Uploaded January 2014 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
Freshly found all Sabal Palm materials (aka Cabbage Palm). Out of curiosity I wanted to see if I could make a bow drill set using all natural materials from one tree. All parts were made from Sabal Palm; The Spindle, Fireboard, Bearing-block, Bow, Bowstring, and even the tinder bundle. Well, an honest effort until I resorted to using my shoelace for the bowstring just so I didn't feel I completely wasted a few hours of time and effort today, ha ha.
I tried the reverse twist method for the natural bowstring which didn't work out so well. Too much string slippage and fraying caused the bowstring to tangle on itself as it spun around the spindle. It was difficult to apply adequate downward pressure and still maintain smooth action. The fibers were on the stiff side making it harder for the bowstring to grip the spindle. A bummer because I spent a good amount of time making the cordage. I've had many successes using a single-twist natural bowstring, but haven't done well with a reverse twist bowstring for some reason.
I'll do this again with a single-twist natural bowstring so I can really say I was successful using all Sabal Palm materials.
Freshly found all Sabal Palm materials (aka Cabbage Palm). Out of curiosity I wanted to see if I could make a bow drill set using all natural materials from one tree. All parts were made from Sabal Palm; The Spindle, Fireboard, Bearing-block, Bow, Bowstring, and even the tinder bundle. Well, an honest effort until I resorted to using my shoelace for the bowstring just so I didn't feel I completely wasted a few hours of time and effort today, ha ha.
I tried the reverse twist method for the natural bowstring which didn't work out so well. Too much string slippage and fraying caused the bowstring to tangle on itself as it spun around the spindle. It was difficult to apply adequate downward pressure and still maintain smooth action. The fibers were on the stiff side making it harder for the bowstring to grip the spindle. A bummer because I spent a good amount of time making the cordage. I've had many successes using a single-twist natural bowstring, but haven't done well with a reverse twist bowstring for some reason.
I'll do this again with a single-twist natural bowstring so I can really say I was successful using all Sabal Palm materials.
