View Full Version : Fire, fire...!
Got to tell this to someone who might be half interested in humouring me...
Finished my "domestics" at 4.30pm and went off to the garage to kill time before the footie results. Spotted my bowdrill kit lying under the bench and thought I'd have yet another go at moving on from glowing coal and smokey tinder (it's at this point that I usually run out of time, patience and energy).....
Anyway, at about the seventh attempt, breathless and getting ever nearer collapse, I decided to increase the size of my bundle of straw and rosebay willowherb for one last attempt......end result, a garage floor with a pile of flames leaping from the straw and smoke billowing all over the place. After a quick stamp on the floor to extinguish the fire and the windows open for 10 minutes, as well as a quick jig of celebration around the lawn I've retired to the house (stinking of smoke according to my other half) for a "tinnie" to celebrate. Sad or what.............!
As they say, can anyone else remember "the first time"?
Mate, that isn’t sad, that's fantastic :biggthump Well done that man, it's not something just anyone can do. A fine example of perseverance and how it pays off :o): Now you just need to make yourself a set out of oak and have a go!! :rolmao:
TheViking
25-09-2004, 17:50
I'm still dreaming... :roll: Gonna have a serious go one day, when we have passed the winter! :wink:
As they say, can anyone else remember "the first time"?
Oh yes!
well done :chill:
deirdre_frances
25-09-2004, 21:50
Fire! Fire!
Yes, I remember the first time I lit a fire.
In my friend rosemary's shed with dramatic results!!
(We used petrol instead of methalated spririts as silly young teenagers!!)
deirdre
Nightfall
25-09-2004, 21:55
It is a thrill to see a ember form for the first time. :super:
i still remember my first time it was'nt that long ago either but what a great feeling it is well done :wave:
Well done! It wasnt long ago for me either, I still get a kick out of it everytime and I think I always will. Its a kinda magic!
Jason
ChrisKavanaugh
25-09-2004, 23:40
Our so called modern societies have smothered us. I see desperate people driving cars as if to leap into the heavens, bungie jumping or other silly diversions. And at the end of the day it's still that ho hum I feel emptyness. But then something so ancient, so deep in our collective consciousness and yet so simple as making fire still has meaning. One of us should have been there, dressed in a great bear skin, burning herbs from the forest and dabbing some sort of red ochre mixed in fat and dung mystical design on your forehead :You_Rock_
It is a thrill to see a ember form for the first time. :super:
its still a thrill to see the ember any time.. but the first time is best!
Well done. After months of trying I succeded once and then never dared try again incase I couldn't do it again ! The moment for me was when you're blowing and blowing and suddenly you have fire in your hands. somhow I expected fire to start in tiny part of the bundle and then spread through the bundle, but it doesn't work like that. Just suddenly "pop" and the bundle is alight. The grin lasted for weeks. My other halfs reaction to my amazing achievment was along the lines of "thats nice dear, are you coming in? your teas ready."
Jon.
After months of trying I succeded once and then never dared try again incase I couldn't do it again !
:yikes: practice makes perfect. After I got the technique cracked I was trying it every spare minute till I had it pretty much perfected.... keep at it and don't stop till you can do it every time :-)
Ed
And try it with multiple woods and mixes of wood. Then try it in the poring rain, then make it and try it in the poring rain :wink:
my first time was with a handrill,what a feeling , well done mate it aint easy and its not given to you on a plate either
steven andrews
26-09-2004, 09:41
I feel that I should attempt making fire by friction. Could you please post a link to a good description of how to do it?
Cheers guys..
here you go hope it helps http://users.hunterlink.net.au/~madms/fires.html
masongary44
27-09-2004, 07:25
Nice one,
Its the best feeling in the world knowing you can make fire anywhere, any-time gives you a strange kind of confidence when you are out with not much equipment :)
what is everyones prefered cordage to use for a bowdrill.. i have been having a lot of slipping on the nylon cord i have been using, any tips
i use good para cord but want to be able to make natural cordage for it so any tips welcome, ive used leather boot laces before but found they tend to go very quickly
i am told that nettle cordage is not strong enough to use on a bowdrill i dont know about willow bark.. but i am told that rawhide is the only natural thing strong enough
i use good para cord but want to be able to make natural cordage for it so any tips welcome,
Make yourself a set that is easy to use and gets fires going quickly, oooo and perfect your technique.
If you take 10 mins to get a fire going, then you are going to need some tough cordage for that kind of wear and tear. Dean on the other hand can get a coal in 30 strokes :yikes: and most nettle cordage can take that :-)
Ed
30 strokes!!!!!!!!! what ?!!!, is his bow 10 foot long or what? takes me about 2 mins tops to get fire but i`ve only been doing it since june i think and still have to try variations on woods etc so this years project is at least once a week so i catch all weathers,if you`re gonna learn something you may as well do it properly eh
the cordage i am preparing to make in this picture worked well for a bow drill set, unfortunatly i am no good at plant ident :?:
can anyone identify this tree from the photo? (there is not much to go on) the cordage of the inner bark is the strongest I have ever seen
http://www.bushcraftuk.net/photopost/data/505/98P1010187.JPG
Ah! I have found a better picture, this one shows more of the tree being used
Can anyone identify this from the photo?
http://www.bushcraftuk.net/photopost/data/522/98P1010190.jpg
its not the trees in the background or on the floor only the one in my hands
I use the leather lace/cords, you can get them from shoe repairers in your local market, I find they don't slip as much.
Stuart, that's a good challenge. Is it Lime bark or even Elder - did you soak it first to remove ?
Chris :wave:
Some of the trees in the background look like Sycamore - can you recall which tree the fallen branches came from or did you actually drop the timber?
I bought a wide leather lace/strap at the Wilderness Gathering in 2003 from Drew of the Survival School which is very strong but perfectly flexible and moves very freely while drilling. Believe it or not, I managed to snap a traditional leather bootlace a while back. I think they call that "perfecting your technique" !
30 strokes!!!!!!!!! what ?!!!,
As i said... perfect your technique and make a set that gets going easily ;-) and no, his bow is not that huge... less than 2ft.... probably more like 18". You do not need to drill that fast either, just nice easy gental strokes aslong as you are bearing down enough to create the friction.
:-)
Ed
the cordage i am preparing to make in this picture worked well for a bow drill set, unfortunatly i am no good at plant ident
can anyone identify this tree from the photo?
Not from the photo, but I was there ;-)
I'm sure it was a lime (a coruption of 'line') tree if my memory serves me correctly. We thought it was a lime but didn't have my book on me to confirm. I checked it when I got home though ;-)
:biggthump
Ed
Stuart, that's a good challenge. Is it Lime bark or even Elder - did you soak it first to remove ?
Chris :wave:
no I didnt soak it at all, There was a whole group of the saplings growing very close together so I thined them out
I thought you had to soak lime to make it into usable cordage??
Moonraker
27-09-2004, 21:39
:lol: that is the hardest tree ident I have ever seen :)
You can find a very good article on natural cordage for fire-bows here:
Fire - Bowdrills, Fast Survival Bow Drill Strings (http://www.trackertrail.com/survival/fire/bowdrill/strings/fastbowdrillstrings.html)
It says:
Root bark is a better choice than branch bark when it's available.
There is a nice article with photo illustrations also, here:
Fire - Bowdrills, Bow Drill Strings (http://www.trackertrail.com/survival/fire/bowdrill/strings/strings01.html)
Simon
hmmm, my first bow drill fire was at the NEC earlier this year... couldn't give up, Stuart had the camera trained on me for all of 45 mins :P
Stuart those pics look familiar ;)
Mate, that isn’t sad, that's fantastic :biggthump Well done that man, it's not something just anyone can do. A fine example of perseverance and how it pays off :o): Now you just need to make yourself a set out of oak and have a go!! :rolmao:
You're a sick man Tone....lol Imagine the heat generated?? And that would be just from his head !!! :o):
Saturday afternoon during the assessment phase of my Woodlore FBC course. Up until then I had only got smoke from my hearth and no ember.
The pressure was on because I knew I needed to make fire to get a good assessment grade.
Start bowing, nice and easy - using the full length of the bow and firm but not heavy pressure on the bearing block. Just warming the hearth up - then a little whisp of smoke from the base of the drill.
Start increasing the pressure and step up the tempo on the bowing - more smoke! Ok lock the bearing arm onto the shin, keep everything on the bearing side tight incase I lose control and shoot the drill into the bushes. Keep the bowing action fluid, not too manic and keep using the full length of the string.
OK good smoke now - I'm on my way. Count out loud - they will think I am nuts but this is my best shot!. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 ... fifty strokes should be enough, keep concentrating on the bearing block - dont let it slip, keep the bowing smooth .. 9, 10; 40 ... 10 more ... 9, 10; 50!
Things looking good, easy with the hearth ... theres a pile of soot on the plate ... AND ITS SMOKING! OK keep calm, tilt the hearth back, a little nudge with this twig, Oh My God, its still smoking - I think I have an ember!!!
Let it breath, its like a new born baby, let it get to know the world, let it breath for a few seconds - get its strength up .... damn where's my nest?!! - Whew, ok the nest is ok, open it up and make sure the thistle down is in the middle ready to receive its precious cargo.
Come on little ember time to do you work, gently now into you loverly down and straw bed ... there nice and comfy and warm, let me tuck you up a bit ... let me close the bed around you....
A gentle blow, almost a kiss ... harder now I can see the bright red glow! This is looking good, I hope the instructor is watching. Keep blowing, MY GOD THIS SMOKE IS CHOKING ME! ... think and remember ... hold the nest high, back to the wind, whaft it down to take a breath ... thats better!
Blowing stronger now, I can feel the heat on my hands - where's the fire. Another bow, hands getting hotter - still no fire! More blowing - my lungs cant keep this up much more - I think I'm going to need plastic surgery on my hands! WHERE IS THE GODDAMNED FIRE!!??
OK I think my hands are going to combust before the tinder does - This isnt straw its :***::***::***::***::***::***: asbestos! Damn I need the fire soon and an ambulance to follow - I am not giving up until I have either fire or two charred stumps where my hands used to be. This smoke would make James Bond's Q proud, they can probably see my smoke across the channel, my lungs are raw from inhaling huge quantities of the stuff!
Please, I cant take this any more, a few more puffs - WHOOF!!!! HOLY CRAP!! FIRE - Whoot!
In the begining all was dark, then I said let there be fire and there was fire - then I said let there be burn cream and there was none.
Yep, my first time was pretty good :)
Thats a great story :-) thanks for sharing that with us :biggthump
Ed
OK I think my hands are going to combust before the tinder does - This isnt straw its asbestos! Damn I need the fire soon and an ambulance to follow - I am not giving up until I have either fire or two charred stumps where my hands used to be. This smoke would make James Bond's Q proud, they can probably see my smoke across the channel, my lungs are raw from inhaling huge quantities of the stuff!
Please, I cant take this any more, a few more puffs - WHOOF!!!! HOLY CRAP!! FIRE - Whoot!
In the begining all was dark, then I said let there be fire and there was fire - then I said let there be burn cream and there was none.
Yep, my first time was pretty good :)
:D Cheers for that, brings back some memories of the nec... I'm sure Gary soaked the hay first.........
Odie,
You told that brilliantly!! :You_Rock_
Last week i was having a go at making some bow drill cordage. I wanted something which could be easy found and didn't need too much prep in the end i used the dead stems of hedge bindweed not the strongest fibre in the world but no prep needed and nice and long. i put it into a 2 strand ply about 12 thick and used it on my best set at the moment which is holy board and hazel drill. I got quite a good smoke off it then,SNAP. I'm going to give it another go as i think i might just pull it off with a thicker cord from bindweed.
while were on the bow drill thing.
Has anybody had any luck with broom? I've made a set and it smokes like it wants to. the dust is a nice black but no ember!
I remember someone mentioning good old limpet shells for the block. How good is that :You_Rock_ I've been using two on top of each other for the block and applied to my existing sets i was shocked how much easier getting an ember was. I've been getting 5 or 6 goes a limpet before i go through the smooth inner shell. Reducing the friction between the block and drill is a must for success
Paganwolf
28-09-2004, 19:35
try using a beer bottle top looks like a flat limpet :shock: and it wont wear out, i havent tried limpets yet i may give it a go this weekend :wink: