be the first order of business! Would you be interested in a video of this attempt? If so can we credit you?
@@primitiveskills ...its not only a piece of hazal. You still need a knife, piece of rope, a hearth/ board and a bearing block. Sometimes a cut in your fingers, sweat, frustration and some time ... Hazal is one of my favorites too but i prefer yucca ( spindle and board). I have a bigger ember in no time, almost effortless. No cuts, no sweat, no frustration...no rattling sound. Only satisfaction 🔥🔥
Hey I have a question maybe you can answer it for me. I made a set out of Drift wood I had found it had been dried out for weeks and I carved my spindle and hearth board out of what I suspect is likely a type of willow or maybe an elm Im not sure very new to this. Anyhow I set it up and went to do it and got nothing. I got black on the tip under my handhold on the tapered end but no burn or black at all on my actually burn in end of the spindle. This is what my spindle looks like.
The core issue may be the drift wood. It may appear and feel dry, but being in the water for that long usually means no bueno. If you are getting black dust and lots of smoke but no coal, this would support the "materials too wet" theory. No amount of drying seems to be able to compensate for drift wood. After a while it will get a sponge like structure as the cellulose breaks down, even when relatively dense. The lignin's in the wood are structured like a bundle of straws and, as saturated won breaks down, the walls of the straws weaken and get holes making it harder for the wood to dry out. I hope this helps.
@@primitiveskills Thank you for your Reply. I call it drift wood because I found it around a pond but not in the water. The wood seems pretty healthy though it was in an open basket outdoors for a long time before I brought it in a few weeks ago. After reading up and watching a few videos I corrected my technique I put the spindle out side the bow , braced my wrist against my leg, corrected the notches in the hand hold and hearth board as well as skinned away the Bulb to a more pointed end. Tried again but the the spindle again heats at the top more than the bottom and turns black without producing ash. I was reading Advanced bush craft and saw more common mistake is too short a bow. My bow is 15 inches and the book says it should be about 3 foot long to prevent over working myself. Im again going to adjust the spindles tip and make the bottom end flat with tapering edges and make myself a new bow someone how and try again. If I still dont get it I think you could be right the wood is still wet but can not be dried enough to accomplish an ember.
thanks for some new tips I haven't heard yet. knee high spindle has better control. experience is king. thanks
I watched a group of yours at Common Ground almost 20 years ago working the bow drill. One item I recall the most was the importance of thanking the sun, I still try to use that today. After 20 years I still have never seen a spindle get longer after use. Knee high to start.
+downeast primitive skills Thanks brother. Best gift of what we do is being allowed to know how some of those seeds sprouted. Rock on man. That made my day.
Get a piece of hazel for a spindle...job done. 🔥
Sounds like an interesting quest! Finding beaked or witch hazel in these parts big enough will be the first order of business! Would you be interested in a video of this attempt? If so can we credit you?
@@primitiveskills
...its not only a piece of hazal. You still need a knife, piece of rope, a hearth/ board and a bearing block. Sometimes a cut in your fingers, sweat, frustration and some time ...
Hazal is one of my favorites too but i prefer yucca ( spindle and board). I have a bigger ember in no time, almost effortless. No cuts, no sweat, no frustration...no rattling sound. Only satisfaction 🔥🔥
nice video thanks for the instructions
fun to see you talking about the bow drill, i just wish the video was longer
fredde
Good point's, no punt intended.
lol
Hey I have a question maybe you can answer it for me. I made a set out of Drift wood I had found it had been dried out for weeks and I carved my spindle and hearth board out of what I suspect is likely a type of willow or maybe an elm Im not sure very new to this. Anyhow I set it up and went to do it and got nothing. I got black on the tip under my handhold on the tapered end but no burn or black at all on my actually burn in end of the spindle. This is what my spindle looks like.
The core issue may be the drift wood. It may appear and feel dry, but being in the water for that long usually means no bueno. If you are getting black dust and lots of smoke but no coal, this would support the "materials too wet" theory. No amount of drying seems to be able to compensate for drift wood. After a while it will get a sponge like structure as the cellulose breaks down, even when relatively dense. The lignin's in the wood are structured like a bundle of straws and, as saturated won breaks down, the walls of the straws weaken and get holes making it harder for the wood to dry out. I hope this helps.
@@primitiveskills Thank you for your Reply.
I call it drift wood because I found it around a pond but not in the water. The wood seems pretty healthy though it was in an open basket outdoors for a long time before I brought it in a few weeks ago.
After reading up and watching a few videos I corrected my technique I put the spindle out side the bow , braced my wrist against my leg, corrected the notches in the hand hold and hearth board as well as skinned away the Bulb to a more pointed end. Tried again but the the spindle again heats at the top more than the bottom and turns black without producing ash.
I was reading Advanced bush craft and saw more common mistake is too short a bow. My bow is 15 inches and the book says it should be about 3 foot long to prevent over working myself. Im again going to adjust the spindles tip and make the bottom end flat with tapering edges and make myself a new bow someone how and try again. If I still dont get it I think you could be right the wood is still wet but can not be dried enough to accomplish an ember.