A little advice?

[dixieangler]

Well, Dog Fennel works on Mimosa. Not an easy go of it but it works. I drilled all the way to the bottom before I got the coal. I did this one today. The Mimosa spindle I was using was too crooked and no amount of whittling to straight worked so I switched to a straight DF spindle on the Mimosa board. I am pretty sure I can get Yucca or Goldenrod to work on the Mimosa board but that is for another day. I think Horseweed might be too hard for the soft wood of the Mimosa.

I also corded some Mimosa bark I thought was strong but it probably was too far gone (close to rotten) to really use. Yep, it broke even before I got it spinning the spindle. That is the thing about single natural cords, usually you get smoke and then it broke. Double cording works better for strength to take the stress on the firebow and I prefer it. Or just burn the hole in with one single cord and use a second cord to go for the coal. I have not tried using two cords together (side by side) but this might work. Since I only did the single cord today and it broke and I had no more Mimosa bark, I used my nylon string.

Don't pay attention to my babblings (Dog Fennel, Yucca, Goldenrod, and Horseweed are all plant stalks used for spindles) yet, Chevy1121. Not until you get familiar with using some other woods on themselves. But do pay attention to knowing how to cord natural fibers because if you ever find yourself without a modern cord, you just may have to make two or three natural cords to use for the firebow. Two if you go one cord at a time or maybe try it together (side by side). Three if you double cord them.