firefox bushcraft

Israel Trip

Heath Dawson — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 08:51:55 +0000

Hello from Israel, here’s a recent trip up the Wadi at Ein Gedi in Israel to see Nubian Ibex and Rock Hyrax-

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB0AAbUdbgY

Green Woodworking project-a Log Mule.

Heath Dawson — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:45:07 +0000

American writer Wendell Berry sums up the holistic nature of working natural materials-

‘The good worker loves the board before it becomes a table, loves the tree before it yields the board, loves the forest before it gives up the tree’.

It’s a good season to work wood, the sap is down, birds have nested and the activity of harvesting, splitting and working wood keeps you warm in January winds.

Here’s a project to aid the processing of firewood for winter’s woodburners-the Log Mule (i don’t think ‘saw horse is the right name).

www.youtube.com/watch?v=veHwPt5Qs2U

Flint knapping-primitive technology

Heath Dawson — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 17:15:01 +0000

Just back from a flint-knapping weekend hosted by Dryad bushcraft and taught by the excellent Karl lee.

With a very primitive tool kit…

Karl demonstrated how to knap a hand axe…

and a great arowhead…

We made flint hide scrapers…

prepared Hazel arrowshafts, flint arrowheads with Lime bark cordage…

we used pine resin and beeswax (10%) to fix on the feather fletchings (Pheasant or Canada goose)…

we then shot them on my newly completed Yew self bow much to our satisfaction..

Gratitude to Flint and our Ancestors for getting us here.

Craig Forde, the stig of canoeing.

Heath Dawson — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:50:28 +0000

Many thanks to Craig Forde of SAS Outdoors (www.sasoutdoors.co.uk) for the absolutely sterling job of providing the safety boat as well as acting as a camera platform for the BBC staff! Craig or ‘Spud’ as he is better known helped shooting the raft journey along the Mawddach river.

“Please do pass on our huge thanks to Spud and the crew for the support out on the water. Spud was a true super power man – keeping us all from drifting away with only his own strength……amazing!“ BBC Countryfile

One way to craft a raft.

Heath Dawson — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 18:39:45 +0000

The ‘Basha boat’ or raft featured on BBC Countryfile took about two hours to build with the grateful help of Firefox instructor Richard Mason along with Helen and Christian.With an axe, saw,knife, string and a tarpaulin you can craft a raft. It’s been said that most Native American Canoeists couldn’t swim, they just never went in but work on the assumption that you will go in the water and take appropriate safety precautions, outside of a survival situation wear a Personal Flotation Device (PFD).

Mark two concentric circles on the ground, the size you want your raft. Use a piece of string attached to a peg for this.

Knock 20″ holding stakes into the ground to act as a former to hold the hazel wands in position.

Evenly lay Hazel or Willow wands around, inbetween the two rows of stakes.

It should make a large wreath, next insert latitudinal cross members of Hazel into the wreath walls, evenly spanning the hole in the centre.

Weave into position the Hazel longitudinal members to create a latticework decking.

Bind the Hazel wreath together with string and tie in the decking securely then wrap it all up in a tarpaulin

Get it to the water

Grab your paddles and poles and float off on the thing, bon voyage!

BBC Countryfile Bushcraft feature

Heath Dawson — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 08:55:38 +0000

Here it is and we get to see how the raft performed-

www.youtube.com/watch?v=r313gILTDy0

Bushcamping

Heath Dawson — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 20:01:05 +0000

Thanks to Andrew Robinson for this verse by Rusty:

Bushcamping's not flash, it's not frilly.
You eat what you've got in your dilly.
You roll out your swag,
On the fire chuck a snag,
Then doss down, spin a yarn, swing the billy.

Build an Earth Oven

Heath Dawson — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 20:08:13 +0000

Last month saw the final firing this year of the earth or clay oven we made way back in April at Harlow Carr in Yorkshire.Tim and i made the oven in the style of Devonshire cob buildings and one thing they say about that down there is “give it a good hat and good shoes”. We made sure that the foundations (the shoes) were solid, built on tree stumps up to comfortable working height and out of the damp. The oven was sited under conifer trees that provided a great deal of shelter from the eroiding rain, over the following months we would add a little more clay mix to the roof to cover up cracks. On the tree stumps we laid the floor of the oven, flat rocks that would hold heat, pavement slabs do well for this job. A willow dome was made to support the clay mixture whilst it cured in place.

The dome was placed over the oven floor and liberally coated with the clay mixture. The mixture was riverbed clay with about 25% grass, straw and small stones mixed in pit with the feet of Tim and various small children, traditionally you would get your horse or cow to do this with the benefit of some added dung. Clay alone would shrink and crack, the additives provide a strengthening matrix.

A door was cut out at over 60% of the height of the dome to allow for good air intake, the dome was plastered from the inside then, the doorway was supported with rocks and a good solid lintil. It was left to cure then for several days, any cracks were repaired. The oven is heated up with a hot fire for an hour or so kindled inside on the flat slabs of the floor. To aid the airflow a small chimney was added about a fist-width in diameter and capped with an old clay flowerpot.

The whole fire can then be raked out or some embers can be left burning off to one side and the oven floor is brushed clean ready to insert the food.

The doorway is blocked up again with a large pre-heated stone and your bread or pizzas etc begin to cook, these took about 10 mins.

You can use the slowly diminishing heat to cook a variety of foods- the pizzas are done to perfection and the chocolate cake goes in for about 45 mins. At the end of the day the oven will still be warm enough to prove yeast dough overnight for more bread the following day with another fire-up.

Chocolate cake was perfect too but sorry to all you wildfood purists out there. The construction was a full days work for two people plus kids with a little ongoing maintenence throughout the summer, paid back in full with weekends of delicious Earth Oven-baked food.

Fungal Foray-the quiet hunt.

Heath Dawson — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 11:05:16 +0000

Midsummer sees the arrival of one of my favourite edible mushrooms here in Snowdonia

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJZeWjrmFV0

Archery-Bow warm up.

Heath Dawson — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 10:01:15 +0000

If you have put a lot of care into making your own bow then go easy on it and give a good warm up.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhoUX6tXeeU

The bow is tri-laminate of Hickory, Purpleheart and Lemonwood i guess, the wood was kindly given to me and the bow is called ‘Jimbow’- a nod to the man who started the bow but died before he could finish it.

The target is called ‘Steven the stunt-hare’, made of hessian, sewing kit and a load of supermarket carrier bags, a portable target with great stopping power and durability, cheap too.