Chapter 161 Gurgle
"The bowstring wood drilling method requires several pieces of wood, a drill shaft, a drill board, a pad, a hand-held stick, a piece of rope, and the most important tinder to make fire starters, and then use a knife or other sharp tools to process these raw materials."
Bifang, wearing a spare brown robe, searched around in the bushes. He picked up a branch and pinched its hardness with his fingernails, but found it was not suitable.
"The bowstring method and the hand drill method have the same principle, but the structure is slightly more complicated because it uses a machine to replace some of the manual labor, converting elastic potential energy into kinetic energy in exchange for higher efficiency."
“So in terms of material selection, the bow drill is the same as the hand drill, so I won’t go into details here.”
The shrubs were very lush, and Bifang quickly found a suitable drilling axis. It was a tree about five or six meters tall, with a bunch of small red fruits growing on its branches.
Maybe it's because of the passage of time that the fruit looks wrinkled.
Bifang used a whale harpoon to cut off a small piece of branch.
"Last time I used burdock, this time we can use elderberry."
[Elderberry? Sounds familiar.]
[I know, it's Dumbledore's Elder Wand! ]
[Excuse me, can this elderberry of yours be used to make a magic wand? (Funny)]
[Damn, now that you mention it I remember that the Elder Wand is made of elder wood!]
[Is this fruit edible? It looks very similar to the Yagoda in Mohe]
Bifang knew that everyone was joking, so he joked too.
"That may disappoint everyone. I don't know how to make magic wands, I can only make drill shafts. Elderberry is soft in the middle, but the stem is hard and has pith. It can produce more and bigger sparks, making it more suitable than the burdock we used last time."
"As for the fruits." Bifang stretched out his hand to pick up the red fruits that looked like small grapes, but he didn't expect that a whole bunch of them fell off as soon as he touched them.
"The elderberry fruit matures in September and October, and these are already rotten. Even if they were not rotten, we can't eat them because the elderberry fruit contains a glycoside, which is the raw material for making cyanide. We can't eat it directly."
The audience was very disappointed, as they thought the fruit was similar to the one in Mohe and there was hope for lunch.
Now that we had the drill shaft, the remaining materials didn’t require much, and it didn’t take long for Bifang to find all the materials.
On the other side, Etienne also dug the pit as required.
Bifang touched the stones in the pit, nodded with satisfaction, and explained in French the reason for laying stones in the pit.
"The presence of geese and gliders prevents us from going too far from the river bank, so the soil nearby is relatively moist. We must choose a dry place to make a fire so that it is easier to start. The stones at the bottom of the fire pit are used to separate the moist soil."
"And you must use dry stones. Don't use wet stones, especially those from riverbeds or valley bottoms. When heated, such stones will produce steam, which can cause explosions. It's very dangerous. It doesn't matter if you can't find completely dry stones. Just remember not to use stones that have been soaked in water."
[It’s too thin.]
[Learn another small detail]
[Excuse me, is this polite? ]
[Is it thin enough to pick a lock? ]
Netizens started to make a fuss again. These people can play with the barrage of comments anytime and anywhere.
Bifang ignored him and continued processing the materials on his own.
"The drill shaft should be at least as long as the distance from the tip of your thumb to the tip of your index finger when you open your hand, so it is easy to operate, and then the top should be sharpened and the whole thing should be round and smooth."
"The width of the drill plate should be at least twice its thickness so that it can be stepped on and kept stable. The thickness of the pad should also be greater than the diameter of the drill shaft."
"The stick you hold in your hand, or the fire bow, is best to have a slight bend. A straight stick can also be used, but it is best to have a certain degree of curvature so that it is easier to operate overall."
"As for the rope, we can use shoelaces. If your shoes don't have shoelaces, you can also make a makeshift one out of tree fibers."
Bifang split a notch at one end of the drill board, gouged out a small hole, and gathered the fine debris scraped from coniferous trees into it to serve as tinder.
Then he dug a small hole at one end of the pad to hold the main drill shaft.
At that time, the tip of the drill shaft will be inserted into the drill plate, and the tail will be stuck in the pad, between the two plates, so that the drill shaft will not hurt the palm when it rotates at high speed.
Then Bifang took out the shoelaces and tied them to the two ends of the stick, and wrapped the drill shaft around the rope, so that the wooden stick and the drill shaft formed a cross.
The whole set of movements is well-organized, and it is obvious at first glance that he is an experienced survival master.
"We need to control the tightness of the rope. It should not be so loose that the drill shaft slides up and down, nor should it be so tight that the drill shaft cannot move at all. The ideal state is that after applying a certain amount of force, the drill shaft can barely rotate."
Etienne was watching in amazement and couldn't help asking, "How many ways do you have to make a fire in the wild?"
"Haha, I haven't really counted them." Bifang raised his head and thought carefully, "There are probably seven or eight different ways to make fire in different environments , and four of them are caused by friction."
Etienne was shocked: "So many?"
"Actually, there aren't many. There are only a few that can be used in different environments . After all, the environment will change, and the methods must also be changed. We Chinese call this adapting measures to local conditions." Bifang tightened the drill shaft and looked at Etienne. "Why, do you want to learn?"
Étienne nodded.
"If you want to learn, I can teach you when we get back." Bifang smiled and then started to draw the bow.
The drill shaft is clamped on the drill plate, and the tail is inserted into the small hole in the pad. Bifang kneels on one knee and steps on the drill plate. He presses the pad with his left hand to control the pressure, and starts to move the fire bow back and forth steadily and forcefully with his right hand.
Soon, gray smoke began to come out of the drill board, and many spectators were shocked.
[This is so efficient, much more convenient than a hand drill]
[It’s fast, but I feel it’s so complicated, I can’t remember it…]
【Me too.】
Seeing the smoke coming out, Etienne was very excited, his eyes full of admiration.
Creating fire out of thin air, so amazing!
But Bifang did not stop, but continued to pull the fire bow. Seven or eight minutes later, the smoke became thicker and thicker, and even a red light flashed, then he stopped pulling the bow.
At this time, there was already charcoal fire on the drill board. Bifang carefully pulled out the drill shaft, then moved the charcoal fire to the prepared fire starter, held it in his hand and blew it gently.
Thick smoke billowed and flames flickered in the smoke. Gradually, the smoke became smaller and smaller.
A flickering flame rose up and then spread rapidly, enveloping the entire mass of kindling in flames.
【Awesome ! 】
[Zeng Hang gave the anchor meatballs*1,000—too fast, Lao Fang is too fast! ]
【High efficiency! 】
"call!"
Bifang breathed a sigh of relief and threw the ball of fire into the fire pit. Etienne on the side quickly threw some dead branches in, and the flames quickly grew bigger.
Bifang sat by the fire, feeling the long-lost warmth, and suddenly felt much more comfortable.
Etienne squeezed out the wet clothes and put them on the grill to dry.
“The bow drill method is very convenient and has a lot of details, so it’s hard for a first-timer to succeed and it’s not really suitable for beginners.”
"Just like the tightness of the rope determines the flexibility of the bow. During use, you may need to adjust the length of the string. For convenience, experienced people will tie a knot at one end and a slipknot at the other end when tying the rope."
"Drilling can also use some grease to increase lubrication and improve running-in, so I specifically chose coniferous tinder, which is rich in grease."
It is precisely because of these inadvertent little details that Bifang made this fire-making so successful.
Etienne continued to dig the soil on the side. He planned to build two more fire pits so that the clothes could be roasted separately and the work could be done faster.
He doesn't know how to survive in the wilderness, so he can only help with these small things and try not to be a drag.
Bifang on the side was also feeling very comfortable, as if he had someone helping him. He didn't have to worry about anything and just wanted to sit by the fire quietly.
It must be said that although Etienne is only fourteen or fifteen years old, he is 1.7 meters tall and it is hard to regard him as a child.
Etienne shook the clothes and hung another one up when suddenly a strange noise was heard.
Gurgle gurgle gurgle…
He is hungry.
