Tonight's failed attempt at a green Big Leaf Maple ember. Harvested a green maple for a Roycroft pack frame and figured I'd do something fun with the excess. No ember, but I got surprisingly close. I plan on giving it another shot with a different spindle here soon. For anyone interested in the rest of the pics, here's a link: https://eseeknives.com/forums/index.php?threads/renos-rambles.7172/page-3#post-173081
missed your 6 eh? dont worry its in great hands......its looking wicked after a few years of use and pitch/sap/food etc. Still screaming sharp
So I gave the green wood another 5 or 6 attempts, half of which were with a dry spindle and a frictionless bearing block, and it was still a no go. The hearth is just too spongy. Just to prove to myself it wasn't my technique, I carved up a new spindle and used last years Maple hearth which has been sitting out all year. Knocked this out in about 30 seconds.
Some practice. Hand drill 12" horseweed spindle on saguaro root. Harvested a new horseweed spindle and let it start drying. Was still a little green but was able to heat everything up enough to get an ember.
Yessir. A challenge was issued on IG to spin two coals at the same time. I elected to use previous burn ins over two notches. After finding two burn ins that were close enough I worked on the space between them and both embers formed within a few seconds of each other.
Success. Takes about a week between try's for my hands to heal up. Soft skinned. Ill get stronger and better each try.