Woods
Introduction
This page deals with two important uses of wood in fire-lighting - wood as a spindle and hearth for Drills, and wood as a Fuel for burning.
Firewood - Wood as Fuel
Although it is obvious that there is a marked difference in the fuel capabilities of green wood and seasoned/dry wood, it is less obvious that different woods burn with different efficiency.
There is an old rhyme (and many versions exist) highlighting different woods and their suitability for burning (or otherwise):
Oak logs will warm you well,
If they're warm and dry.
Larch logs of pine wood smell
But sparks will fly.
Beech logs for Christmas time;
Yew logs heat well.
Scotch logs it's a crime
For anyone to sell.
Birch logs will burn too fast,
Chestnut scarce at all.
Hawthorn logs are good to last,
If cut in the fall.
Holly logs will burn like wax,
You should burn them green.
Elm logs like smouldering flax;
No flames to be seen.
Pear logs and apple logs,
They will scent your room.
Cherry logs across the dogs
Smell like flowers in bloom.
But ash logs all smooth and gray,
Burn them green or old,
Buy up all that come you way,
They're worth their weight in gold.
This rhyme is quite accurate in describing the burning tendencies of the woods listed.
All wood contains roughly the same amount of energy by weight which is released when burned - around 7700 BTUs per pound when dry, and 5000 BTUs when wet.
Since this is of course a measure by weight, denser woods such as oak and holly will give you more heat per log than lighter woods such as pine. However, denser woods burn more slowly as the fibres take longer to catch fire inside the wood itself.
A different way to look at it is to think about how you want your wood to burn, that is how quickly it lights, how intensely it burns etc. Oak will burn as embers for hours, giving off less heat but for longer, and can be difficult to light. Pine will light and burn very quickly, giving off an intense heat, but then die down much more quickly. Try and use this when you plan your fire - if you are wanting embers to cook on, then softwoods will burn down quickly to form embers for cooking, and are relatively easy to light. However, if you want a campfire that is giving out heat over the course of a whole night, then hardwoods will provide this.
Spindles & Hearths - Fire by Friction
The following information has been gathered from a variety of sources - many thanks to those who have contruibuted the following information.
Wood Suitability for Hand Drills - Storm
Storm of http://www.stoneageskills.com has collected data on wood suitability for bow drill and hand drill usage.
A list of woods suitable for hand drills is reproduced here:
Central Coast Section of the California Floristic Province Great Achillea millefolium--Yarrow Conyza canadensis--Horseweed Acer negundo--Box Elder Aesculus californica--CA Buckeye Baccharis salicifolia--Mule Fat Sambucus mexicana--Blue Elderberry Sequoia sempervirens--Coast Redwood Typha latifolia--Cattail Acer macrophyllum--Big-leaf Maple Artemisia douglasiana--Mugwort Cirsium vulgare--Bull Thistle Cytisus scoparius--Scotch Broom Pseudotsuga menziesii--Douglas Fir Scrophularia californica--CA Figwort Sonchus oleraceus--Sow Thistle Good Erigeron sp.--Fleabane Daisy Umbellularia californica--CA Bay Laurel Verbascum thapsus--Common Mullein Helianthus sp.--Garden Sunflower Lonicera hispidula--Hairy Honeysuckle Salix sp.--Willow Solidago spathulata--Coast Goldenrod Cornus sericera--American Dogwood Rubus parviflorus--Thimbleberry Silybum marianum--Milk Thistle Vitus californica--Wild Grape Alnus rhombifolia--White Alder Artemisia californica--CA Sagebrush Difficult Ceanothus thyrsiflorus--CA Lilac Chlorogalum pomeridianum--Soaproot Dipsacus fullonum--Fuller's Teasel Eriophyllum staechadifolium--Seaside Woolly Sunflower Euonymus occidentalis--W. Burning Bush Holodiscus discolor--Ocean Spray Myrica californica--Pac. Wax Myrtle Rubus discolor--Himalayan Blackberry Thuja plicata--Western Red Cedar Prunus cerasifera--Cherry Plum Rosa gymnocarpa--Wood Rose Escallonia macrantha--Escallonia Mimulus aurantiacus--Sticky Monkeyflower Rhododendron occidentale--Western Azalea Tamarix parviflora--Smallflower Tamarisk Baccharis douglasii--Marsh Baccharis Larix sp.--Tamarack Lithocarpus densiflorus--Tan Oak Madia elegans--Tarweed Pteridium aquilinum--Bracken Fern Symphoricarpos albus--Snowberry Acacia sp.--Acacia Calocedrus ducurrens--Incense Cedar Corylus cornuta--Hazelnut Cydonia oblonga--Quince Grindelia stricta--Marsh Gum Plant Phyllostachys sp.--Bamboo Rhododendron macrophyllum--Pacific Rhododendron Salix lutea--Yellow Willow Extremely Difficult--embers attained with some of these woods Arbutus menziesii--Madrone Baccharis pilularis--Coyote Brush Conium maculatum--Poison Hemlock Cupressus macrocarpa--Monterey Cypress Eucalyptus globulus--Blue Gum Eucalyptus Hedera helix--English Ivy Heteromeles arbutifolia--Toyon Juniperus communis--Common Juniper Lupinus arborus--Tree Lupine Malus sp.--Apple Pyrus sp.--Pear Rhamnus californica--Coffeeberry Ribes menziesii--Canyon Gooseberry Rumex crispus--Curly Dock Ulmus minor--Smooth-leaved Elm Vaccinium ovatum--Evergreen Huckleberry
Sierran Foothill Section of the California Floristic Province Great Clematis lasiantha--Chaparral Virgin\u2019s Bower Cornus stolonifera--Redosier Dogwood Populus tremuloides--Quaking Aspen Populus trichocarpa--Black Cottonwood Sambucus microbotrys--Mountain Red Elderberry Good Alnus rhombifolia--White Alder Artimisia tridentata--Great Basin Sagebrush Baccharis pilularis var. consanguineum--Coyote Brush Chrysothamnus nauseosus--Rabbit Brush Pinus sabiniana--Grey Pine Difficult Arctostaphylos patula--Green-Leaf Manzanita Arctostaphylos viscida--White-Leaf Manzanita Ceanothus integerrimus--Deer Brush Cercis occidentalis--Redbud Corylus cornuta var. californica--Western Hazelnut Pinus ponderosa--Ponderosa Pine Quercus douglasii--Blue Oak Rhamnus californica--Coffeeberry Rhamnus purshiana--Cascara Salix scouleriana--Scouler\u2019s Willow Solidago occidentalis--Western Goldenrod Sorbus californica--Mountain Ash Extremely Difficult--no embers attained Apocynum androsaemifolium--Dogbane Cornus nuttallii--Flowering Dogwood Ledum glandulosum--Labrador Tea Quercus kelloggii--CA Black Oak Spiraea douglasii--Western Spiraea
Combinations of the Olympic Peninsula, WA big-leaf maple (BLM), cattail, red elderberry (wild) ON western hemlock root BLM, western red cedar (WRC), salmonberry ON WRC heartwood thimbleberry, canada thistle ON WRC heartwood cattail (wild), horseweed, canada thistle ON WRC sapwood burdock, mullein ON WRC sapwood spiraea, ocean spray, WRC ON sub-alpine fir bitter cherry, clematis ON sitka spruce douglas fir, BLM, clematis, cattail, WRC, red elderberry ON douglas fir BLM, cattail, ocean spray, thimbleberry, salmonberry ON BLM scotch broom ON itself BLM, mullein (wild) ON artists conk fungus BLM ON red-belted conk fungus yarrow, seep willow ON douglas fir bark
Wood Suitability for Bow Drills - Storm
To compare results for different spindle and hearth combinations for Bow Drill, launch the Bow Drill Wood Combination Tester..Bow-Drill Friction - Patrick Cave-Brown - 1986
All the woods below are considered indigenous to Scotland - Beech and Sycamore are now common but are believed to have been introduced from Southern Britain and Europe respectively.
Note, this table indicates successes, it does not indicate failures.
| ↓ Spindle Wood | Hearth Wood → | Alder | Ash | Birch | Crabapple | Elm | Hawthorn | Hazel | Holly | Juniper | Oak | Scots Pine | Whitebeam | Willow | Yew |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alder | ||||||||||||||
| Ash | ||||||||||||||
| Birch | ||||||||||||||
| Crabapple | ||||||||||||||
| Elm | ||||||||||||||
| Hawthorn | ||||||||||||||
| Holly | ||||||||||||||
| Juniper | ||||||||||||||
| Oak | ||||||||||||||
| Scots Pine | ||||||||||||||
| Whitebeam | ||||||||||||||
| Willow | ||||||||||||||
| Yew |