American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 171 Hand-operated Pump-Driven Drill (Multiple Images, Worth Reading)
"This door must meet three core requirements: its sealing must be good enough to isolate cold air to the maximum extent."

"It must be sturdy enough to withstand the storms off the coast of Labrador and even the probing of a curious black bear."

"Without modern metal hinges and nails, its turning mechanism must be simple, reliable, and durable."

“I will use a design that I call a ‘horizontal pin hinge’.”

"Its entire load-bearing capacity relies on a few sturdy wooden dowels and slots, requiring no complicated pivots and making it much easier to manufacture."

"But to realize this design, I still need to do some relatively precise drilling work. So, I have to upgrade my toolbox before I can make the door."

"I plan to make something that requires less effort—a pump-driven hand drill."

He explained to the camera, "Its structure is more complex than that of a bow drill, requiring the manufacture of drill rods, crossbars, counterweight wheels, and handles."

“Once it’s made, I can get a more stable and faster rotation than a bow drill by simply pressing up and down with one hand. This will save me a lot of energy and time.”

Lin Yu'an turned around again and walked into the silent forest covered in white snow.

His first task today was to build himself this key tool that could be described as a primitive "machine".

He first needed a straight, hard, and thoroughly dried piece of wood to serve as the core of the entire device—the drill rod.

After searching, he used a handsaw to cut off the straightest branch from a dead birch tree that had already fallen and whose bark had partially peeled off.

Then he returned to the shelter and began the meticulous carving work.

He clamped the rough log between his legs and used a short-handled axe to chop off the excess parts, roughly shaping it into a square column.

Then, he switched to the sharp Damascus hunting knife and began to refine it.

He carefully shaved off the four corners of the square pillar, rolling the wooden rod on a flat stone slab, observing closely to find any uneven spots, and then gently scraping them with the blade.

Finally, a straight, smooth cylindrical wooden rod, about half a meter long and four centimeters in diameter, appeared in his hand.

Then, using the tip of his knife, he first drew a shallow, evenly spaced spiral mark on the upper part of the wooden pole.

This is a draft. If a mistake is made, the entire drill rod may be ruined. He repeatedly checked the angle and spacing of the spirals, and only after confirming that there were no errors did he begin the formal carving.

He used the tip of the knife to carefully cut deeper and deeper along the shallow mark.

Wood chips curled and fell from the tip of the knife, and the spiral groove slowly emerged in his hand.

It took him more than an hour to finally carve out a deep, perfect spiral groove that could guide the rope's movement.

Finally, he shaved the lower end of the wooden rod into a thicker, blunter drill bit shape, and carefully and repeatedly heated it in the embers of the fireplace to char and harden its surface, thereby increasing its cutting ability.

The tip is then shaved thin and rounded to reduce friction, and a perfect drill rod is thus completed!
Next, the work involves making a horizontal bar that can slide up and down, which is the handle of the "pump".

He found a thick, rectangular hardwood board and needed to drill a smooth hole in its very center, slightly thicker than the drill rod.

This time, Lin Yu'an had no choice but to resort to the primitive "charcoal drilling method".

He stood the wooden board on the ground and used the tip of his knife to carve a deep cross in the very center as a marker.

Then he went to the fireplace, used two sharpened sticks as chopsticks, and picked up a piece of red-hot, walnut-sized charcoal from the embers.

He quickly returned and precisely placed the scorching hot charcoal at the crosshair positioning point.

Then, he bent down, brought his mouth close, and blew continuously onto the bottom of the charcoal.

"Hu-hu-"

As fresh oxygen was injected, the temperature of the charcoal suddenly rose, turning from dark red to a dazzling orange-red!
It's like a miniature furnace, starting to burn downwards, carbonizing the wood below, and a strong smell of burning fills the air.

When the charcoal cooled slightly, he used the tip of his knife to pry it open and then scraped away the brittle carbonized material that had been burned into the holes.

Burning, blowing air, cleaning... he kept repeating this cycle.

After more than half an hour of work, a smooth, dark hole appeared in the very center of the wooden board.

Then, he began to make a counterweight wheel to increase rotational inertia.

He first carved a shallow groove around the lower half of the drill rod with a knife.

Then, he sawed a round block about ten centimeters thick, like an iron disc, from another, thicker piece of birch wood, and then used the "charcoal burning method" to burn a hole in the center of this round block.

He forcefully slid the heavy log into the lower half of the drill rod until it reached the slot.

Then, he whittled several small hardwood wedges, coated them with pine resin, and hammered them into the gap between the log and the drill rod from all sides, locking them firmly in place so that they would never wobble again.

This counterweight wheel, like the base of a gyroscope, is key to enabling the drill rod to rotate continuously and automatically reset.

Finally, he tied one end of the sturdy cable to the groove at the top of the drill rod, and the other end through the small holes at both ends of the crossbar and tied it securely.

A primitive pump-driven hand drill, full of mechanical beauty, was thus completed.

With this new weapon in hand, he immediately began the arduous task of preparing the materials.

He went back into the forest and dragged back several sturdy, straight dead spruce logs.

He started by making the door frame; the entrance to the shelter was made of irregular stones and logs.

He had to make the door frame fit perfectly into the irregular opening.

He leaned two thick logs against the doorway, then used a short-handled axe and a hunting knife to slowly whittle and polish them.

This is a job that tests patience and spatial imagination. He constantly moves the wood to the doorway to compare it, and then takes it down to continue processing.

Once the two pillars and the top beam fit perfectly into the outline of the doorway, he needs to combine these three elements into a sturdy "U"-shaped door frame.

He used a simple mortise and tenon structure, and with a handsaw, he cut shallow grooves at the contact points of the "columns" and "beams" so that they could overlap.

An extremely sturdy "U"-shaped door frame was thus formed.

Now comes the crucial step of making the base for the hinge; he firmly secures the door frame post where the hinge will be installed to the ground.

"This hinge system does not require a pivot, so the door frame itself is fixed. We need to create a structure on it that can 'lock' the hinge."

He picked up a handsaw and a short-handled axe.

He carefully measured and marked the upper and lower positions on the side of the pillar.

Then, he used a handsaw to cut two parallel slits about ten centimeters apart and about five centimeters deep at each of the two locations.

Next, he switched to a short-handled axe and used the axe blade as a chisel to chip away at the wood between the two saw cuts, little by little.

After more than half an hour of meticulous work, a perfect square groove appeared on the side of the column. But the groove alone was not enough; it also needed a component to secure the other end of the pin.

He took a thick hardwood board about 20 centimeters long and 10 centimeters wide, and hammered it firmly into the square groove on the doorpost, like an "L"-shaped bracket.

Now, this wooden board becomes the "base" for securing the hinge pins.

Then Lin Yu'an used a knife to carve a small hole in the wooden board that would serve as the "hinge pin base," and the position of this hole corresponded exactly to the position where the door panel post would be installed.

With the door frame ready, he began making the door panel, which he designed to have a built-in hinge structure.

He selected all the door panel materials from the few remaining pieces of wood with a diameter of about 5-10 centimeters that were left over from the previous preparation.

He specifically selected two of the longest logs, which will become the edges of the door panel and also serve as the main body of the hinges.

He used a handsaw to cut all the logs to the appropriate height, leaving an extra 10 centimeters on each side except for the two logs selected as "hinges".

Then, he used an axe to slightly flatten both the inner and outer sides of each thin log to reduce gaps.

He carefully arranged the processed logs side by side, and placed the two longer "hinge logs" on the side where the door panel would turn. A heavy door panel with its own hinge extension was thus formed.

Now, it's time to make the hinge slots on the door panel.

This design is the most ingenious and labor-saving part of the entire structure, and it's also the moment when his new tool truly shines.

He stood the door panel upright and began working on the two protruding "hinge logs" to make a hollow slot.

"The most efficient way to make this hole slot is to remove most of the material in the middle first, which is the purpose of making this tool."

Then Lin Yu'an used a knife to dig a hole at the top of the hinge log, and then took out the pump-type hand drill.

With his left hand, he pressed the top of the drill rod with the wooden handle with the deep hole, and with his right hand, he gripped the crossbar and pressed down hard!
"Buzz-buzz-buzz-"

The drill rod immediately began to spin at an astonishing speed! He precisely controlled the drill bit, aiming it at the center point of the "hinge log".

A thick plume of bluish-green smoke, mixed with fine sawdust and a pungent, burnt smell, suddenly billowed out! The air was instantly filled with the unique odor of wood being burned at high temperatures.

While maintaining a steady pace, he explained to the camera: "Its principle is to use the high temperature generated by ultra-high-speed friction to carbonize the wood fibers at the contact point. Then, the rotational force of the drill rod will immediately grind these carbonized powders and throw them out of the hole."

Hot powder flew everywhere, the whole process was smooth and quick, and soon a deep round hole appeared in the center of the wood.

Then, he switched to his hunting knife, using the tip as a chisel, and easily drilled the hole outwards, cleaning away the remaining carbonized wood between the holes.

A perfect hole and slot appeared on the "hing log"!

He then used the same method to create the exact same slot on another "hinge log".

A wooden stick was driven in as a support point at the bottom.

Finally, he carved a wooden stick to use as a hinge pin.

All the parts are ready! Now, it's finally time for the final step: installing the wooden doors!

He first dragged the door panel under the "hinge pin base". He carefully aligned the slot at the top of the post on the side of the door panel with the hinge base of the door frame post.

He picked up the hardwood dowel that had been prepared beforehand and walked to the first hinge.

He first gently lifted the door panel slightly, then inserted one end of the hinge pin horizontally into the square slot he had previously carved into the door frame post.

"Crack!"

He first patiently carved a shallow groove on the stone base of the threshold using the tip of a knife and a stone slab.

This groove is to accommodate the wooden stick at the bottom of the door panel, which serves as a support point.

Then, he dragged the heavy door panel to the door frame, tilted it upright, and let the top of the door panel rest against the top beam of the door frame.

He crouched down, bracing his shoulder firmly against the door to prevent it from slipping, while his hands began to operate.

Using a lever, he carefully pried up the bottom of the door panel, and then precisely aligned and placed the protruding support stick at the bottom of the hinge log into the groove on the threshold stone base.

With a "thump," the support point below was in place.

Now, with this bottom support point as the center, the door panel leans diagonally against the door frame. He only needs to push the door panel straight so that the hinge hole at the top aligns with the base on the door frame.

He began to slowly, centimeter by centimeter, push the door panel upwards, and the heavy door panel was pushed vertically by him with ease!

The moment the door panel was completely upright, he immediately reached out a hand and firmly inserted a wooden wedge that he had prepared beforehand into the gap between the door panel and the other side of the door frame, temporarily wedging it in place.

He quickly walked around to the outside of the door and examined it carefully. The hole and slot on the hinge log at the top of the door panel were perfectly aligned with the base on the door frame post, which consisted of a square groove and an L-shaped wooden board!

Now, it's the final step to lock the hinges.

He picked up the hardwood dowel that had been prepared beforehand and walked to the hinge.

He aligned one end of the pin with the small hole in the "L"-shaped wooden board, and then threaded it horizontally through it.

The pin continued forward, passing through the large hole and slot in the hinge log of the door panel, and finally, its end was firmly inserted into the sturdy square groove on the door frame post.

He stepped forward and gently pushed the door panel.

The door creaked with an extremely stable motion, and the wood spun smoothly on the wooden dowel!
As dusk fell, he quickly finished making the heavy wooden bolt and built two sturdy slots on the inside wall of the door.

The camera was shot from inside the shelter, pointing towards the entrance.

Lin Yu'an stood at the door, took one last look at the snow-covered world outside, and then slowly closed the door.

As the door closed, the dazzling light from the outside was completely shut out, and the shelter was instantly plunged into darkness, with only the warm, flickering firelight from the fireplace remaining.

The howling of the wind and snow outside was instantly weakened, turning into a distant, muffled background sound!
He turned around, lifted the arm-thick wooden latch from the inside, and then, with a clang, firmly inserted it into the slots on both sides of the wall.

This sound marked the first time his fortress was truly isolated from the wilderness!
He leaned against the door and let out a long sigh of relief, a sense of security he had never felt before enveloping his entire body.

He walked to the fireplace, faced the camera, and couldn't hide his smile.

"Now, the shelter is officially completed!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

(I think this chapter deserves one monthly pass! I spent almost 4 hours writing this chapter.)
(P.S.: I'll be getting monthly votes at midnight tonight, so I hope you guys can save some for me~~)

(It's raining heavily in Beijing, everyone please be careful!)

(End of this chapter)