My daily bushcraft

[Ehecatl]

I had the unexpected pleasure of a last minute over-nighter at my permission in Leicestershire. I packed light (for me!) and dog had to stay home as he's got a cast on his rear leg.

Home for the night:


Closer to home:


My tea underway:


Late night chill out by myself:


I had a go with my bow drill and got mainly dust. I did manage to get a small ember but all I achieved was to drop a bit of it on the mat I was kneeling on which resulted in a very small burn mark. Since I packed in haste, I forgot a grill, hence my tea is cooking on sticks. I cooked my breakfast (black pudding) on a tin plate. Even if I couldn't get a good ember, I was at least able to improvise during whilst preparing my meals.

[OakAshandThorn]

I don't have pics yet, but I'm the process of restoring a 66 inch two-man crosscut saw that I picked up at a local antique store. It came with the original handles, which are similar to the "Western" kind. I spent about 45 minutes today (and probably the same yesterday) applying linseed oil to the very dry handle wood, as well as cleaning off the rust from the metal parts after a 24 hour soak in vinegar followed by a rough sanding. I lost my SD card, and my camera's internal memory is used up LOL. I'll have to wait until later this week to upload pics with a new card.

Anyway, the saw itself is in really good shape, certainly better than I've seen in most antique/second-hand stores. It cost me $150, but I think it's worth it. The blade has an even coating of surface rust, and hopefully on Tuesday or Wednesday, I'll get around to cleaning it off with a water stone and pumice. Not sure who the manufacturer is, but I can tell the saw is really good quality because it has concentric taper. The teeth are quite sharp, and from I can tell, they appear to be in set. Perhaps I'll be able to get my supervisor to help me out with the fine tuning. Ahhhhhhh....I love me job

[MikeWilkinson]

Taught my daughter the method of using the bow drill. She didn't manage an ember but did get plenty of 'powder' and some smoke. Not bad for 9 year olds first go.

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[Woody]

Taught my daughter the method of using the bow drill. She didn't manage an ember but did get plenty of 'powder' and some smoke. Not bad for 9 year olds first go.

Sent from my SM-A300FU using Tapatalk

Cool!
Sounds like she was minutes away from getting an ember...
Even though this is quite possibly one of the most challenging ways to start a fire.

Well done to you both
👍

[Woody]

I had the unexpected pleasure of a last minute over-nighter at my permission in Leicestershire. I packed light (for me!) and dog had to stay home as he's got a cast on his rear leg.

Home for the night:


Closer to home:


My tea underway:


Late night chill out by myself:


I had a go with my bow drill and got mainly dust. I did manage to get a small ember but all I achieved was to drop a bit of it on the mat I was kneeling on which resulted in a very small burn mark. Since I packed in haste, I forgot a grill, hence my tea is cooking on sticks. I cooked my breakfast (black pudding) on a tin plate. Even if I couldn't get a good ember, I was at least able to improvise during whilst preparing my meals.

Nice ! Looks great and very Peaceful...
I could do with some of that .

[Woody]

I don't have pics yet, but I'm the process of restoring a 66 inch two-man crosscut saw that I picked up at a local antique store. It came with the original handles, which are similar to the "Western" kind. I spent about 45 minutes today (and probably the same yesterday) applying linseed oil to the very dry handle wood, as well as cleaning off the rust from the metal parts after a 24 hour soak in vinegar followed by a rough sanding. I lost my SD card, and my camera's internal memory is used up LOL. I'll have to wait until later this week to upload pics with a new card.

Anyway, the saw itself is in really good shape, certainly better than I've seen in most antique/second-hand stores. It cost me $150, but I think it's worth it. The blade has an even coating of surface rust, and hopefully on Tuesday or Wednesday, I'll get around to cleaning it off with a water stone and pumice. Not sure who the manufacturer is, but I can tell the saw is really good quality because it has concentric taper. The teeth are quite sharp, and from I can tell, they appear to be in set. Perhaps I'll be able to get my supervisor to help me out with the fine tuning. Ahhhhhhh....I love me job

Wow! I'm looking fwd to seeing that!!

Awesome find

[Woody]

Well it wasn't today, it was on Sunday... but I picked a load of cramp ball mushrooms (king Alfred's cakes) for the next season as Im nearly out.


I went to a different place , as to get 2 birds with one stone so to speak, as I have a decent source of these fungui elsewhere but they're still small and they need more time.
So this way I could scout out more sources and pick some too...

So I found quite a few and also a few puffballs in the end, that I had with some pâté on toast...


Nobody really wanted to chance the puffballs , so I took advantage!
Works for me....😁they are delicious and Ozzy the dog approves too...



These fellas are now drying in the cotton bag , out in the (insulated) shed , they'll be ready in a couple of months.

[Woody]

Finally got around to making miss Woody Jnr. her first slingshot...
She wants to decorate it, so I peeled the bark off.
The forked piece of hazel had been drying on the bookshelf since the summer.
Ordered some theraband from the tinternet and used a piece of leather from the old boots that have split last winter...
Just a thin cut on the top of each limb...
Push the theraband in a loop into the slots and added a little thin twig to sit on the surface of each of the limbs to hold the loop.
Job's a good un.


It shoots really well , the theraband is good quality so that helps.

Got a bag of raw chickpeas for the kids to practice their target skills...
Ballbearing and stones is just asking for trouble ... Too many neighbours windows around.

[Pootle]

Good work Woody. Raw chick peas is a good idea. Cheap, and minimal damage potential.

[Woody]

Good work Woody. Raw chick peas is a good idea. Cheap, and minimal damage potential.

Thanks Pootle.
It was really easy to make as the fork itself was perfectly shaped.
As for the chickpeas , it's an old lesson as when I was a kid, I made one of these with my older cousins and got a proper telling off by my grandad, when I put the neighbours kitchen window through with a stone...
It frightened the life out of the poor old lady.
Needless to say it was an expensive lesson at the time, as we had little money as a family.
My grandma gave me the chickpeas after that so I wouldn't use stones anymore.
Good times...
👍