Friction fire in coniferous forest?

[Wildewinds]

So if you're in a pine forest where almost all the trees are pine trees, how would you go about doing a friction fire? Everything I've read has told me that pinewood makes for terrible bow drill material.

Any ideas?

 

[cuphead]

hobbexp thinks different. check him out on youtube

personally I think it's just a matter of perseverance , but you will have better chance of combustion if you pick your materials carefully.

 

[tonym]

White pine works! Less pressure more speed..

 

[wnease]

What kind of pine?

I've heard spruce doesn't work well but I got my first 2 coals in my first 2 tries (ever) using a spruce fireboard and cedar drill, on the same day I couldn't get a coal at all with some unknown drill wood. The unknown drill made strange dust; it was long grained, completely unlike the nice powder from the set-up that worked.

tonym what part of the white pine did you get your pieces from?

 

[tonym]

What kind of pine?

I've heard spruce doesn't work well but I got my first 2 coals in my first 2 tries (ever) using a spruce fireboard and cedar drill, on the same day I couldn't get a coal at all with some unknown drill wood. The unknown drill made strange dust; it was long grained, completely unlike the nice powder from the set-up that worked.

tonym what part of the white pine did you get your pieces from?

I found a dead standing White Pine tree about 5" in diameter. I sectioned the trunk and battoned off my hearth and drill from it.

Here is the thread from last winter.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=706764

 

[kgd]

It is high resinous wood that gives you problems. It is helpful to know the characteristics of trees that work to identify them before hand if possible. In hardwoods, the thumbnail test and dryness are often good cues as to suitability, but in sotwoods the amount of resin in the wood can present a problem that isn't as easily detected while performing friction fire. It will create smoke but you won't get an ember. One clue that the wood is resinous is that if forms a glaze right away on the spindle and friction feels suddenly released while you are bowing and the glaze forms.

Unless you are on a plantation, most forests have a diversity of trees and some species will work others wont. Get to know what is in your forest. When I'm in Ontario, I typically search out balsam fir which I find works great. Several people get white pine to work, but I have had problems with it several times and had it work only once on lumber rather than harvested.

Part of the fun and art of bowdrill is learning what works and what doesn't through experimentation. You just have to learn to expect failure on your experimentation. Relying on friction fire for all your fire needs while camping in unknown areas? You'd have to be crazy to do that!

 

[wnease]

If I had to guess I'd think strobus works better than resinosa, I'm surprised and pleased to hear someone is having success with abies balsamea (was it standing dead? fresh balsam fir oozes... older tree?)

Does everyone make the drill from sections of trunk or do some people use the small branches?

 

[kgd]

If I had to guess I'd think strobus works better than resinosa, I'm surprised and pleased to hear someone is having success with abies balsamea (was it standing dead? fresh balsam fir oozes... older tree?)

Does everyone make the drill from sections of trunk or do some people use the small branches?

Balsam - all the resin seems to be in the pockets of the bark but not in the wood. I usually find a dead branch that is still attached to the tree and go at it from there. Or sometimes I use a small dead sapling. The worst thing about softwood bowdrill is all the damn knots you have deal with when shaping your drill.

 

[Macclint]

It seem even in pine forest that streams run through, and often cottonwood will grow along the streams...

 

[Don'tkillbill]

I've had good luck with cedar on cedar

 

[Joezilla]

wow, I never would have thought about Balsam

 

[abo4ster]

As mentioned and to clarify, for those in the eastern US, Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus) is the easy side of medium in difficulty for the bow drill. Far less resinous than other yellow pines.

Other pines can be done, but they are usually more difficult and moisture plays a more critical role in success. As an example the more humidity or recent the rain the tougher it would be relative to the softwood of a pine versus a hardwood. In compromising weather, that may mean getting deeper into the sapwood to extract your materials.

As mentioned, you should know other trees in your area, I bet you will probably find a species or two that will work. But experiment with the pine too, you maybe surprised. Just suggest you experiment during a dry spell to maximize your chances while starting out.

 

[wnease]

Thanks to everyone sharing your knowledge!