Cattail hand drill
- Thread starter Lake
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Hi Rich & others,
A former member here, the late and very inspiring Storm has posted about using Artist's conk for hearths:
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7398
Also on other non-wood materials as a hearthboard:
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8105
Cheers,
Tom
Lake - can you tell me roughly how long it takes for you to get smoke when using cat tail stem on lime? I've been practising again today but no joy 
My stamina is building up slowly so im sure ill get there, just want to know how long roughly ill need to drill for! Dont think im making enough downward pressure.
My stamina is building up slowly so im sure ill get there, just want to know how long roughly ill need to drill for! Dont think im making enough downward pressure.
Lake - can you tell me roughly how long it takes for you to get smoke when using cat tail stem on lime? I've been practising again today but no joy
My stamina is building up slowly so im sure ill get there, just want to know how long roughly ill need to drill for! Dont think im making enough downward pressure.
I think approximately 20 sec and I see smoke. First I hear squeaky sound and then comes smooth friction with smoke. When You will hear that squeaky sound, You must increase the downward pressure just a little bit and drill fast. Let us know when You manage to get an ember
good luck mate!
Almost cracked it! Managed to get quite a bit of smoke the other night, doing a tag team effort using cat tail on Lime with my girlfriend(!).
I am going to have a go solo tonight. The blisters have healed on my hands, but the palms still feel a bit bruised so going to take it easy!
I am going to have a go solo tonight. The blisters have healed on my hands, but the palms still feel a bit bruised so going to take it easy!
Matthew.Passmore
Settler
Well done! You are on good way! Besides, your spindle is from dead standing cat tail or green? Because I found that cutting the cat tail stalk when its green and drying is better. When I have been using stalk from dead cat tail, i have been failing.
Hi guys, would appreciate some input because I would love to get this to work.
I am still in process of getting the technique down and hardening my hands. Especially the part where I pass the knuckles is pretty painful still.
I am using cattail on willow. I have some spindels of about 2 feet long (harvested green and dried) but find that I start to bend the spindle when I put pressure on it whilst spinning. It makes the drill less stable. The point of my spindle is a bit more than pencil thickness. Is that too thin? I am thinking of cutting the spindles a bit shorter to make them more rigid. Any thought on length and thickness?
Thanks for any help!
Lennart
I am still in process of getting the technique down and hardening my hands. Especially the part where I pass the knuckles is pretty painful still.
I am using cattail on willow. I have some spindels of about 2 feet long (harvested green and dried) but find that I start to bend the spindle when I put pressure on it whilst spinning. It makes the drill less stable. The point of my spindle is a bit more than pencil thickness. Is that too thin? I am thinking of cutting the spindles a bit shorter to make them more rigid. Any thought on length and thickness?
Thanks for any help!
Lennart
Hi Lennart! I hope this will help You.
You don't need to cut the spindle. I'm using 90 - 100 cm spindle and it works fine for me. I like to use all length of the spindle when drilling. That gives me more rotations of the drill between replacing my hands up. I think Your spindle is too thin. Diameter that I'm using is 1,3 cm (max 1,5 cm). For me, this works just fine.
As Rich59 said :
rich59 said:
Thanks Lake,
I will give a thicker spindle a go. Practiced again today and am getting more smoke before I run out of steam
I don't think I am anywhere near an ember yet though. Good thing patience is one of my virtues
I am getting a handdrill lesson from a pro in about two weeks but I want to go ahead and practice on a daily basis until I get it.
I would like to be able to get the cattail to work as I have a good supply of those stems at hand.
Keep you posted!
Update: tried the thicker spindle and got lots of dust and a fair amount of smoke. I am failing to get the speed up when the smoke starts so I am getting light brown dust instead of an ember. When I try to increase the speed I lose control and the spindle comes out of the indentation. I am trying to relax the arms and shoulders whilst spinning but can't say that it is working yet (he says with a 180 bpm heartrate) .
Lennart
I will give a thicker spindle a go. Practiced again today and am getting more smoke before I run out of steam
I don't think I am anywhere near an ember yet though. Good thing patience is one of my virtues
I am getting a handdrill lesson from a pro in about two weeks but I want to go ahead and practice on a daily basis until I get it.
I would like to be able to get the cattail to work as I have a good supply of those stems at hand.
Keep you posted!
Update: tried the thicker spindle and got lots of dust and a fair amount of smoke. I am failing to get the speed up when the smoke starts so I am getting light brown dust instead of an ember. When I try to increase the speed I lose control and the spindle comes out of the indentation. I am trying to relax the arms and shoulders whilst spinning but can't say that it is working yet (he says with a 180 bpm heartrate) .
Lennart
If you can get smoke then in a sense you are really almost there - if you concentrate on 3 separate efforts:-I will give a thicker spindle a go. Practiced again today and am getting more smoke before I run out of steam
I don't think I am anywhere near an ember yet though. Good thing patience is one of my virtues
Lennart
1) get smoke
2) Daudle with an occ quick burst of speed just to get back a whiff of smoke avery 10 seconds or so for a few minutes
3) Finally when you have got your strength back from effort "1" then go for it with all the speed you can muster for about 3-5 passes down the drill.
A lot of people make the mistake of missing out stage "2". "2" helps not only to recover, but to heat your drill set nicely, building some un-rubbed-off ultra dry char.
So practice 1, 2 , and 3 and with your existing skills you should be able to get an ember.
I am going to give it a go again tonight. I must say my hands are getting sore to the point that it is difficult to block out the pain.
I feel I am cheating a bit because I am using a sack of charcoal to hold my board so I can sit on two knees and lean into the spindle (instead of holding the board with one foot). I will correct my stance once I get an ember.
I am taking a couple of months to get the hang of the handdrill using the regular technique. If that works I would love to learn the floating hands technique. Being able to use a short spindle makes the handdrill a more viable technique in my humble opinion. Unfortunately I do not know of anyone in the Netherlands who has mastered this technique.....(what is this telling you Lennart
)
Cheers,
Lennart
I feel I am cheating a bit because I am using a sack of charcoal to hold my board so I can sit on two knees and lean into the spindle (instead of holding the board with one foot). I will correct my stance once I get an ember.
I am taking a couple of months to get the hang of the handdrill using the regular technique. If that works I would love to learn the floating hands technique. Being able to use a short spindle makes the handdrill a more viable technique in my humble opinion. Unfortunately I do not know of anyone in the Netherlands who has mastered this technique.....(what is this telling you Lennart
)Cheers,
Lennart
I don't know, maybe isn't too late. Try and you will see. IMHO the best time for harvesting cat tail stalks is august... but i have been harvesting in september last time and those stalks works fine.
I find that the best base boards for cat tail drill are poplar and willow. Lime is not so good in combination with cat tail, it works but harder, you will rub away your hands like me I have been successful on lime, but there are far easier woods (Even though, I find lime best in combination with mullein drill). So i think, if you are failing on Lime, try willow or poplar, you will see that it works.
I have heard, that yucca is very good base board for cat tail drill. But unfortunately in my country, i don't have yucca in that size to be good to use as a base board (only spindle size).
EDIT:
So my results after many failures and successes are here :
1.Poplar
2.Willow
3.Lime
...yucca???
So the next base board that I am going to try is cedar ... Keep you posted.
I have been successful on lime, but there are far easier woods (Even though, I find lime best in combination with mullein drill). So i think, if you are failing on Lime, try willow or poplar, you will see that it works.I have heard, that yucca is very good base board for cat tail drill. But unfortunately in my country, i don't have yucca in that size to be good to use as a base board (only spindle size).
EDIT:
So my results after many failures and successes are here :
1.Poplar
2.Willow
3.Lime
...yucca???
So the next base board that I am going to try is cedar ... Keep you posted.
There are many misconceptions to using cattail as a spindle and a lot of bad information out there.
1--As long as the spindle is completely dry, just bout any diameter will work, I have used less than 1/4" all the way up to 1/2" and they both work well--1/4" drills through board faster though
2--If you pick the cattail while it's green and let it dry properly you will have a good spindle, drying takes a minimal of 5wks to do it properly and even longer for the spindle to go from "fry" to "hard" which is a darker brown(see pics of dry spindle next to a "hard" one)
3--You cannot press too hard, it is more important to have a good notch, where you can hear the wood squeak at start and use a lot of speed and minimal downward pressure.
4--A great fire board is Cedar, or Basswood, I use basswood and it works great for me
5--The length of spindle--I have used a 19" and 26" and they both worked if all of the above is followed.
1--As long as the spindle is completely dry, just bout any diameter will work, I have used less than 1/4" all the way up to 1/2" and they both work well--1/4" drills through board faster though
2--If you pick the cattail while it's green and let it dry properly you will have a good spindle, drying takes a minimal of 5wks to do it properly and even longer for the spindle to go from "fry" to "hard" which is a darker brown(see pics of dry spindle next to a "hard" one)
3--You cannot press too hard, it is more important to have a good notch, where you can hear the wood squeak at start and use a lot of speed and minimal downward pressure.
4--A great fire board is Cedar, or Basswood, I use basswood and it works great for me
5--The length of spindle--I have used a 19" and 26" and they both worked if all of the above is followed.
I've been using cattail for a long while now.
- Too small a diameter will cause your hands to rub together too much causing blisters
- If I can find a pinky finger or slightly larger tip end (just below the flower) I will use that. the wood is more dense at the top.
- Sometimes during drying the roundness of the spindles will deform when using the lowest parts of the stalk.
- I always use 50 cm spindle length. Armpit to wrist.
- Too small a diameter will cause your hands to rub together too much causing blisters
- If I can find a pinky finger or slightly larger tip end (just below the flower) I will use that. the wood is more dense at the top.
- Sometimes during drying the roundness of the spindles will deform when using the lowest parts of the stalk.
- I always use 50 cm spindle length. Armpit to wrist.
