Are there better woods for bow drill spindles?
After reading a recent article in the Bulletin of Primitive Technology, I began thinking about the wood we select for spindles for our bow drills. Hand drills are certainly more difficult to start...
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I make bowdrill fires with a cattail spindle on a willow root hearthboard sometimes. It works fine, but they wear away fast and it's difficult to get used to applying less pressure. I use a light...
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I've done most of my bowdrill fires with mullein stalks. Works fine.
View ArticleRe: Are there better woods for bow drill spindles?
Today I tried false spiraea (Sorbaria sorbifolia). It is a non-native, colonial shrub with alternate, pinnately-compound leaves that belongs to the rose family. It occurs here in the northeastern US...
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Haines, I saw someone use a Ailanthus (tree-of-heaven) spindle on a tulip poplar fireboard this past spring; it worked very well.Will
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