bow drill woes

[Man of Tanith]

All i am getting is a horrific screeching noise and the tip of my drill is smoking more than the base of my drill?
i've lubricated the bearing block with some waxy leaves and this has stopped the drill tip smoking but still getting a noise which is distressing the whole neighbourhood
what am i doing wrong?

[Mesquite]

Try varying the pressure you're placing on the drill, might need a little bit more to stop it screeching Sam

[Man of Tanith]

Next nap time for the boy i'll try that
or possibly throw the whole damn thing across the lawn......

[Kepis]

You need one of these Sam, reduced friction bearing blocks, they work a treat.

[Man of Tanith]

they naturally occouring or worked?
not quite there yet although gettin close

[Kepis]

all worked mate, i make them myself

[Man of Tanith]

hmmmmmm
i found sometihng i thought would be suitable at the seaside but didnt have deep enough hole when i tried today

[Man of Tanith]

Kepis
is it a case of pecking the hole out of a suitable piece of stone?
i might have to investigate further

[Kepis]

just dropped you a pm mate

[Man of Tanith]

pinged you a reply

[lannyman8]

Try varying the pressure you're placing on the drill, might need a little bit more to stop it screeching Sam

as above Sam, once the drill warms up it should be allot better too, try just leaning into the brill as appose to pushing with your hand, and lean back a little to ease off...

what woods are you using Sam???

[Man of Tanith]

what woods are you using Sam???

Erm the ones i made my set out of a couple of years ago on my fuundamental, memory ain't what it was
i have birch and ivy waiting the next attempt from scratch

[Kepis]

Do you have any Sycamore and Willow up around your area?, if so try a Sycamore hearth with a a Willow drill, works really well i find, as does Syc on Syc and Willow on Willow.

[lannyman8]

Do you have any Sycamore and Willow up around your area?, if so try a Sycamore hearth with a a Willow drill, works really well i find, as does Syc on Syc and Willow on Willow.

what he said....

[Man of Tanith]

weeping willow yes
sycamore possibly
it just depends if i can harvest it

[lannyman8]

try grass in your bearing block too, add some every time you remove the drill, also have a look at the link, the main bit to look at is the dust particles, the light brown fuzzy stuff is what your after....

the bow drill is quite easy once you know how to read the dust and wood which will come with time, the video i just did for you showed dark black flakes, this was because i was pushing too hard, trying to speed things up for the video, and the wood was a little damp having been sat out in the rain for a few days, rushing the coal just made the ember crumbly....

http://www.wildwoodsurvival.com/surv...cbowdrill.html

hope this helps mate....

[lannyman8]

weeping willow yes
sycamore possibly
it just depends if i can harvest it

sycamore branches should be dead on the tree, they normally are, weeping willow should work fine, the stuff i was using was white willow i think???

[outdoorpaddy]

I had the same problem on my fundamental course, a deafening squeaking sound, chances are you've polished the end of the drill, making it harder to get enough friction. It can be solved by applying more pressure on the bearing block, as hard as this may seem but it really makes a difference.
cheers

paddy

[Snowfire]

I use two limpet shells one inside the other. Fairly sure I got it off here a while back. A lot less friction than with a wood bearing block (I struggle to get smoke using one of them, never mind an ember!). I think the two shells were recommended to stop your hand getting burnt.

Also try this video - copying what she says got me my first ember

[wildranger]

Squeaking could be caused by oak or resinous woods

[Mesquite]

If it's your fundamental set then I think you'll have used willow for it

[Man of Tanith]

proabably Steve
been couple o years now so cant recall
i've a slightly different technique which involves a different position (oooh errr!) which seems much more comfortable so now i just need jake to stay asleep for a decent amount of time to try it out again

[Stringmaker]

I struggled with this when I was learning.

What nailed it was two things:

I threw away the wooden bearing block and used a couple of limpet shells. Once you've experienced the difference it will become soooooooo much easier.

If you can get some then use hazel on hazel; it is a fabulous combination. I don't get on so well with willow.

Keep at it!

[southey]

so the way to succeed is to be by the coast or power drill some rocks

[The Big Lebowski]

Limpet shells are fab... Here's one I glued into a rounded burl for comfort. Green fresh holly works really well too.
Keep the convex of the bearing block end quite steep, so you get a very strong but fine point to keep friction as low as possible. Keep at it

[Stringmaker]

Craft skill methods can be defined by geography but not constrained by it.

Ideas travel; it just took longer in days gone by.

Don't forget, the notion of eating meat that had been in the fire didn't catch on overnight. The information that it tasted better still travelled from the original source though.

Sure, being able to produce a set from what is around you is still a great skill, but if you want to make the task easier there's nothing wrong with using more efficient components.

[sasquatch]

I struggled with this when I was learning.

What nailed it was two things:

I threw away the wooden bearing block and used a couple of limpet shells. Once you've experienced the difference it will become soooooooo much easier.

If you can get some then use hazel on hazel; it is a fabulous combination. I don't get on so well with willow.

Keep at it!

Plus one to the hazel on hazel. That's what I'm consistent with and it's everywhere in the woods I frequent meaning I could make a set most places and know where I'm at with it.

[Kepis]

so the way to succeed is to be by the coast or power drill some rocks

cant quite recall anyone actually saying that apart from you?.

What people have done is offered Sam, alternative low friction methods for the bearing block in an effort to help him out. Of course it goes without saying many things will serve the same purpose from a piece of green timber with grass, saliva or even a bogey in it, it all helps to reduce the friction on the top of the spindle, right through to using the bottom of a wine bottle or even as some people do, epoxy a roller bearing into a block of wood, it still serves the same purpose, it's called "improvise, adapt and overcome".

[southey]

Don't you thinks it would be better to succeed by the simplest method first before augmenting with easy fixes?

[Kepis]

Does it matter?, way i see it, learn however you want to learn, you can always try other methods and materials once you have learnt the technique?, as per many things in Bushcraft, if it works for you, it's right, but it doesnt mean it's going to work for or suit everyone, so it's up to each individual to figure it out and modify and adapt the knowledge that has been shared, to suit their individual needs, by asking for help & information, Sam has been given a number of different avenues to follow from the combined knowledge of the members who have responded to him with valuable hints and tips to help him in the pursuit of that elusive first ember.

Sure using a lump of green wood for a bearing block is by far the simplest method of making a set and far less effort to make, well unless you call picking up two limpet shells hard work, you can guarantee the ancestors would have used the 'easy fix' method, especially if it was more time and energy efficient, i believe there is documented archeological evidence in the USA of native peoples using shells and antlers/rocks with dimples in them.

It's now up to Sam to decide which route he wants to follow, if he wants to discount a method as he doesnt like it or doesnt have access to the materials, then thats up to him, he can always, as above, revert to the simple way of an all wood set, once he has gained some experience and learnt the technique down pat.