Bow Drill Fire - All Natural (includes Saw Palmetto Prep) gundog5 2012-08-01 | Bow drill friction fire success using all natural materials from scratch (including the bowstring made from Saw Palmetto).Several folks have asked how I made the Palmetto bowstring in my last video. Here I show how I make it.I used Long-leaf Yellow Pine for all main components (ie. Bow, Fireboard, Spindle, Bearing-Block), Saw Palmetto strands for the bowstring, green vegetation as a lubricant for the spindle/ bearing-block, a dead leaf to catch the coal/ ember, and Palmetto fibers (ie. Monkey Fur, Palm Hair) for the tinder bundle. Everything was found on-the-spot. The only man-made item I used was the main blade on my Swiss Army Knife.If I seem apprehensive it's because I've only done this a couple times and the heat, humidity, and weather factors here in Florida often keep me guessing, ha ha.Overall, It took about 2 hours (from foraging to flame). Not too bad when working with unproven materials and I did have a couple problems to overcome along the way (a bad fireboard & bearing-block). So, it might seem like everything went really well, but there was some troubleshooting to deal with. I just edited out a lot of footage so it wouldn't be too long and boring. The main objective was to show the cordage preparation and success using it.
Mini Hand Drill fire - Altoids Tin - Almost Success gundog5 2015-05-17 | An almost success with a really short spindle. Although, I had no trouble with a 10" spindle. I think it's doable, just need to try again and fine-tune my approach.
Bow Drill Fire - Elderberry On Elderberry T-Shirt Bowstrirng gundog5 2015-04-26 | Needed to take my own advice and get in some friction fire practice beyond my backyard, ha ha. Went to a wooded area I haven't been to in a while.Freshly found Elderberry on Elderberry using a strip of clothing for the bowstring. I used a small keychain Swiss Army knife (Classic SD) for a cutting tool.Surprisingly it was easier than I was expecting as it was quite humid out, 86F with 82% humidity. Usually high humidity adds to the challenge.
Bow Drill Fire - Altoids Tin Mini Bow Drill gundog5 2014-12-21 | A reattempt of a mini bow drill set that fits in an Altoids tin. This time I went with a 2 piece bow.Components:Bow = Dog Fennel, a pen cap to pair the 2 halves (7" long)Bow string = Nylon twineFireboard= ElderberrySpindle = CattailBearing-Block = Oak (with a little barsoap as lubricant)Tinder = Saw Palmetto hair then pine needlesMusic:Divergence (Remastered VIP) - TheBlackParrotjamendo.com/en/artist/437152/theblackparrot
Hand Drill Fire - Skinny Spindle gundog5 2014-12-06 | Quick hand drill demo using a thin spindle, a little over 1/4" diameter (or just under 5/16" by 10" long). Cattail on Queen Palm Seed Pod branch. Reasonably good materials to work with.It took a little longer for the ember because thin Cattail will collapse if you apply too much downward pressure. So, I needed to balance speed with downward pressure.CattailDog FennelRiver CaneElderberryTeasel
HD120614 closeup gundog5 2014-12-06 | Hand drill close-up test (Teasel on Elderberry). My smartphone is going through microSD cards like they're candy (they stop working). This is a test video to check video size & quality as I'm stuck using the built in storage on the smartphone.
Bow Drill Fire - 2-Stick Fireboard gundog5 2014-04-13 | A slightly different approach using the 2-stick fireboard method. I was trying to use the Y of the gap of the fireboard, but ended up improvising using a drilled hole from a previous failed attempt. Although, I was successful with the concept when I practiced it earlier (off camera). I was also figuring out a better way for air to get to the dust pile.I was trying to use unused materials, but apparently chose poorly, but it's not necessarily a bad thing as I got practice figuring out how to eventually get success when things didn't go according to plan.
Friction Fire Thoughts - Beyond The Backyard gundog5 2014-03-23 | Just some thoughts on friction fire-making, why many folks wanna learn it, and some concerns about how this skill is conveyed.
Bow Drill Fire - Measured Downward Pressure gundog5 2014-03-22 | Another quick ballpark figure of how much downward pressure is used to successfully make an ember, with the bow drill method this time. The digital scale is measuring in Grams.It looks like the scale peaked at about 6300 grams or so (~6.3Kg or 13.9 lbs). Hard to tell, but looks like the average peak of about 5500 grams or so (5.5Kg or 12.1 lbs). Took about 47 seconds or so. You can see it was a gradual progression.I'm not sure of the wood type used. A set I made on one of my business trips in another state. Possibly from New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, or Maryland. A cheap shoelace as the bowstring.Thanks to David West (another friction fire enthusiast) for the inspiration.I did a similar test with the hand drill several months back:Hand Drill Fire - Measured Downward Pressure youtube.com/watch?v=7bdfz6WIuRs
Bow Drill Fire - All Sabal Palm Success gundog5 2014-01-20 | Success using all Sabal Palm tree materials this time (compared to my last vid).
Bow Drill Fire - All Palm Materials (sort of) gundog5 2014-01-13 | 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.
Slow Match Coal Extender Fire - Home-made Proof of Concept gundog5 2013-09-22 | Experimenting with making an improvised slow match or coal extender. My thinking is mainly from a short-term survival perspective. if I had no good way to make fire (ie. ideal fire devices) and eventually got success using fire by friction (ie. bow drill), could I be mobile and carry fire when trying to improve my situation? Friction fire can be tricky and often not reliable. Having an additional improvised option in an unplanned situation would be beneficial. Especially, if the weather isn't cooperative (ie. rain, fog, humidity, etc...). The challenge with this concept is a fire has to already exist before it can be utilized.Slow matches were typically used on matchlock muskets several centuries ago (and apparently by re-enacters today). I stumbled across this historical concept and revisited it from a bushcraft/ survival approach; a quick crude on-the-spot approach. The nice thing is much of the resources needed can be found and made in the field.Related Web Link:**** Ulrich Bretscher's Black Powder Page ****Making a Proper Slow Matchhttp://www.musketeer.ch/blackpowder/lunte.htmlTo learn more, Internet search: slow match, match cord, matchlock musket, potash
Hand Drill Fire - Measured Downward Pressure gundog5 2013-04-30 | Just a quick ballpark figure of how much downward pressure is used to successfully make an ember. Dog Fennel spindle (3/8" dia) on a Palm tree fruit branch fireboard.The scale is measuring in grams. Looks like I'm ranging between 2 to 3kg (4.4 to 6.6lbs) of downward pressure in about 40 seconds.
Bow Drill Fire - T-Shirt Bowstring Revisited gundog5 2013-04-28 | About 3 years ago I did a similar video, but this time it's with freshly found on-the-spot materials and a small blade. With some practice, this is possible.Took about 1.5 hours from foraging to flame, at a leisure pace. It went unusually well today.
Bow Drill Fire - Keychain Knife & Shoestring gundog5 2013-03-18 | I purposely worked with less than ideal tools and freshly found on-the-spot materials. I even went to a location I've never been to before. So, I wasn't familiar with the specific area. Although, much of Florida's wooded areas usually have the same wood choices. So, I pretty much knew there'd be Pine, Oak, and Saw Palmetto as it's just about everywhere throughout the state.I was successful on my 3rd attempt. The 1st attempt was with Live Oak, the fireboard broke. The 2nd attempt I drilled through the fireboard. The spindle was kinda skinny, but I figured I'd give it a try since Oak is hard and dense. I didn't see any other dead Oak branches in the area so I went with Long-leaf Yellow Pine on my 3rd and successful attempt. I was hoping to be successful with Oak using a poor blade option. Oh, and knap-able rocks aren't easy to find in Florida (as a possible primitive cutting tool).I was kinda crude on purpose. I wanted to be able to be successful when everything's not necessary ideal or properly prep'd (such as the tinder bundle). I could have easily grabbed some Palm Hair (aka Monkey Fur), taken more time to make more scrapings, or pulverized the pine needles to make for a more fibrous tinder bundle. That, and working with freshly found unproven materials often involves some guesswork. All part of the experience. The only things missing are the stress and/ or time pressure of having to be successful and possibly spend the night in the woods without a fire (if it were for real). It would be an unplanned inconvenience with a fire, it would totally suck without it.
Bow Drill Fire - All Natural, Freshly Found Pine & Palm gundog5 2012-10-22 | Friction fire bow drill using all natural materials (found on-the-spot).The video's a bit long, but includes overcoming problems. I could have easily edited it to make it look like I did it perfectly in 2 minutes or so, ha ha, but opted to show pretty much how it happened instead.I originally thought to use only Yellow Pine for everything, but it didn't work out that way. Ended up using Sabal Palm for the spindle. Which is OK, it's about as abundant as the Pine in this wooded area I was in; Was just trying to keep it simple.I used Yellow Pine for the fireboard, bearing-block, bow, and even the punk wood. Pine bark was the platform to catch the coal/ ember. The spindle was Sabal Palm (aka Cabbage Palm). The natural cordage bowstring and tinder bundle fibers (Palmetto Hair/ Monkey Fur) are from Saw Palmetto.Overall, it took me about 2.5 hours from foraging to flame (at a leisure pace).Weather conditions were:Tampa Bay area, FloridaSun 21 Oct 2012 between about 1:40pm to 4:10pmTemp: 79F (26C)Humidity: 40%Pressure: 30.03in (101.69kPa or 1016.93mb)Dew Point: 52F (11C)Wind: 7mph (11kph)How'd you make the bowstring?Here's a previous vid I did showing the process of preparing the natural cordage to make the bowstring:Bow Drill Fire - All Natural (includes Saw Palmetto Prep)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLWTWCdeZVU
Bow Drill Fire - Pignut Hickory gundog5 2012-10-14 | Friction fire bow drill using freshly found Pignut Hickory.Man-made items used: A Swiss Army Knife & paracordFireboard: Pignut HickorySpindle: Pignut HickoryBearing-block: Half of a Hickory nutBearing-block Lubricant: Grapevine leavesBow: Laurel OakBowstring: Paracord (550 cord)Coal Catcher/ Ember Pan: An Oak leafTinder Bundle: Palmetto Hair (ie. Monkey Fur)Current weather conditions:Location: Tampa Bay area, FloridaDate: Sun 14 Oct 2012, 3:30pm EDTTemperature: 88F (31C)Humidity: 54%Dew Point: 68F (20C)Atmospheric Pressure: 30.00" (1016 mb)Elevation: 60ft Above Sea Level (not far from the beach)Wind: 0mph (0kph)
Hand Drill Fire - Cattail on Yellow Pine gundog5 2012-10-13 | Friction fire-making using the hand drill method. Used a Cattail spindle on a Longleaf Yellow Pine fireboard. Set was stored indoors.Also noted current weather conditions as I'm theorizing weather has a lot to do with friction fire success.Current weather for this day in the Tampa Bay area, Florida (as per Accuweather.com):Around 2:15pm: EDTTemperature: 83F (28C)Humidity: 54%Dew Point: 65F (18C)Atmospheric Pressure: 30.16" (1021 mb)Winds: 14mph (22kmh)
Friction Fire - On The Spot Hand Drill gundog5 2012-08-19 | I Decided to spend a few hours practicing both the bow drill and hand drill friction fire methods using only all natural materials from scratch (found on the spot).It rained all day yesterday so I was curious to see how wet the woods would be and if it was reasonable to think I could be successful with a friction fire using a fresh unproven set. I collected and prep'd some materials to lay out in the Sun to dry.Oddly enough, I tried multiple times with the bow drill without success. I tried with Sabal Palm and what I think is Slash Pine using a Saw Palmetto cordage bowstring. No luck.I then decided to try my luck with the hand drill using a Dog Fennel spindle on a Sabal Palm fireboard. Then it started to rain. I had no cover so everything I just collected and prepared got wet.The Sun came back out after about 10 minutes of rain and I laid everything out to dry again. I tried various ways to improve my chances of success as things were drying.I just eeked out a hand drill success. Believe it or not, it's my first on the spot hand drill success. All my other hand drill successes have been with materials taken home first to dry before attempting a coal.I purposely used the Pine Needle tinder bundle that was wet from the rain earlier. I was curious to see if it could be done. Though, I had some Palm Hair I just air-dried on standby just in case.
Bow Drill Fire - All Natural - Laurel Oak (FFT) gundog5 2012-08-15 | Friction Fire Tuesday (FFT) practice. On-the-spot from scratch Laurel Oak with Saw Palmetto fibers for the bowstring. It took a few attempts, but finally got it in less than 2 hours time.Background Music (Free Royalty-free):Simon Cameron - Dilemma(remix)-Jesse Valentine.mp3 fromhttp://jessevalentinemusic.bandcamp.com/track/dilemma-f-777-remix
Friction Fire - Autoignition Experiment gundog5 2012-08-11 | A basic test showing how partially charred dust (from many failed bow drill attempts) can combust or ignite into an ember on a hot surface (a tin lid).
Bow Drill Fire - Natural Bowstring Follow-up gundog5 2012-08-05 | I re-use the same natural bowstrings from my last 2 videos. I was curious to see how they'd do after drying out 4 or 5 days later. I figured they snap or slip too much, but surprisingly they still held up pretty well.It took 4 attempts with the first set and 1 attempt with the 2nd. Success with both. Both sets were made from Longleaf Yellow Pine, Saw Palmetto as the bowstrings, and green vegetation as bearing-block lubricant.
Friction Fire Bow Drill - Palmetto Bowstring gundog5 2012-07-30 | Friction fire practice. My original intent was to use all naturally found materials from scratch. I started off making everything from Longleaf Yellow Pine (common here in Florida) and Saw Palmetto fibers for the bowstring. I used dried Pine sap as a lubricant for the bearing-block.Well, it didn't go according to plan. As I was prep'ing the set a thunderstorm was rolling in and it started raining. I did bring the materials home and tried again later, but just couldn't make it happen. So, I resorted to using a proven Laural Oak set with an in-line roller blade wheel as a bearing-block to at least get a coal and blow it to flame.So, I ended up cheating, but what I was most interested in was how well the natural cordage bowstring held up. Surprisingly, after countless attempts today it never broke and is still usable.
Hand Drill Fire - Learn Bow Drill First! gundog5 2012-06-18 | I'm using Caesar Weed (a wild weed found here in Florida) as both the spindle & fireboard. The easiest materials I've used thus far. Virtually no wear & tear on the hands. Routine practice for me, though.Recently, I've had several people ask me about learning just the hand drill friction fire method with the thinking that's all they'd need to know to be able to make a fire if there's no better (easier) way (ie. a survival-like situation). Nothing's farther from the truth.The hand drill friction fire method is harder to do than it looks. It really is best to learn the bow drill method first before learning the hand drill. Better to understand the fundimentals of friction fire making via the bow drill as it has a mechanical advantage over the hand drill, almost no direct wear & tear on the hands in comparison (ie. blisters), and has more room-for-error (ie. materials flexibility). Better to learn various improvised bow drill techniques over the hand drill if you're thinking along the what-if surivival-type possibilities.
Hand Drill Fire - Caesar Weed (FFT) gundog5 2012-03-15 | Friction Fire Tuesday (FFT) - Weekly friction fire practiceFinally get to use a different type of wild weed for the hand drill. I used Caesar Weed on Caesar Weed this time.Also used wood scrapings (from a Sabal Palm branch) to make a tinder bundle.
Floating Hand Drill Fire (FFT 6 Mar 2012) gundog5 2012-03-06 | Friction Fire Tuesday (FFT) - Weekly friction fire practiceWith some advice from Ihatchetjack I've become successful with the floating hand drill technique. Thanks Ihatchetjack! I used a Dog Fennel stalk (a wild weed similar to Mullein or Horseweed) on a store-bought Cedar fireboard. Dead grass for the tinder bundle.
Bow Drill Fire - Bread Bag Bowstring gundog5 2012-03-04 | Practice improvising a bowstring using a plastic bag (a loaf of bread bag).Fireboard & spindle are from the same Pine branch (Longleaf Yellow PIne). Bow & bearing-block are Oak. Used a sliver of barsoap as a lubricant under the bearing-block.It was windy today so I opted to use background music as the camera microphone gets too distorted by the wind.Background Music (Free Royalty-free):Simon Cameron - Dilemma(remix)-Jesse Valentine.mp3 fromhttp://jessevalentinemusic.bandcamp.com/track/dilemma-f-777-remixRiding the Banshee from http://www.danosongs.com/#music
Mini Pump Drill - Friction Fire Tuesday (FFT) gundog5 2012-02-28 | Friction Fire Tuesday (FFT) - Weekly friction fire practiceI managed to reduce the the size of the pump drill again.Spindle bit is a wild weed called Dog Fennel commonly found in Florida. The fireboard was off a piece of Pine Furring Strip (a 1" x 2" x 8 foot piece costs only $0.75).
Friction Fire - Pump Drill, Again! (FFT - 14 Feb 2012) gundog5 2012-02-15 | Friction Fire Tuesday (FFT) - Weekly practiceTrying out a different pump drill this time. Was trying to reduce the size compared to my original pump drill so it'd be easier for beginners to use. This way they can learn the dynamics of friction fire-making without too much exertion (with a decent success rate).Also, I show having to recover from a silly mistake like letting the ember roll off the ember pan (aka coal catcher) and dealing with an unexpectedly stubborn tinder bundle.
Friction Fire - Arctic Mouth Drill (Strap Drill) gundog5 2012-02-15 | Trying out the concept of holding the bearing-block with your teeth and holding the string with just the hands (no bow).
Bow Drill Fire - Plastic Bag Bowstring (FFT) gundog5 2012-02-04 | Friction Fire Tuesday (FFT) a few days late, ha ha. Weekly friction fire making practice.Inspired by TheENIGMA301, I figured I'd try using a plastic shopping bag as a bowstring.I used a Bay spindle on a Longleaf Yellow Pine fireboard. The fireboard was warped so I used another piece of wood to help stabilise it. I tore off a small piece of plastic and stuffed it in the bearing-block to use as a lubricant. Worked pretty well.Music: Peter Satera - Artificial Intelligence Evolved
Bow Drill Fire - Cedar on Cedar w/ Troubleshooting (FFT) gundog5 2012-01-25 | Friction Fire Tuesday (FFT) weekly practice.Using naturally found Eastern Red Cedar in Florida for both spindle & fireboard, Cedar bark as tinder bundle, and an Oak bearing-block with bar soap as a lubricant. I Never had success with naturally found Cedar before (til recently). Most all my Cedar experience has been with store-bought Cedar.Took 4 attempts before success overcoming a couple minor obstacles, but each attempt got closer dissipating moisture because the dust got less sticky/ flaky and more powdery each time. Overall time was around 20 minutes, so no big deal not getting it on the first try.
Hand Drill Fire - FFT 17 Jan 2012 gundog5 2012-01-17 | Friction Fire Tuesday - Weekly practice (from Bushcraftusa.com web forum)New Dogfennel spindle, slightly fire-hardened (a few days ago) and a fresh Sabal Palm fireboard. I used a Pine Needle tinder bundle. The needles were brittle and needed some finesse to blow it to flame. It took a good minute or so to get flame.My hands are pretty well conditioned now (toughened up). Took about a month or so to get 'em used to the hand drill method.
Hand Drill Fire w/ Thumb loops - FFT 10 Jan 2012 gundog5 2012-01-10 | Friction Fire Tuesday - Weekly practiceA bit windy today. I tried using Bamboo as a fireboard earlier to no avail. Ended up getting hotspots on my hands and decided to go with a hand drill that's easy on the hands. I used a Dogfennel spindle with thumb loops. I also added a piece of automotive rubber hose as a sleeve over the spindle. A nice cushion when the hands are sore. Fireboard is from a 2x4 board.I was also tinkering around with some video editing. I was toying with a free Star Trek transporter effect.I ended up running outta battery power before I could show flame. Oh well, next time.
Bamboo Fire Saw - FFT 9 Jan 2012 gundog5 2012-01-09 | Friction Fire Tuesday (FFT) weekly practice (a day early). This time using a Bamboo Fire Saw.
Survival Kit in an Ammo Pouch gundog5 2012-01-06 | Here's a wilderness survival kit I've been using lately. Army ammo pouches can be found at Army Surplus stores or on eBay, usually around $5 to $10 USD. They typically have grenade holders on the sides that I opted to remove (Size: 7" x 3.5" x 2.5"). A mini loaf pan fits nicely inside (Size: about 6" x 3" x 2").It's small & light enough to cover important survival needs, yet not so big or heavy that I don't mind carrying it even if going on a simple day hike.This kit is modelled similar to the kit from this website:http://www.m4040.com/Survival/Survival%20Kit.htmUPDATE: apparently M40 is selling an updated version of his survival kit:http://www.m4040.com/Survival/Survival%20Kit.htm
Hand Drill Fire - FFT - 4 Jan 2012 gundog5 2012-01-04 | Friction Fire Tuesday (FFT) - weekly practiceFinally getting the hands conditioned with the friction fire hand drill method again. Still feel some bruising on the palms, but not bad if I can get success in one attempt. Been practicing on & off for about a month now. I've got some good callouses under each finger joint on the palms now.Decided to try it barefoot wearing shorts in cool weather (~50F) to get a better feel of how primitive man would have done it, ha ha.I used a Dogfennel spindle about 22" long (55cm) and 3/8" in diameter (1cm) on a piece of 2x4 Pine board about 8" long, 1/2" wide, 1/4" high (20cm, 13mm, 7mm) and dead grass for the tinder bundle.
Bow Drill Fire - The Deceptive Dowel gundog5 2011-12-18 | Using mostly store-bought materials. The main objective was to see if a wooden dowel would work well for a spindle. Initially, I thought it would work, but soon learned it wasn't the case. The dowel is relatively soft (passes thumbnail test) and seems like a nice dry piece of wood. But, for some reason it doesn't work (at least in this instance). The dust particles were too flaky, grainy, crumb-like, chunky, etc...; Looking more like coffee grounds than a nice fine powder.I used a 5/8" wooden dowel spindle (not sure what type of wood it is) with a 1x2 Cedar fireboard.Interesting result. Something that looks ideal for friction fire making, but was not. Can be deceptive, especially to someone new to using the bow drill friction fire method.
Hand Drill Fire - Fire hardened with thumb loops gundog5 2011-12-14 | Cheating a bit using the hand drill friction fire method. Just looking for ways to practice the hand drill more frequently without tearing up my hands. Right now, I can do several attempts in a session before my hands start to get sore and blister. I'd like to be able to try many times in a session so I can try different wood types and what-not. Ideally, you want the best materials properly prepared so you do it right the first time so you don't tear up your hands with multiple failed attempts.I used Yellow Pine for the fireboard and Dog Fennel for the spindle bit. I fire hardened (heat treated) them earlier over a fire to carbonize them a bit (and remove moisture) so the set would be a little easier to use. Also made a thumb loop concept to apply good downward pressure.
Hand & Bow Drill Fire - FFT - 13 Dec 2011 gundog5 2011-12-13 | Friction Fire Tuesday (FFT). Still trying to get proficient with the hand drill again. I had several failed attempts with a different spindle before finally getting a coal with a proven spindle. I'm amazed how quickly I can wear down my hands. Having the best, most ideal materials is definitely a big factor.These last couple videos, I've been lookin' like an amateur when it comes to getting the tinder bundles to flame, ha ha.
Hand Drill Fire - Success, sort of... gundog5 2011-12-13 | This footage is from a week ago. I debated whether to post this as I probably don't look like I know what I'm doing, ha ha. It was intended for Friction Fire Tuesday (FFT), but I felt somewhat embarrassed at the time. I figured I'd show this as even proficient folks don't always get success on the first attempt (although, we'd like everyone to think we do, ha ha). I recently started doing the hand drill friction fire method again. My hands are not quite conditioned for it yet. After 4 failed attempts, and a couple new blisters, I resorted to trying it with rubber gloves one last time and luckily got success (with a different proven hand drill set). NOTE: the rubber gloves were old. Hence why they didn't hold up so well. I found them in with my house painting supplies. It worked, but I felt the pain on this last one. Although, I failed getting the ember to flame. It just wasn't my day, ha ha.On the bright side, it is possible to use rubber gloves to practice the hand drill. Although, it was hard for me to tell if they made a difference or not as my hands were already pretty beat-up once I put the gloves on.I used a Dog Fennel spindle (a wild weed) on a Sabal Palm (Cabbage Palm, Fan Palm) fireboard. The tinder bundle was dead grass.
Hand Drill Fire - New Success gundog5 2011-12-02 | I learned the hand drill about a year and a half ago and hadn't practice it til recently. After 5 days of reconditioning my hands I was able to get a coal again.Shockingly, this was one of the easiest coals I've ever gotten. No blisters, but do have sore (bruised) palms. Used Dog Fennel on Cabbage (Sabal) Palm. Temp 72F, 55% Humidity, 56F Dew Point. I think it was easier than expected because the humidity is lower than usual. It's usually around 80%.
Hand Drill Fire - No Go gundog5 2011-11-30 | I learned the hand drill well over a year ago, but haven't practiced it since.My first attempt was last Sunday and got a small blister and my palms were bruised (on 1st and only try). A waited a few days for my hands to recover. Today (Wednesday), I did 2 attempts and was surprised my hands held up better than I expected.I tried for a coal, but wasn't surprised I didn't get one. Mainly, because I'm using an old well-used set (Dog Fennel on Dog Fennel). The spindle's a little on the short side (~13" long).This was mainly to see how long (days or weeks) it'd take for me to get proficient again.
Bow Drill Fire - Water Oak (FFT) gundog5 2011-11-29 | Friction Fire Tuesday (FFT) weekly practice (a thread on bushcraftusa web forum).Fireboard & spindle are Water Oak. Bow is Yellow Pine. Bowstring is used Jute twine (Egyptian method). Bearing-block is Evergreen Oak (with a sliver of bar soap as a lubricant).Tinder bundle is bashed-up pine needles (pulverized with a rock) and Pine wood scrapings.
Flint & Steel Fire Contest gundog5 2011-11-29 | My novice entry to the flint & steel fire contest hosted by kcardwel at bushcraftusa.I had a flint & steel set and didn't even know it, ha ha. Tinder bundle is all natural material, a mix of Palm tree fiber and bamboo scrapings.
Bow Drill Fire - Jute Twine Bowstring (FFT) gundog5 2011-11-22 | Friction Fire Tuesday (FFT) weekly practice.I used regular Jute Twine (7lb work load) as the bowstring this time (Egyptian Bow Drill method) on an all Oak bow drill set.I made videos a couple days ago using on-the-spot materials and this was the set I failed to get working. I reused the same set this time after it sat in my house for a couple days to dry out.
Primitive Fire Contest - Bow Drill gundog5 2011-11-16 | Here's my entry to IHatchetJack's Primitive Fire Contest. See who can burn the Jute twine (18" over firelay) the fastest.I'm pretty sure I didn't win. Time to beat was 2:14 and I was over 5 minutes. But, it was fun to do anyway.
Bow Drill Fire - Tinder Bundle Bearing-block gundog5 2011-11-15 | A quick vid trying out the concept of using the tinder bundle as a bearing-block for the bow drill fire by friction method.Never woulda guessed it was possible til I saw benjalk show it in one of his videos (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q8MdC1mR9Y).Cool concept. Thanks Ben & Dave.
Bow Drill Fire - Oak on Palm gundog5 2011-11-12 | Relates to my last video where I used a Palm tree branch for the fireboard & spindle.A couple questions were asked. One, have I used a seashell for a bearing-block. Two, What if I used a denser spindle. Would I drill too quickly through the softwood (Palm) fireboard.The goal was only to get a coal.
Bow Drill Fire - Palm Tree Branch gundog5 2011-11-11 | Bow Drill Friction Fire using Fan Palm (aka Sabal Palm or Cabbage Palm) here in Florida. Practice for Friction Fire Tuesday (or Thursday, ha ha). A one take video. Total time 21:39. Only edited for time. Some of the boring parts were sped up. Had a little trouble since Fan Palm is a soft wood. The top of the spindle would wear out under the bearing-block causing problems. Got an ember/ coal on the 2nd attempt. Left video intact to show a less than perfect instance of attempting and making fire by friction. Not bad for less than 22 minutes of effort. Good practice helps with having the ability to not easily get frustrated and overcome problems. Materials used: Sabal Palm for fireboard & spindle, Yellow Pine for bow, cheap shoestring for bowstring, and an Oak bearing-block.
