First Try At Fire

Yesterday Mike and I got together as a team for the first time. Our objective was to build a fire. We took thin strips of bark from young branches of the basswood tree and weaved them into a rope. We weaved 3 strips together into twine, then 3 twines together into the cord for the fire bow. We found a stick to use as the spindle, a flattish bit of wood for the base, and a rock for the top of the spindle. We then made a little fire bundle out of dried bits of bark and dead leaves.

We were not successful in creating fire. Our problems centered around the spindle stick. The first was too thin and snapped. The second was too brittle and snapped. For the third we used a green stick, it frayed at the end and didn't do much to produce heat. The fourth was not straight enough and was difficult to spin.

The spindle and base got hot a few times, we're on the right track but we haven't succeeded yet. Saturday we'll give it another go.

The First Tool

Mike Z and I had an instant message exchange the other day and outlined the early tasks we want to get done for the challenge. He is coming to my house in a little over an hour. Impatience got the best of me and I built this saw today.
I started with a deer skull I found out in some hunting grounds a few months ago. I smashed it on a rock to split it in half. I then used the tooth section of half-skull to saw through a small branch on one of my basswood trees. I stripped the bark off and braided it to use as twine. I cut a slightly larger branch for the handle. I used the braided bark twine to bind the tooth section to the handle. I tested it out - it was bound pretty tight but it had some up-and-down movement. I used some more strips of bark to loop over the top and secure it better.

The cutting stroke is too wide to saw directly through branches, but you can make a good wedge-shaped score around a branch and then snap it off. I feel like a cave-man when I hold it.

When Mike comes over we'll make the other half into another saw, along with some other small bone tools.

Tables & Buckets

A couple things that need sayin'-

You do not need to work on the ground (unless you want to) - feel free to use a table when you need to. You don't need to build the table too.

You also may use buckets, totes, shelves and other containers to store your projects and/or materials. No need to dig a pit to hide your projects in, or leave them scattered on the ground for someone to step on or trip over.

Clarification Regarding Supplies

In the fictitious land of immersion for this challenge, you find your team amongst the rock-strewn lands of a distant place. You can recognize that there is an abundance of metal ores around, along with abundant wood, clay, and coal. There is nothing beyond its primal state here. You are permitted to procure any materials in the form they are extracted from the ground, and base metals in scrap form. This permits copper, tin, lead, aluminum, nickel, iron, zinc, etc. Materials such as brass or bronze are not permitted until you have alloyed the metal yourself using base metals. You can purchase boxes or bags of clay. You cannot purchase processed materials such as grog, coke, or charcoal until you have produced them by yourself.

Up until the late 19th century aluminum was scarce. The process currently used was not invented until 1886. The material is far more commonplace today than the earlier white metal, tin; this is why I am including it in the challenge.

Measurement

After giving it further thought, each team will be allocated the following references;

a 1" gage block

a 60 and a 90 degree angle reference

a 1lb weight

Teams may choose to use metric standards at their option. These standards will be used to build any other measuring devices the teams can devise

Third Team Announced - The Challenge Begins!

Mike R and Kathy will comprise the 3rd team, so the challenge begins! The challenge will conclude August 13th, 2011. All other interested participants are encouraged to contact me to join up!

Coconuts

If early television re-runs have taught me anything in my 31 very long years of life, it's that you can pretty much make anything you want, so long as you've got Coconuts. I speak of course about Gilligan's Island. For those of you who live under a rock, or were sperm in your father's testicles when the Berlin Wall fell, the show's premis is as follows. A group of people are stranded on a deserted tropical Island in the pacific. But that doesn't stop them from enjoying the finer points of modern 1960's life thanks to "The Professor", a nameless academic with the ungodly power of science! whitch he used to turn coconuts into such things as cups, bowls, and a radio. Sounds Impossible sure, and to be fair he also had the help of a plentifull forest of bamboo, but I cant help but feel as if this challenge would be far more sucesfull if we did it in Hawaii. I'm just sayn' is all.

The "Professor" shown here with his coconut neuclear reactor from an early lost episode of the show.

One More Ruling

As requested by Pat, who has not confirmed or denied that he is joining the challenge.

Modern protective equipment of all sorts is encouraged. This includes goggles, gloves, leather aprons, whatever you need to be safe.

2nd Team

The second team of Jeff and Todd has been added. We'll begin when we get one more team or August 29th, whichever comes first.

Rulings!

Okay a couple of rulings, as requested by Todd, who has not confirmed or denied that he is joining.

You cannot use scrap metal in the form it was found. For example, you cannot use a scrap section of railroad tie as an anvil. The metal must be made to molten, then poured or cast.

You can use organic or mineral materials as found. If you find a vein of pure copper ore you can pound or shape it any way you like without first melting it down. You can also use found organic and mineral materials as found too; if you happen upon a deer skeleton (whether you killed it or found it) you can use the bones, teeth, etc as you see fit. You can also purchase materials as they come out of the ground, though they cannot be processed. As an example you can buy coal but not coke.

Also - this is not an exercise in chopping firewood. You can use whatever scraps of wood you want as firewood or to make charcoal. If you're using the wood to make a tool or in some other way as part of a project you must chop it up yourself. Burn scrap 2x4's, but that lathe spindle can't be made from a dowel rod that you bought.

On the subject of making tools and buying improved versions; you cannot exceed 3x the weight of the original item, and your purchased tool cannot have any features your home-built tool does not. For example; if you cast a 1-pound copper hammer you can purchase up to a 3-pound hammer for your team use, but it cannot have a claw if yours didn't. Another example; if you build a 10-pound anvil out of brass you cannot buy a steel anvil, and you cannot buy an anvil with a hardy hole if yours didn't have one.

Starting Date & First Team

I would like to have 3 teams at the beginning of this challenge. I am not planning to wait forever though - if by Sunday, August 29th there are not 3 teams the challenge will begin anyways. Teams are welcome to join any time after the start date.

Don't be shy, all you peoples out there! You don't need to be from our area to join, or have any previous tool or machine building experience. Post a comment or send an email and join up today!

Mike Z has contacted me and asked me to team up. I agreed, so team one is set! Think you can compete? I dare ya...

Rules of the Tool Builder's Challenge

The tool builder challenge will take place over the span of 1 year. Teams entering the challenge will consist of 2 persons. Do not select a partner that you cannot meet with, this is a team activity. This challenge will have a winner, as voted on by the participants.

You begin the challenge with nothing. No modern tools of any kind - not a hammer, not a match, nothing. The objective is to see how advanced you can build tools in the 1 year span.

The first stage is found items only. You can comb the beach for smooth pebbles, rub sticks together to start a fire, make twine out of tree bark, whatever. Metal scrap can be used, but it cannot be used in the form you find it. It must be made completely molten before you use it to build anything. You do not get the use of any tools at all, not even in a supporting role (such as using a band saw to aid in building a casting pattern.)

Once you have built a fire you may use matches to start a fire from that point forward (no accelerants though.) Once you have created an item you can use any reproduction of it made of like materials. If you build a copper hammer you can go out and buy a copper hammer. The idea is that given a long enough time you can refine the copper hammer into a better tool, but you built that first one on your own.

Participants can also build duplicate items and trade them to other teams. The other team can use that item ONLY - they cannot buy a like item as they didn't build one themselves.

Once a team begins to build precision tools they will be allowed the use of one set of calipers, either dial or vernier, as a reference only.