Bow drill material in southern woods.?

R

RonSC

Joined
Nov 30, 2006
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Just a question for the friction fire gurus out there about bow drill material. Often the selection/availability
of ideal material is location dependent that is to say only available in certain locations. I see many posts on the merits of things like cottonwood for hearth boards. The area where I live (SC) cotton wood is not that common. It wood be very helpful if someone would comment on suitable/available materials for bow drill material in this section of the country for hearth board, and spindle material.


Some commonlyjj available woods here are Tulip
(Yellow Poplar) Sweetgum,
Oak, Dogwood, Cedar, Pine, Red Maple, Sycamore, River Birch, Beech,
Hornbeam, Alder, Ashe, Hickory, to name a few.

thanks in advance
Ron
 
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since no one replied yet, i'll chime in to get it rolling...i'd say try as many types of wood as you can, at the very least you'd get more practice even if you don't get a coal all the time.

with that said, i've gotten coal with an all poplar setup (no idea on the exact type since i bought a piece from home depot and another member here sent me some since i haven't spotted one growing locally) and cedar with having a much higher success rate with poplar. i've tried sycamore, red maple, and beech (all gathered while hiking) plenty of times with zero success.

by far the easiest i've tried is an all-cottonwood setup (both hearth and spindle)...so out of your list, i'd say try poplar first.
 
Haha...found it! I was looking for this write up and it was right here on bladeforums. I like this approach as I am horrible at ID'ing trees. Thread here with quote below. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/660589-A-reminder-selection-for-bow-drill-fire-wood

Talfuchre said:
Once you get the basics down - Doc and many others on this board have AWESOME tutorials on making a bow drill fire - I was reminded of a thing for newer people to the art to remember.

Don't worry so much about the TYPE of wood - as to the PROPERTIES.

The last two bow drill fires I have made in the field have been with wood that I did not, and likely could not, identify. Today, while making a bow drill kit for my brother, I grabbed standing dead tree that had the right properties. The first try with the spindle from the same tree and I had a coal that lasted nearly 5 minutes when simply left to smolder.

The properties you are looking for are:

1) As dry as you can get it (although you can cheat this a bit).
2) Medium hard wood - that passes the "Thumb Nail test)
3) Not punky
4) a thumb sized section that is straight (or close to straight) for about 9 inches - this will make up the spindle.
5) a double thumb sized section that is about 12 inches long - this will make up the hearth.

I often can make the entire bow drill kit (sans the hand hold - I like to find a section of oak for this) out of one branch or smaller tree that is standing dead. I take the thicker section and make my hearth and the middle section and make a few spindles and the top section to make my bow.

The Thumb Nail Test:

When you press your thumb nail into a bare section of wood (I simply take a little bark off with my blade) it should made a nice dent in the wood. To test this - grab some Oak, some Pine, and some White Cedar (all of this can be found at Home Depot) - the Oak will BARELY make a dent, the balsa will crush, and the White Cedar will make a nice impression. Remember that impression that the White Cedar made - this is what you will be looking for when you are in the field.

Hope this helps,

TF
Click to expand...
 
Yes, I use the thumbnail test since I can't always tell what kind of wood I find laying around.

That and lots of practice!
 
Raining said:
Yes, I use the thumbnail test since I can't always tell what kind of wood I find laying around.

That and lots of practice!
Click to expand...

Not to derail the thread too much but how's your success with it around here? Trying out the bowdrill has been a low priority for me because when I need a fire it's usually raining and has been for a few weeks. ;) Getting good results?
 
Try the weeds like Mullein and yucca etc.
Out of the ones you listed all will work but try Sycamore, cedar ,tulip white pine in any order you want.
Stay away from the Oaks and harder woods to start with.
Also you can mix and match parts of your bow drill set, don't think they need to be same on same.
I hope this helps and keep at it, and once you get it keep at it, you never own it.
Thanks
 
Shotgun said:
Not to derail the thread too much but how's your success with it around here? Trying out the bowdrill has been a low priority for me because when I need a fire it's usually raining and has been for a few weeks. ;) Getting good results?
Click to expand...

Well, when I NEED A FIRE, I use a lighter. :)

When I have time to practice, I gather wood and build sets. If I find really great wood, I keep several pieces at home so when I want to practice, I already have dry wood and I just need to make the parts. I don't imagine I will ever need this skill for survival, but it's a pretty great way to entertain people when we go camping. LOL :D

Here is an older picture of a set I made (not sure what kind of wood it is).

 
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