Friction Fire

Discussion in 'Survival and Wilderness Skills' started by R Stowe, Oct 25, 2016.

  1. Caleb O

    Caleb O Member

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    Nice! Did you peck out the bearing block yourself?
     
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  2. Strigidae

    Strigidae Administrator Staff Member

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    Yep. Boy that was fun. :)
     
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  3. Caleb O

    Caleb O Member

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    Hand drill and bow drill today. IMG_6948.JPG IMG_6963.JPG
     
  4. Strigidae

    Strigidae Administrator Staff Member

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    EE153266-BAAD-4CE3-A119-96D7C079FC49.jpeg

    I tried trophy.

    Horse weed on the TP plant. Never can remember its name. Using james gibson inspired hand drill tool thing.
     
  5. Caleb O

    Caleb O Member

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    Today's hand drill ember...my hearth board was getting pretty thin towards the end I was working on, but I still got a small ember. IMG_7035.JPG
     
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  6. Caleb O

    Caleb O Member

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    Two embers today, all divots and notches carved with a stone blade IMG_7037.JPG
     
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  7. Strigidae

    Strigidae Administrator Staff Member

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    You knapped it out?
     
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  8. Caleb O

    Caleb O Member

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    I was given a small obsidian core while at Wintercount (oval shaped). All I did was pressure flake it into that shape with a bit of deer antler. After that I used a bit of saguaro rib and pine pitch glue to make a handle, then finished securing with artificial sinew (don't have any tea stuff anymore or would've used that lol)
     
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  9. Caleb O

    Caleb O Member

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    Today's hand drill ember IMG_7048.JPG
     
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  10. Caleb O

    Caleb O Member

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    Hand drill practice during a hike IMG_7098.JPG IMG_7112.JPG IMG_7120.JPG
     
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  11. Caleb O

    Caleb O Member

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    Last two embers, yesterday and today. Yesterday I spun 5 hand drill embers in a row. Would have stayed at 4 but I did one live on IG. Haha hands were fellin' it! It's all good practice though. EB1E63DE-4218-4F5A-9FAE-F5B8A7ACCD15.jpg 49558D15-B357-49FC-981F-AEB903798ECA.jpg
     
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  12. Caleb O

    Caleb O Member

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    Bow drill practice yesterday. Mesquite spindle on cottonwood hearth IMG_7357.jpg
     
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  13. Strigidae

    Strigidae Administrator Staff Member

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    Your spindle looks to be burnt at an angle?
     
  14. Caleb O

    Caleb O Member

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    It is! Good eye! That spindle has been worn down to the leangth of a sharpie. lol So when working the bow I have to tilt it at an angle to avoid hitting the ground. Haha! I have other spindles but it's the challenge of the thing I think.
     
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  15. Caleb O

    Caleb O Member

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    Last few days

    Hand drill yucca on willow IMG_7362.JPG
    Hand drill mullein on cedar IMG_7368.JPG
     
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  16. Mudman

    Mudman Member

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    Good stuff Caleb.

    I gotta ask, you seem to wear chanclas a lot. Your feet don't attract rocks? Anytime I've ever work sandals outside of the house, a dang rock somehow finds it way between the sandal and the most sensitive part of my foot. I'd almost rather be barefoot. Because it sure feels like my feet are magnets for anything painful.
     
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  17. Caleb O

    Caleb O Member

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    Thanks bro! I do. Often I'll get a small rock or the like between the sandal and my foot, but as I walk I kinda just work the rock back out of the Sandal. I do walk differently though in sandals vs shoes. Maybe the way I pick up and place my feet makes a difference.
     
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  18. Caleb O

    Caleb O Member

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    Practicing hand drill fire today (and pretty much every day lol). This set was cocklebur stem on a piece of punky willow (not to the point where it crumbles in your hands, but definitely a lot softer than it should be). The trick to working with a softer hearth board involves three elements. The first is a lite, soft, and "wider" spindle. A spindle that is too hard and too narrow will drill right thru. Spindles such as cocklebur, wild sunflower, beargrass, or even the ends of tumbleweed and thistle should work well. The second is the drilling motion itself. For this you want more speed less downward pressure. We are trying to build up enough heat before we wear thru the hearth board. Speed is key, the material is soft, you'll drill down into soon enough even with less pressure than usually exerted. The third is your notch itself. I took some photos of this in case my explanation falls short, but the gist is when you make your divot DO NOT connect your notch to it. Your carved notch to catch your forming ember should not be carved at a 90° angle into your divot. Instead create a fan shaped notch below your divot at a 45° angle. The goal as you start spinning is to build up heat as your traveling thru the hearth board. Before you break thru into your notch you should be seeing lots of smoke rising from around the base of your spindle as you're drilling. This indicates you have enough heat that once you wear down into your 45° notch that and ember should form rather quickly. This is the friction fire trick I use on really soft and almost punky materials. Hope this helps someone on their friction fire journey. Get outside, practice some skills, bring someone along! IMG_7377.JPG IMG_7379.PNG IMG_7380.PNG IMG_7381.PNG IMG_7382.PNG IMG_7383.PNG
     
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  19. Strigidae

    Strigidae Administrator Staff Member

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    HMMM!! Now i know why im drilling through certain materials.
     
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  20. Caleb O

    Caleb O Member

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    Bow drill ember Today. F04517BB-69E1-471E-989D-AA3EA51684E9.jpg 86AB8909-8BD8-43E0-B1A2-E08B257B7EF3.jpg CC0DE333-21EB-4E1B-A7C4-92AA1648F938.jpg
     
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