Hand drill observations

[letslearntogether47]

I've been finding that I have more success getting a coal with the hand drill than the bow drill.I personally never thought I'd get the hand drill to work.But to my surprise,I've gotten several fires started with it and had success without a thumb strap a few times.(floating hands method)
I guess I really like the simplicity of the set.So when I go to practice I simply grab my spindle and fireboard and spin away in the back yard.It's been a lot cooler here lately and that helps make practice easier.
My favorite spindle is the Mullen and fireboard is still white cedar.
On a walk the other day along the road I cut and carved both a spindle and fireboard.Came very close to getting an ember,but I think the fireboard was too soft.I saved them anyways to try another day.
Anyways,thought I'd share my experiences as I don't post to often.
Maybe this weekend I'll put up a few pictures.
Hopefully with practice I'll be able to pluck a set in the woods and have fire when we're ready to set up camp.

[rwc1969]

I'd like to hear as much about this method as possible since I can't seem to come close to getting it done. To me it sounds like the best method to master as it doesn't require cordage, or at least it doesn't require as strong of cordage.

Thanks for posting!

[your_comforting_company]

I like it as well, but so far I've only found a couple spindles that work really well all the time. RWC, I would recommend horseweed for your spindle as it seems to be the easiest of all I've tried. It takes quite a bit of conditioning to build up the tolerance of both your arms and your hands (or your top half will be a combo of hamburger and macaroni LOL).
I'm really liking the simplicity of the hand drill method too, having less items to carry, like a socket and bow (but I like having my bow around for other reasons too).

Fennel requires a harder hearthboardl I drilled completely through my hearth in one attempt with black willow. Evening primrose is just too slick for my thick-calloused hands to grip, but I almost had it going yesterday (It was windy, but by the time I moved somewhere the wind wasn't so bad, my hands were raw).

When conditioning yourself, don't focus on getting fire, focus on posture, motion, grip, and pressure. It's important to be comfortable, yet be able to put on the pressure and spin when it's time, so you have to figure out what works best for you. I like to sit "indian style" with one end of the hearth under one foot. Sometimes, like with fennel, you just can't get the pressure sitting down (since it's so slick), so I have to sit up on my knees.

Mullein is one of the tops, and I would say so is horseweed (conyza canadensis) and one of the properties I look for in a spindle is the leaf scars for the added grip they offer. Wild lettuce is another that I like, and would rank it as only slightly more difficult than horseweed.. about the same as mullein (by the way, I'm not using the thumbstrap with mullein anymore!)
Of course, I'm a bit oafish and clumsy, so someone with a bit more finesse may have better luck with materials that otherwise don't really work well for me.

[rwc1969]

thanks ycc, I've been removing the leaf scars so they don't leave scars, lol. Maybe that's my mistake.

[letslearntogether47]

I don't think I could recognize horse weed.
Does it grow in the N.E.?
I'll have to do a search for some good pictures.
Also does yucca make a good hearth board.I seem to be having a hard time making a spindle from it, as the pith is so soft.

rwc,the thumb strap helped me out a lot to tell how much down pressure to use.
Wetting your hands also helps get a good grip on the spindle as well.

[your_comforting_company]

horseweed is widespread and to my knowledge it grows all over the US and southern Canada. I'm almost certain you've seen it.. you just didn't know that's what it was. I have some pictures in my photobucket album, but I don't have time to look for it right now. I'll try to find some good pics when I get back from hunting today. It looks like miniature wild lettuce, with different shaped leaves (which will be missing when it's time to pick for a spindle)
Mr. Kirkland at the festival last weekend was using yucca as a hearth for the hand drill. I always seem to drill through it so I use it as spindles.
I grabbed another couple cattail stalks yesterday while out and about.. I'd really like to learn the finesse of that one as they are abundant here.

[crimescene450]

ive been dryign out a mullein stalk for the past 3 weeks.
taped it to a pole so its nice and straight.

should be ready for a go soon

now i gotta figure out what to use as a fireboard.



for some reason.
i have a feeling that im gonna have an easier time with the hand drill than bow drill.. dont know why, its just a gut feeling.

[your_comforting_company]

young plants
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old stand with young plants
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mature plants ready to be harvested for spindles
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distribution map.. it's everywhere!
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=COCA5

[Rick]

Don't forget about plotting them in the forage database!!

http://www.wildcrafting.net/

[crashdive123]

Nice knife YCC.

[your_comforting_company]

Oh yeah.. that's a dandy little pocket crashblade I keep in my bag. It's a hacksaw on the back of the blade which makes for some quick and excellent notch handiwork. Gotta add some pics of them to the keychain doo-dad thread. I use it a lot for things my Old Hickory can't do. A very nice tool to have, thank you very much!

[letslearntogether47]

Thanks for the pictures,YCC.
I think I've seen some of that.Does it grow in waste areas like Mullen?
I can't believe that some folks use golden rod.Up here it rarely grows a stalk much thicker than 1/4 inch.

[your_comforting_company]

1/4" is just about perfect IMO, maybe just a little bigger. smaller spindle means more spin for each pass of the hands.
In my yard it grows in the shade, under trees, in the open, beside the road, in the garden, around the fire pit, sand, mud.. I would say yes, much like mullein, but moreso it grows literally anywhere and everywhere. Not sure about altitudes, but the distribution map shows it growing all over North America.
I am waiting for some of the goldenrod to start dying so I can try it. Picked-green materials seem to have slightly different reaction than weathered materials, but I have some picked-green goldenrod that I will try soon.

[letslearntogether47]

Seems like golden rod would be tough to burn into the hearth board.
I would imagine you would need somehing quite soft.This is the problem I had with Yucca for a spindle,The pith in the center made it impossible to burn into a white cedar fire board.The center kept wearing away before seating in the board.

[LowKey]

ive been dryign out a mullein stalk for the past 3 weeks.
taped it to a pole so its nice and straight.

Hope you don't have to make a fire in a hurry.

[your_comforting_company]

LLT, try making your divot (where you make a groove in the hearth to start he spindle) a little bigger. Pithy materials will work. You'll find mullein to have a pith, and so does horseweed. Maybe that will help.

[hunter63]

YCC, Thanks for bringing up Mullein, seem I have qiute a bit comming up along the driveway, (poor soil), I had been just pulling it up and discarding it.
It's gatta be hard enough as it tears up the weed wacker string real well.

So thanks to y'all, I have learned something.

[your_comforting_company]

H63, it also makes a good TP substitute, a nice tea that helps with cough, a sort of tobacco substitute, and an incense that seems to help one of my wife's friends with asthma. It's a very useful plant, and rather attractive alongside other flowers.

[hunter63]

H63, it also makes a good TP substitute, a nice tea that helps with cough, a sort of tobacco substitute, and an incense that seems to help one of my wife's friends with asthma. It's a very useful plant, and rather attractive alongside other flowers.

Thanks, you da man.......I guess I won't just pull it and discard any more.

[Rick]

Oh, here we go again. Who was the first guy that looked at Mullein and said, "You know, I'll bet I can smoke that."