Author Topic: Box Elder bow drill spindle  (Read 6044 times)

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Offline Hawkdancer

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Re: Box Elder bow drill spindle
« Reply #15 on: October 25, 2020, 11:53:08 pm »
I think Mullen is also called "skunk cabbage" in the young stage.  We cut a heck of a lot of it out our landowners pasture where our range was located!
Hawkdancer
Life is far too serious to be taken that way!
Jerry

Offline Outbackbob48

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Re: Box Elder bow drill spindle
« Reply #16 on: November 22, 2020, 06:51:46 pm »
M2A, Mullein, lambs ear and skunk cabbage are three separate plants, Bob

Offline Hawkdancer

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Re: Box Elder bow drill spindle
« Reply #17 on: November 22, 2020, 11:53:37 pm »
Must be time to re-read the survival manual and the plant id book!  If I remember correctly, pawpaw grows wild down in Missouri, but it has been close to 60 years since I roamed the woods down there!
There is wild yucca around here in western Nebraska, so I will give it a try.
Hawkdancer
Life is far too serious to be taken that way!
Jerry

Offline Donald Lewis

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Re: Box Elder bow drill spindle
« Reply #18 on: November 25, 2020, 05:48:35 pm »
Looks like you got a very nice ember. Good job!

Offline M2A

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Re: Box Elder bow drill spindle
« Reply #19 on: November 26, 2020, 10:32:01 am »
Thanks Outback, never heard of that Mullein plant before but did a bit of reading since then. Still cant say I would know it to see it but may have some growing near a fence row thats out of the way a bit, but just guessing from memory. I'll check it out when things slow down. I did grab, over the last month or so, a few very large stalks from some iron weed but the pith maybe too large and brittle to be of any use  and a couple cattail stalks. Also spent a litlle time up north turkey hunting and came back with a few pieces of shelf fungi that I have drying near the wood stove for later trails. Just having fun...Hope to get back to this in the winter.

Thanks Donald, yeah in hind sight I could have stopped sooner but after many failed tries with other materials didnt want to stop too soon.
Mike     

Offline Outbackbob48

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Re: Box Elder bow drill spindle
« Reply #20 on: November 26, 2020, 09:17:48 pm »
M2A, Mullein is easy to ID, first year leaves are big like cabbage and very fuzzy soft like fur and very pale green, second yr. is when you will get your flower stalk, will send up a big 3 to 4 ft stalk with yellow flowers kinda like a red hot poker plant only yellow. I always see it growing along side of railroad tracks. I have gotten a coal with both Ironweed and cattail but like you said , pithy and kinda come apart in my hands. Horseweed, Mullein, Yucca and Giant Goldenrod are my go to with the handrill.  Alot of shelf fungus wont catch a coal but make great coal extenders. Here's an easy one for ya to try. Find ya some milkweed and now is the time to gather the ovum, and use with flint and steel, the way milkweed pods turn upside down gives ya a dry ovum and you can get a coal with out drying time like some other materials, coal doesn't last long so have your tinder bundle ready to go or use an extender. Have Fun. Later Bob