Hand drill, not quite...

[lannyman8]

ok finished work in daylight for a change so wipped out the hand drill kit...

How close did I get???




Any good or what...:thumbup:
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[lannyman8]

the hearth board is Ive and the drill is Burdock....

[ex-member Raikey]

i always wondered where all the blisters on your palms came from,...

[Chiseller]

i always wondered where all the blisters on your palms came from,...

Didn't Oasis write a song abaht a lass that was trying same set up ? *whistles*

sent using my sausage thumb

[lannyman8]

hhmmmm, thanks for the support gents, i think....

[wildranger]

Good effort and great to see you're trying the hand drill! The amount of dust in that notch is about 1/2 of what it usually takes to get an ember - usually I don't have one until the notch is fully filled and overspilling. I'm not surprised that you didn't succeed here, since you're using ivy as a hearth. Ivy is no good for the hearth in my experience. It's far too hard a wood when it's seasoned from green and pieces of dead wood which you find usually just disintegrate into a pale brown powder. Remember, this isn't the bow drill and you'll need the softest possible woods to succeed. Try poplar or lime because any others woods are very difficult. Burdock makes a great drill so keep using that, but do take care to make sure it hasn't started to decay (which it probably will have if that's one of last summer's flowering stalks). If it splinters when you carve the end of the drill with your knife, then it's a good sign that it's too far gone and won't work. I can't tell from your photos if they are but make sure the dimensions of your set are optimal - I find that the hearth should be no thicker than 1cm and the spindle should be about 1cm in diameter too. Good luck!

P.s - Just noticed now that your notch is really thin and won't hold much dust, make the angle greater and bring it closer to the centre - you want the dust to collect in the actual notch, not outside it.

[lannyman8]

thanks ranger, i will be getting some poplar from work this weekend to try, it was a last season burdock but seems to be in good order, it is a little thick though but i need that for the length, i have not mastered the floating hand style as yet, maybe that will come when i can get a coal each time i try...

what you say about Ivy shocks me a little as people have said its great for this, and the notch should not be cut to the center hole with the hand drill is what i have also read and been told, its all a little confusing at the moment, but when i get used to the ideas and get my own Technic down and become constant i will experiment and try new things..

thanks for the help, i will keep trying and keep you updated... i will also try a bigger notch and get some poplar at the weekend.....

regards.

chris.

[lannyman8]

sorry forgot to say, the reason for the notch not being to the center of the hole is so you dont lose any heat, when drilling the surface area is just that little bit greater which helps get the coal, is what i was told anyway...

the coal or dust was in the notch by the way, it just fell out when i moved my foot...

thanks again.

chris.

[Stringmaker]

Good effort!

I have an elder/clematis combo ready to try once I've finished my kuksa.

I'm going straight for thumb loops to start with to get the pressure; is it worth you doing that if you haven't already?

Keep at it

[Ogri the trog]

Contrary to Rangers findings, I have found Ivy to be a good hearth for both hand and bow drill, though I've not tried Burdock as a spindle yet.

I reckon that you must have been pretty close to getting an ember, the dust should technically be a little darker indicating that most pressure and speed were required, but I must admit to not having use a hand-drill for a while on account of it taking so much effort compared to my current favourites of flint & steel.

Keep at it Lannyman, you not far from success!

ATB

Ogri the trog

[lannyman8]

Thanks gents, my finish aim is go to the woods with a knife & cooking pot, thats it, this will be a massive step.....

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[wildranger]

Hey Lannyman, well yea I tried with ivy for ages, thinking that it must be me that was the problem since it was such a highly recommended wood, but I never had any great success with it and then I started using lime and poplar and various roots (spruce, willow, alder) which I found were better.

As regards the notch, I think this is one of these things that isn't hugely important, I find that if the notch doesn't come in far enough, some of the dust will collect around the top of the hole instead of falling down into the notch, and you don't want that! For me, the important thing with the notch, is that it's large enough to accomodate all of the powder and it helps to hold it all together and protects it from cooling breezes as the ember is forming. I don't think there's any real advantage in having the notch stop short of the centre because more surface area does not equal more friction (if this were the case then the bow drill would be less effective with more slender spindles, which it isn't).

Anyhow, good luck with the poplar, I'd try find a more slender drill if I were you to maximise your chances!

[lannyman8]

thanks mate will look into that asap....

[lannyman8]

Went back to elder on the poplar and got this today

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[wildranger]

Ah that looks close! Be careful though, I've been finding elder drills only work on certain hearths and they'll just produce a useless light brown dust on certain hearths. Your dust looks fairly dark though, I'll have a try with elder on poplar tomorrow and see how it goes!

[lannyman8]

i have moved onto teasel today after stopping next to the duel cartage way, that was interesting!!!!

but had better results with that, sorry no pic's though, the dust was even darker....

[wildranger]

I've found a good teasel drill works brilliantly on poplar! Far more effective than elder.

[Stanleythecat]

Sorry to hijack the thread guys but how do you select your wood/hearth/drill material for hand drill? I'd love to do this but haven't a clue on material selection.

Are they all green wood as opposed to the deadwood needed for bowdrill? and I've always for Burdock at least never to have a round stem; does this matter?

What's your favourite combination?

Thanks

Leo

[lannyman8]

hey up leo, i found from all the things i tried teasal is the best drill, i have still as yet to get a coal, but work has been mad with lots of courses etc etc etc.

i had a piece of poplar from work lying around which is said to be good, but i have found that the drill is more important, the size must be perfect and a good length too but without being to weak to drill with pressure.

im no expert leo and im sure another person will come along soon and help out, roots are said to be better than the woods used from above ground though, also green woods dried are also said to be better than dead standing, i have always used dead standing though and its worked well for me...

it takes time to get your muscles and hands in the right shape to do the hand drill though, if you can master the floating hand technice then you will be sorted, im still trying all of the above though...

regards.

chris.

[hog]

Stanleythecat , I was going to ask the same question, I am trying with no success to get an ember with what I have been told is a good combo ( that been Sycamore spindle AND a Sycamore hearth) all I have are sore hands and a pile of useless black dust.
Perhaps someone could compile a list of Spindle wood and what hearth wood goes with it.