Wood for Spindle and Fire board

S

SurvivalisT69

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Jul 29, 2009
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I am putting together a fire bow set and wanted to see if anyone could recommend to me what trees/wood I should track down in my area to make the spindle and fire board out of. I have tried several trees in my yard with no success, but I believe they are all more of a hard wood. That leads to my next question; should the spindle and fire board be a soft wood? I am located around Tampa Fl for an area reference.

Thanks
 
I went through the same search down South of you awhile back. After a lot of wasted energy I found the answer in Cypress. Give it a shot if you've got access to it and I wish you luck.
 
So you don't want a tree with leaves (which means a hardwood, right?). You want something soft, something with needles?
 
It needs to be a softer wood as harder woods tend to get glossy and slick (which makes them better for bearing blocks), but it doesn't have to be a conifer. Basswood and Cottonwood make good hearth boards from what I've been told. I haven't harvested any yet, but I know where a downed Cottonwood is that I want to attack as soon as I get the chance. I've personally had good luck using Cedar limbs for spindles and Cedar heartwood for the hearth.

I had never thought about Cypress as it doesn't grow around here, but now that you mention it I bet it does work well.
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys!

I will head out to the woods this weekend to track down some cypress and give it a go. I did go to the library last night and put a field guide to South Eastern trees on hold, so hopefully it is here by Saturday so I can make a day out of finding me some soft woods.
 
Yucca, Paw Paw, basswood, cottonwood, catalpa and willow are the ones I've had success with. Start with something easy (any of the first 4) to perfect your technique and then experiment with everything you can find.
 
Oh man. I guess using pine on pine was a bad idea after all. No wonder all I got was a ton of smoke.:o

I'll have to figure out what trees in my city are usable for this. Or furniture for that matter. (I'm thinking long term natural disaster and stuck in the city and other methods limited or depleted). Lots of pine from 2x4s here. Good for bearing blocks I'm guessing. I'll just have to figure out the softer stuff. Needs to be dead right?
 
I've used poplar and willow, made a set out of cedar to try out. The willow worked very well but I had to use maple as a bearing block.
 
Tyrkon Lawson said:
Oh man. I guess using pine on pine was a bad idea after all. No wonder all I got was a ton of smoke.:o

I'll have to figure out what trees in my city are usable for this. Or furniture for that matter...I'll just have to figure out the softer stuff. Needs to be dead right?
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The city is a gold mine of usable stuff. Some wooden pallets will have top boards made of basswood. (I've scavenged a couple off the Interstate) Use your knife to test 'em. If it's soft enough to carve out a big ol' slice pretty easy it should be soft enough for firemaking. Maple in old furniture is good for bearing blocks (handhold). You don't have to start with a round stick for a spindle, you can whittle one down from a board off the pallet.:thumbup:
 
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