Fire-Bow (PIC HEAVY)

**crimescene450** · 12-12-2010, 10:19 PM

whoo-hoo! i did it.

Its alot harder to do in CA than it is on the east coast. Not sure why.

I ended up using all cottonwood.
including the handhold and bow. I used pine needles to lube the handhold (thanks rwc).

I had 5 coals yesterday, but i was having too much trouble getting the tinder to light. SOmeone tol,d me on another site that cattail fuzz doesnt ignite easy, but rather it acts as a coal extender. So i mixed cattail fuzz and grass to get a good combo.

After i got fire, I did it another 3 times (successfully) just to make sure it wasnt a fluke.

Thanks to YCC, rwc, and all the other people who helped!

now i just gotta get the handrill

**crashdive123** · 12-12-2010, 10:21 PM

Well done. Fire good.

**your_comforting_company** · 12-12-2010, 10:32 PM

Excellent work CS! I'm glad you got it! Now practice with that combo till the motions become automatic, and then start trying different materials. I'm sure you'll find lots of other things that work.
I'm proud of you. Congratulations!

**rwc1969** · 12-13-2010, 12:53 AM

Wow, that's cool. I've not been able to get it to work using the same material for the handhold. I always need it to be harder than the spindle.

The handhold is my weak point, too much friction and wear, and if I run out of fatwood, sap or soapwort I'm gonna be so spoiled I don't know what I'll use.

**crimescene450** · 12-13-2010, 02:49 AM

Originally Posted by rwc1969

Wow, that's cool. I've not been able to get it to work using the same material for the handhold. I always need it to be harder than the spindle.

The handhold is my weak point, too much friction and wear, and if I run out of fatwood, sap or soapwort I'm gonna be so spoiled I don't know what I'll use.

well ive been adding a bit of pine needle every time. So much that the top tip is basically laminated now. Its like plastic almost and i dont get any friction any more.

**rwc1969** · 12-13-2010, 01:55 PM

That's cool. That's exactly how a piece of fatwood becomes after several uses, almost as good as a shot glass. I've even heard mention of putting pine resin on the string itslef to prevent wear and slippage, but I've yet to try it.

I planned on making another Dogbane cordage firebow and using the pine resin to strengthen it, but never got around to it. I have about 20 stalks of Dogbane just waiting to be corded up.

**charibelle18** · 12-15-2010, 09:10 AM

I have a firebow that I have been working with. It is probably shorter than most of yours, but I have short arms. My body is shaped like a dwarfs, only 5'2". My spindle is yucca. It weathered attached to the plant. I just cut it off a month ago. I get heat, & smoke going, but not much dust for the ember to light. The end of my spindle gets glassy. I'll post pics later. I think it could be my hearth board.

**your_comforting_company** · 12-15-2010, 09:25 AM

Chari (do you mind if I call you chari?), What is your hearth material?

Is it possible to get detail pics on your hearth, notch, and spindle? That might help us troubleshoot it.

stature hasn't got much to do with it.. if my kids can do it, surely you can too!

**crashdive123** · 12-15-2010, 09:28 AM

After you burn in your hearth board (not everybody does) take a knife or sharp rock and scrape off the glaze from your spindle.

**charibelle18** · 12-15-2010, 09:37 AM

here they are. The hearth is a board I had laying around my house. My guess is pine. The hand hold is a candle snuffer. I get no friction from it, & so far it works ok. I can keep the spindle in the hearth. I have kept up on this thread since I started, so the cord tension works. Here are the pics

**charibelle18** · 12-15-2010, 09:38 AM

YCC Chari is nice. I like it.

**rwc1969** · 12-15-2010, 11:14 AM

Try a different hearth board material or increase pressure slightly. Storebought wood doesn't seem to work very well compared to seasoned wood.

**charibelle18** · 12-15-2010, 09:44 PM

I got closer this time. I got an ember with a pecan hearth board. My cord broke on me. It's a natural fiber cord, & doesn't last long. But like others say, it grabs the spindle better.
I should be able to get it now, with a better hearth board. Just gotta keep working at it.

**crimescene450** · 12-16-2010, 01:53 AM

yeah i did the same thing as you when i started. I used some fancy baseboard made of pine.

My biggest initial problem was my string. It would keep ripping. So now ive been using rope thats a bit thicker than my pinky finger. It never rips at all. Since then i havent had any problems getting an ember.

**your_comforting_company** · 12-16-2010, 03:21 AM

The pine didn't look too aweful glossy to me, more pressure might have gotten it to work, but as a general rule of thumb, you don't want to use sappy or pitchy woods. Since you swapped hearths, I think you'll have a much better time. As Crash suggests, when experimenting, often I'll grind or cut off the glossy char on the spindle.

I find its all about the right balance of speed, pressure, and spin. If you can get the triad to balance out with your materials, just about any will work. I have forced red cedar to work, not an easy task. Sounds like you are on the right track now.
Keep us updated, please. I've been wanting to play around with pecan wood, just haven't gotten around to it LOL. So many projects!

And I agree with RWC. Seasoned, or cured wood, doesn't seem to perform the same as weathered wood.

**rwc1969** · 12-16-2010, 12:52 PM

If you angle the bow down in the front the string will not rub on itself as much which will make it last longer. Personally, I have a real hard time doing that as I use a long bow and it ends up digging into the ground.

If you want to eliminate the string slippage and breakage from the equation use paracord, it will last indefinitely and you can really crank it down tight. Of course you will be spoiling yourslef in the process. LOL!

If you don't want to be spoiled then give your cord a really good tight twist after stringing one end. That will strengthen it and reduce slippage, especially if it's natural fibers like dogbane for instance.

**charibelle18** · 12-23-2010, 01:34 AM

This was a great Christmas present. Fire at last!!!!!!!!

With the help of my daughter, her friend, & myself. Being a

my arms wouldn't last. My daughter stood on the hearth, while I stabilized it, & held the spindle in place. When my arm gave out, my daughters friend took over. We took turns, & finally got the smoke turning color. It was such a beautiful coal, & I had the tinder ready. It took only a small time to blow to flame in the tinder.