Making a Bow Drill "Notch" With The Spindle
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- čas přidán 7. 09. 2024
- Another alternative bow drill technique. I have made a few videos featuring what I like to call a tunnel or side-hole hearth, but I have been wanting to make one showing a variation on that for a while. The basic idea here is that you can drill the tunnel with the spindle, rather than carve it out with a knife.
Instead of using up energy and material driving a full thickness spindle through the wood, I thinned it out into a drill bit tip with a taper so that it could slowly widen out the hole into a cone shaped tunnel.
The main advantage to the tunnel hearth is that it can be used on a stick or piece of wood that might not be wide enough to accommodate both the divot and a notch. It also seems to make for easier embers with soft material; possibly because heat is being trapped in the tunnel and bringing the dust up to a higher temperature.
Edit: Gary Minick was insightful enough to notice another advantage that I forgot to bring up here. The fact that the hearth is getting cut via friction could potentially serve to dry out and preheat the material even before the main drilling begins; which could be very helpful with damp wood.
This could also be very useful if you wanted to try a “no-knife” bow drill set; though you would probably be more efficient using two spindles made from round sticks; with a thin one for the tunnel and a thicker one to go for the ember.
However, I always like to mention that the classic v-notch is by far the most reliable method for me, but a tunnel hearth seems to be a close second; and I am much more likely to be successful with it than other alternative approaches like the key-hole or two-stick methods.
The first time I tried doing this was a couple of years ago with the hand drill, and for some strange reason I ended up with an ember when I was drilling the tunnel. This has never been repeated, so I think it was just strange fluke, but keep your eye out for that and don't dump the dust around the rim if it's still smoking.
I actually had to film this video twice, as the first time I apparently didn't hit record when drilling the tunnel, so I had to reshoot the whole thing, but I included the drilling footage from the first shoot at the end of the video; just because it is so fun to watch those embers squirm out of the tunnel.
The set and curls were made from Western Red Cedar, with a Douglas fir bearing block, and #36 bank line on a vine maple bow.
Credit to Arleigh on BCUSA for introducing me to the idea of the tunnel hearth.
Questions, comments, and suggestions are always welcome and appreciated.
Blasphemy !!!
You proved that a metal or stone blade is not required for a notch . Great job !
Thanks MT! I love that there are so many ways to get the job done. It keeps it interesting. 🙂
Master Tracker
The Woods Witch is GREAT ! Are you still making the model # 2 ? How bout the Raven in D-2 . 5X5
AXE - Glad you like the witch . I burned out 6 more of them & they are now tempered and handled in iron wood or green canvas micarta . Made a few #2 (5160) and not completely happy with the geometry and balance . Raven in D-2 -- You aren't the first to mention D-2 and have about 10 feet of it . I like the Raven in 1095 for ease of sharpening and edge retention , BUT ... I can burn a couple in D-2 and see how the kiln tempering works this time around . Will increase the blade from 5" to 6" as some have mentioned .
See you at the Fall Canning and Preservation get together . ATB & 5X5
Thanks
The simplest things that most never even think of doing. Super cool man. That was great.
Thanks Jay. :)
I remember seeing you use the tunnel "notch" before but it is always good for a refresher to help remind one of tips and tricks sometimes forgotten. Thumbs up. Me and my buddy Ak Trapper were in the backwoods of Alaska this past week trying to fill our freezers with fresh caribou and / or moose recently and the subject of your channel here came up at least once in our conversations.
Thanks Lonnie! I have really enjoyed chatting with AK Trapper online and it is great to hear that you two were able to get out together. He seems like a really great guy and I am not at all surprised that the two of you are friends. 🙂
I was watching a My Self Reliance video a couple of nights ago. And in the comments, some asshat was talking about how he laughed at what he called tough guys practicing bow drill in their backyard. And I thought, it's really about knowledge and being prepared for those situations where your gear fails or you find yourself without your normal kit. Knowing how to succeed in various situations seems at the basis of what you do. That guy was wrong. Kudos, and thanks for sharing
Well said buddy. Most of the people I see making comments are either expressing gratitude or trying to share a thought, but there are always those guys that want to look smart by disparaging things they know nothing about.
@@nwprimate6416 well quite frankly my daddy came up with this phrase " never give a piss ant bumblebee status " !
😅👍
@@garyminick1050 , your dad has an earthy wisdom! And 100% accuracy. Cheers
One of the best survival courses me and my folks ever did was making friction fires in an inner city environment using pallet wood . No knives were allowed . The wood was split and shaped from the metal lid of a dumpster .
Bow string was made from old rotten carpet .
It ain't just the wilderness where a survivor needs to know how to make fire .
Ever since I saw this video (2019-2020?), I have loved this technique. This completely outshines the V-notch in every way. It reduces heat loss between burn-in and ember stages and eliminates that annoying pop-out. Hands-down the best technique I have ever used. And I saw it first on this channel. 👍
That's really cool to hear. I learned it from a guy on the Bushcraft USA forums and it works great.
Next level stuff. Awesome. Good for tomorrow's venture, thanks for the video and idea. You make everyone better who applies what they learn and it's very appreciated.
Thanks Gary! 🙂
@@nwprimate6416 ok have to admit I underestimated how much work this was. I got it done but it was a lot of work. I'm sure my technique is not as good as yours but damn it was difficult.
I sharpened that spindle 5 times LoL
Awesome. I watched in amazement and was thinking...you are one smart man.
Thanks Wayne! 🙂
A very elegant method for creating your notch... I already expressed my concerns, but after
watching this again, I can see it's usefulness and function of such a system. Top notch bow
drill work as usual my Friend! Thanks so much for he knowledge! Cheers B!
Thanks buddy!
1: Hooray for new music! 🙂
2: I'm going to try this out today - thanks for the inspiration!
😆👍 Wasn't sure if anyone would notice. Let me know how it works for you.
@@nwprimate6416 Alright, after some unforeseen delays I got to try it out today. :) The notch drilling went without a hitch - very nice indeed. My problem came in the next step. After the notch, the thin, "business end" of the spindle had a few centimeters of length left before curving to its maximum width. I left it like that when burning in, and quickly noticed that the burn-in being more narrow for a good 1.5 cm before the shoulder hit the board made it seize up. A lot of wasted friction and a lesson learned. Your spindle had a uniform cone when seating it, whereas mine did not. I'll adjust accordingly. 🙂
Oh, and I started seeing a good bit of both smoke and dust coming out of the notch, so it worked, in principle!
I appreciate the update buddy! Keep at it. 👍
Just when I think the experiment is over " bam " you come up with a " hole " new wrinkle . Got to try this one !
He's on a 'hole' new level.
What ever gave you that idea? 😉
This is a great method well done NWP !
Thanks buddy!
Your thumbnail looks like lava pouring off the hearth. Just wanted to thank you for improving my fire making skills tremendously.
Thanks Hue! 🙂
Just amazing! Thanks for another great possiblity
Thanks David! 🙂
Did I miss this one.....no way....awesome vid.
Thanks Gary!
Way too cool! Thanks for sharing. -Stephen, Ohio
Thanks Stephen!
Pretty cool. Really nice use of feather sticks for tinder bundle.
Thanks!
Grand Master of friction fire!
Just a persistent student. 🙂
@@nwprimate6416 , false humility. You're a showoff!!! 😁😁😁😁
Impressive technique. Excellent Work!
Thanks!
GEE, As old as I am now i still have a few i made back when i was a kid but i still use the flint and steel.
Thanks for the nice video BOB AF2DX
Cool! Thanks Bob!
What up primate! As a physicist by training I can confirm you were right on with a former analysis of your hearthboard technique. The Venturi Effect can be seen as an experimental confirmation of the theoretical Bernoulli’s Principle, as physics concepts originate from theorists and must eventually be confirmed by experimentalists. The root of the practical effect is pressure differential, but the elements that assist you seem to be the resulting increase in velocity and therefore volume of oxygen supply, followed by a gentle exaust stream due to the added size of the vent to minimize the force on the delicate ember. Love a natural scientist and am gratified you back up your experimentation with a quest for theoretical knowledge. Cheers!
Awesome! It was great to get your opinion on this. It seemed to make sense to me, but my understanding of the concept is very rudimentary. I appreciate you taking the time buddy!
Anytime
Wow, what an awesome technique. Thanks for sharing this - really like it! 👍👌
Thanks Thomas!
As always, excellence in action! I experimented using this idea with a hand drill after seeing this on IG. I'm sure it's doable with a hand drill but the bow gives way better mechanical advantage. Even using a quartz crystal inserted into the host spindle, I found it was too much twirling to get the side notch hole deep enough. I reverted to carving the notch with my knife, which was quicker with the shallow divot (1/4") in the side. We'll give it a try with the bow drill soon. Thanks again for all your work!
Thanks buddy! Don't forget to let me know how you make out with it if I miss your post. 👍
Best invention ever! Thanks for sharing! Sepp
Thanks Sepp!
Really awesome idea!!!
Thanks juchjuch42!
Hi there my friend! Awesome video! very innovative! Thanks so much for sharing!
Stay Blessed!
Thanks buddy!
Brilliant, that was awesome to watch.
Thanks buddy! 🙂
Love it, you are friction drying the wood while preparing the fire board. I just love your channel. I will be sharing on social media and my channel. You definitely give enough info for those who want to try to be successful.
Thanks Blake! I appreciate it. 🙂👍
Still the best video on the subject .
Thanks man. :)
Ok how do I say,,,,, WOW !! 😀👍
🙂
Awesome. Thanks for sharing.
🙂👍
That is downright slick!
Learned that one from you, works well, sometimes less work then notching out.
🙂👍
The point on the spindle was incredibly well centered when you went for the ember. Good craftsmanship and great job! Thanks again, Primate 😃
Thanks buddy!
Pretty Cool...Your success rate is amazing to watch, Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Sounds like I need to post another failure soon. They are not uncommon. 🙂
Ok David west we want to see your version of this concept !
🙂👍
Awesome NWP
Thanks LT!
Little extra work for the punk catch, but done without a blade. Nice, good form there old chap.
Thanks Tig!
Mind blown!
Thanks John!
That's awesome
Thanks buddy!
great little tip/ trick thanks for sharing 👍🔥
Thanks for watching!
That's the first time I have seen that done. very cool. The ember looked like it fed out even better than the normal way.
p.s. I aint even looking at the curls :/
😅👍 Thanks buddy!
Sweet!
Congrats on 4000 subs!!!! :>)>
......NICE JOB......!
Thanks buddy! 🙂
Brilliant!
wow. What’s next, you’re going to do a video where you use a hearth board to ignite a spindle?
I've actually seen that happen in photos, but it's never happened to me.
LOL,I forgot to mention that I almost got arrested when a ranger saw my zip lock bag stuffed full of fine shredded fire tinder I made.He left then later the State police came by to check it out and they had a good laugh
BOB AF2DX
😅👍 I have a little fire kit that I keep in my cargo pants that is vacuum sealed and I have wondered if it will ever be looked at suspiciously like that.
pretty cooooooooooooooooooooooool
ESSE CARA É FERA D+
I like this technique! Particularly for situations where you may not have a blade. Side note, ever consider trying to make a fire piston? You've already made small sockets for spindles and such, I wonder if it would work...
Thanks Nick. That's a cool idea! I've never tried making a fire piston, but it would be awesome if I could make it work. I've always assumed the tolerances needed to be tighter than I would be able to manage, but it might be worth a shot.
NW Primate maybe, maybe not. Don't over think it too much, just needs to retain enough air for compression. Speed and force is most of it
Tolerances need to be tight, and expediency is probably out of the question, but that doesn't mean it couldn't be done. It would certainly be a fun experiment
The natives in the jungles of the Philippines used a fiber wrap for the seal on their fire pistons. They moistened the fibers to get swelling. Used water to get fire, LOL. It worked!
Supuh Crafts has a video too. He says: The O ring is made of the fibers from the Terap tree... But they probably use many sources - whatever they have that works. Thanks again for helping out.
Great video, Brian, thank you! It looks like maybe you bowed down the drill tip and then used the same end on the hearth for the second divot. Did you re-profile either end of your spindle before drilling the second divot?
Thanks Jacqui. I've played with this quite a few times and got a feel for how long to make that skinny drill bit tip so that it would wear down into the cone I wanted when it was time to go for the ember. Normally I prefer a blunter nose on a spindle, but in this case the point was useful to get through to the tunnel quickly. I hope that makes sense, but please ask if I botched that or if you have other questions. Hope to see some more embers from you soon. 🙂👍
Hi !
Did you tried to put some fine sand in the hole you wanted to pierce ?
It should "drill" faster. This is how i make "mortise and tenon" stuff when i'm bored ^ ^.
Nice video tho !
Regards !
I like your thinking on this one. 🙂 I have used sand quite a bit to try to help hand drill spindles bite in, and it can be really useful but the sand is ejected from the divot after just a few rotations and builds up along the rim with the dust. This is no big deal as you can just put it into the divot if all you're trying to do is get a spindle to bite, but I don't think it would be worth the effort of stopping and refilling it vs. just drilling through. Especially with the ease of the skinny tip on the spindle.
Very cool! And extra powder too, more ember burn time. Blackie Thomas mentioned you on his channel (of the same name) 3 days ago on a friction fire challenge to see if fat wood (in any form) can be brought to flash ignition point by friction. The theory being that turpentine has a flash point of around 200 degrees, so is there a method by friction to cause the turpentine in the resin to ignite. I thought it might be something you and David West might take an interest in, whether to give the challenge a try, or to follow along and see what folks try and what their results were.
Thanks Sean! I missed that, but just checked it out and appreciate the heads up. I left a comment and some links on that video if you're interested. Link for convenience. czcams.com/video/eGU-c-csmOI/video.html
😎👍👊👏💪 show!!!
😆👍
Pretty nifty.
👍🙂
I Like it :D
Thanks buddy!
What are wood? ashes? looks pretty familiar
It is Western red cedar (Thuja plicata) driftwood. I use it all the time. 🙂
Oh! very nice :D I love cedars :3 Especially seeds :D
Oh, driftwood? That one which fell in river and then dried on a coast?
Possibly as good or better than a knife notch. L ok very it!!!
Thanks John. Let me know if you get a chance to try it.
interesting
Thanks Sean!
my whole life just changed
Do you use mostly soft woods for your bow drill parts? Ray,Oklahoma
I like experimenting with everything I can find in my area, but even our hardwoods are relatively soft when compared with oak or hickory. The most reliable options for me tend to be small dead conifer saplings, but I am unfortunately not knowledgeable enough to make any good recommendations for species outside of my local area. If you haven't checked out Bushcraft USA, there is a great group there and I'm sure that you would get some great answers if you asked about good options in your area. Hope to see you over there! 🙂
Ray
OK has cottonwood for spindle and hearth - Dry willow works good - Cedar for spindles and hearth made from cotton wood , willow , basswood . Old basswood for spindle and hearth .
You most likely have Mullein weed for hand drill and larger diameter works for bow drill if it isn't too old and fragile .
I could come up with a lot more species like persimmon - honeysuckle - paw paw - sassafras ....
You might have yucca for making bow strings . You definitely have hemp / ditch weed / marijuana for cordage , but collecting even ditch weed stalks is technically against the law and I speak from personal experience .
There is most likely purple thistle and nettles for cordage in your area . Deer hunters or any butcher who processes deer will give you leg tendon for sinew .
Experimenting is most of the fun ... and it's FREE .
MT with the assist! 👍
Yep
Lived in Yukon and Mustang OK for a few years as a kid . Walked all over those creek bottoms and hobo camps along train tracks . Hobos knew a lot .
Would this also be something to help the process of bow drill with the green wood fire. It looks to me like it would !
I should have, but I didn't even mention the added benefit of drying things out in the description. I'm going to add to it now. Thanks Gary!
🙂👍
@@nwprimate6416 waiting with baited breath. NW
👍😃👍
Thanks Bart! 🙂
You give me more shit to play around with. Lol
That's what I want to hear! 😆👍
Mm
🙂
?
!
Seems like cutting a notch would be easier
Now that I can work with. 🙂 I put some of the logic behind this in the description that you can check out, but I agree with you. If you have a knife and enough room on your hearth for both a divot and notch, that will likely be more reliable with most woods. The tunnel does have some advantages with certain species in my area, so I'm just sharing an idea hoping that people will try it out to see if it is helpful for them.