Fire Plow

[ricktrojanowski]

At the New England Prim Skills Gathering I was introduced to the fire plow.  We used Sotol and I got coals pretty quick.  I'm trying local stuff with no luck so far: northern white cedar and eastern red cedar.  Anybody have any luck with materials found in the northeast?

[benjamin]

not from the NE but you were mentioning cedar. Soft sappy woods like pine and cedar really don't work that well. The sap seems to get in the way...but juniper works. I've had luck with yucca, willow and cottonwood. Look for softwoods without sap.

[ricktrojanowski]

Thanks for the advice.  I have plenty of yucca (ornimental garden stuff) around the area.  Just need to let it get woody.  I'll give that a try.

[benjamin]

I remember you posting a while back about a bamboo fire saw. The part you hold is where you keep the tinder. Use a small stick against the tinder to keep it in place. Cut two notches in the outer wall of this piece of bamboo and rub it forward and back against the the edges of the other split bamboo. It might be easier to find good bamboo at Michaels or lowes than a piece of dry yucca. Let me know how it goes and if the instructions are clear.

[ricktrojanowski]

Thanks for the info on the saw.  I had a friend show me a couple of weeks ago.  I have some big boo in my parents yard.  Been meaning to cut some.  Just no time lately.  When I finally get a bit of time to mess with the plow and saw I'll let ya know how it goes.

[jamie]

rick our eastern red is a juniper, not a cedar. also white cedar isnt a cedar either with those ape arms you should be able to get it.

[ricktrojanowski]

I've been swinging from tree to tree today to get 'em even longer and more ape like.  I had some sucess with Sotol this past weekend.  I'll get some pics up soon.