it went from really powdery light brown to really powdery black to flaky black. also, my spindle tip looks kind of glossy now.
The black flaky stuff I usually get when I press down too hard. The shinny tip I usually get when I don’t press hard enough.
* do i have to resharpen my spindle each time i go for a new coal, or is the spindle tip "self sharpening"
No. If you’ve got the perfect parts, once you get the perfect form down, you won’t have too. The tip will not become shiny smooth. Sometimes it tends to get pointy, at which point you may want to make it flat again.
* do i need to sand the glossiness off my spindle tip (it is just a slight sheen--not sure if it's typical or if it's a real glaze that's going to defeat friction)
Yeah, I’d sand it off. and make the point flat. You want as much friction as possible at that end, so flat and rough does the trick. You want the top end to get shinny and stay very pointy. I generally don’t use rock hand-holds for that reason. They tend to sand down the point and since rocks generally have rough surfaces the top never seems to glaze.
* are my speed and pressure what's affecting the look of the powder
I’d say pressure. But I need more info.
* what does ideal powder look like
I’d say light brown first, to dark brown to black. Black and flaky goes too far and I have never seen it turn into a coal.
* how much powder should there be
Depends on how long your drilling. If you board is one inch, and you just cut a notch, and the powder has to fall and fill up the notch, then that’s how much you need. Using yucca on cottonwood I can get a coal in 10 seconds. But that’s because I use the perfect form, and the wood is very lofty and light.
* how long does it need to smoke before there's a coal
Depends on the wood, and your form.
* how do i know when there's an actual coal down there
Sometimes you need to check. Othertimes you’ll start to notice how the little pile of powder smokes differently, a thick steady stream of smoke billows from the pile. Not always, and sometimes it’ll do that when you don’t have one yet. Not a sure fire sign. Othertimes the coal will fall out glowing red. Other times the pile will start to glow red.
* so what's the "perfect form"
Hard to simply describe… I’ll pretend yout right handed like me. If not, just reverse the directions.
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Put the fire board under your left foot. Align it so its next to your ankle (so that the board appears to be sticking out to your right, from your ankle.
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Straighten your shins and thighs into a box shape… Make your legs right angles at your knees. Your right shin should be flat on the ground, pointing behind you. Your right thigh should come up straight, making the back side of the box/square. Your left thigh should stick out straight making the top of the box, then your left shin should go straight down to the ground making the front side of the box, then the ground between your left foot and right knee makes the bottom. The distance between your left foot and right knee should match the length of your left thigh, making it square looking.
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Wrap the spindle in the bow. Put your hand hold in your left hand, wrap your left arm around your left knee and angle your fist inward toward your body. Notice that a notch-shape appears where your wrist and hand/thumb meet. That notch or crook in your hand/wrist should fit nicely into your left shin. Since you placed you fire board, and lined up your socket near your ankle, you can use this notch in your hand/wrist to “hook” into your shin for total support. This helps mostly to keep the spindle straight up and down and in place. It also allows you to use your body weight for pressure instead of your arm strength.
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Hold the bow from the very back.
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As you begin drilling, keep your bow arm straight and let it swing like a pendulum.
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When first drilling, you want to go faster and harder to get a base of powder, as your powder builds, you can use longer, slower strides. You’ll hear the rythm of it when you’ve got it going. It just makes this perfect sawing sound.
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If your string slides around your bow as you drill, tighten your string. If your spindle keeps poping out everytime you let off pressure, loosen the string. This may be another reason for the black stiff powder. If your spindle is wound to tight, the only way to get it to turn is with lots of downward pressure, which is generally too much. Loosen the string, see what happens.
If I forgot anything… We’ll find out.
Good luck!