American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 179 Bow Drill and Ice Fishing Rod
With the crucial drill bit in hand, he immediately set about making the other parts of the bow drill.

First, he made a bow. He found a willow branch about a meter long in the woodpile and carved shallow string grooves at both ends with his hunting knife.

Then he bent down and untied one of the laces on his high-top hiking boots.

He showed the camera the tough nylon shoelace: "In the wild, everything you carry is a potential tool. This shoelace is strong and resilient enough to be the perfect material for making a bowstring."

Lin Yu'an tied one end of the shoelace to the groove of the willow branch, then bent the stick with force and tied the other end tightly as well. A simple but sturdy enough drill bow was completed.

Next is the handle, which is the top of the drill.

He found a hard stone about the size of his palm to hold the end of the drill rod in place and reduce friction.

Finally, and most importantly, the drill pipe.

Lin Yu-an explained to the camera, "If it's a feathered arrow with a wooden shaft, it can be used as the drill rod for a bow drill."

"But if it's a carbon fiber arrow shaft, that would be a very bad choice! Its strength is its resistance to bending, but its fatal weakness is that it's brittle and extremely susceptible to torsion."

"The enormous torque of the bow drill would instantly twist this carbon fiber arrow shaft into pieces! So I can't use this carbon fiber arrow shaft itself as a drill rod."

He found a birch stick, shaved it smooth and round, and used it as the main body of the drill rod.

Then, he carefully dug a shallow groove at one end of the stick with the tip of his knife, tightly embedded the threaded end of the metal arrow into it, and then used wire to bind the arrow and the stick together in a crisscross pattern.

He pulled it extremely tight to ensure that the arrow would not wobble at all when it was spinning at high speed.

Now, he has a complete set of tools specifically designed for precision drilling!

After explaining, Lin Yu'an first picked up the already formed I-beam reel spool and firmly fixed it to the ground with his feet and knees.

He wrapped the bowstring of the drill around the drill rod, gripped the stone handle with his left hand, and pressed it firmly against the top of the drill rod.

Then, he precisely aligned the metal arrow at the bottom of the drill rod with the center point of the I-beam, gripped the handle with his right hand, and began to pull it back and forth smoothly.

"Squeak—creak—creak—creak—"

The shoelaces propelled the drill rod, instantly initiating a high-speed reciprocating rotation! The hard metal arrowhead produced an extremely piercing friction sound against the dry birch wood.

Strands of curled, wood shavings, like wood chips, were continuously drawn out of the holes, accompanied by a burnt smell! The efficiency was more than ten times higher than any manual rotation!
Soon, a smooth and straight shaft hole was perfectly drilled.

Using the same method, he drilled two holes on the platform at the rear of the handle to fix the pivot.

Finally, he whittled a hardwood stick slightly thinner than the shaft hole to serve as the pivot, and a small crank handle that could be easily gripped.

When he passes the spool through the handle, puts the bobbin on, passes it through the other side of the handle, and finally attaches it to the crank handle, a perfect winding reel is combined with the handle.

He gently turned the crank, and the spool spun smoothly with a slight "squeak".

The final and most crucial step is the "grafting" process.

He needed to drill a hole at the front of the handle to perfectly accommodate the carbon fiber arrow shaft.

When he needed to drill holes in the rod, he once again picked up the tool that had already proven its worth: the bow drill and arrowhead drill rod.

He picked up the bow drill again, and this time drilling became exceptionally easy because the diameter of the arrowhead drill bit perfectly matched the arrow shaft.

He only needs to make another drill rod with a diameter smaller than that of the arrow, and then use a bow drill to drill a hole of suitable depth at the front end of the wooden handle, and the size will be a perfect match.

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Half an hour later, a hole of just the right depth and with a diameter that perfectly matched the carbon fiber arrow shaft appeared precisely at the front end of the wooden handle.

Once the hole was completed, he held the precious carbon fiber arrow shaft in his hand, preparing for the final gluing.

Instead of immediately taking action, he gave a crucial supplementary explanation to the camera, which was the core essence of the entire design.

“I know many people may be confused,” he said, flicking the arrow shaft lightly with his finger, making a crisp sound.

"Why can't this arrow shaft be used to make a drill rod, but instead be used to make a fishing rod that needs to be bent?"

"The answer is, it depends on what kind of force it is subjected to."

"When used as a fishing rod, it mainly bears the pulling force of the fish, which is bending force. The carbon fiber structure makes it extremely strong in terms of bending resistance. It can bend like a spring and rebound quickly."

"However, when used as a drill pipe, it has to withstand enormous torsional forces. The structure of carbon fiber is very fragile when resisting torsion, just like you can't twist a glass rod."

“Once the drill bit gets stuck, this force will instantly tear it apart from the inside, causing it to break apart like a twisted rope; that’s what makes it ‘brittle’.”

"Therefore, I utilize its strength and avoid its brittleness. This is the understanding of materials, and also the true meaning of tool making in the wilderness."

After saying this, he took out a small piece of pine resin that had already solidified into an amber color from a bark box in the corner of the shelter.

He placed the resin on a stone slab, simply in the warm area next to the fireplace, allowing it to slowly and gently melt into a viscous liquid using radiant heat, rather than roasting it directly over the flames.

He explained to the camera, “There’s a key point here: we can’t use too high a temperature. Although the arrow shaft is made of carbon fiber, it’s cured with epoxy resin. Too high a temperature will damage the resin and weaken the shaft.” “The resin has a very low melting point; we just need to make it viscous enough to use as an adhesive.”

Instead of heating the arrow shaft directly, he slightly heated the holes drilled in the wooden handle to warm and dry the wood.

Then, using a small wooden stick, he quickly and evenly applied warm, sticky pine resin to the inside of the hole and the tail of the arrow shaft, and without hesitation, he inserted the carbon fiber arrow shaft, rotating it, into the hole on the wooden handle!

"Zi-"

With a soft sound, the excess resin was squeezed out, and a puff of blue smoke rose up.

After cooling, the carbon fiber arrow shaft and the wooden grip become an inseparable, unbreakable, and perfect combination!

Next, we'll install the handle rings on this masterpiece that blends modernity and primitiveness.

He pulled the fishing line from the wooden reel and then carefully cut several sections from the roll of professional wire snare.

Then, these rigid steel wires need to be shaped into smooth, circular guide rings.

"Bending directly by hand is not only laborious, but it also makes it impossible to guarantee that each guide ring is the same size and has a perfect shape."

Lin Yu'an picked out a birch branch from the woodpile and then used a hunting knife to whittle it into a smooth little stick about one centimeter in diameter.

This unassuming little wooden stick is the precision "pivot" he uses to make the rod rings.

He tightly wound the steel wire around the mandrel, making sure each loop was snug. After two loops, he pressed it firmly with the back of his hunting knife, then twisted the excess wire at both ends into a braided "leg" before cutting it off with the blade.

The first perfect miniature rod ring with a fixed foot was thus created.

Using the same method, he made four more rod rings of the exact same size.

Then, he carefully pulled out a PE braided line from his fishing kit and placed the first, largest swivel on the rod near the handle.

Then, using a microfiber thread, begin the binding process, tightly wrapping it around the "foot" of the rod loop to secure it firmly to the carbon fiber rod.

When he reached the end of the winding, he pressed a small folded section of the coil underneath, continued winding it a few more times, then threaded the main wire through the coil and pulled hard, cleverly and seamlessly hiding the end of the wire under the tight coil.

Finally, he used the tip of a small stick to dip into a tiny bit of the warm, freshly melted pine resin, and carefully applied it to the entire bound coil, as if adding the finishing touch.

The resin quickly seeps into the fiber gaps, and after cooling, it forms a hard, transparent protective layer that perfectly seals everything in place.

Using the same exquisite technique, he fixed the remaining four rings to the rod body in descending order of size, forming a beautiful arc!

Finally, it's time to give this ice fishing rod its soul—installing the rod tip.

The rod tip is the very top and most sensitive part of an ice fishing rod. Its core function is to convert the faintest fish bites underwater into clear, visible visual signals.

He carefully examined the wings and tail of the harvested ptarmigan and plucked out the blackest, most intact tail feather.

“When ice fishing, the fish’s bite is usually very subtle and almost imperceptible to the touch, so we need a visual indicator.”

"Against the white backdrop of ice and snow, this black feather stands out prominently, and any slight movement can be easily detected, which can greatly reduce visual fatigue caused by staring at the rod for a long time."

"At the same time, its own elasticity allows it to quickly return to its original position after the signal disappears without producing unnecessary shaking."

"This is a simple lever principle. A tiny vibration acting on the tip of the rod will be amplified through the length of the feather, eventually producing a visible displacement at the end of the feather."

After explaining, he continued with the meticulous production process.

He didn't tie it directly because that would be unstable; he needed to create a more stable connection structure.

He first used the sharp tip of his hunting knife to carefully cut a shallow slit about one centimeter long along the center line at the thickest part of the feather shaft.

This movement requires extremely high control; a slight mistake could completely split the feather shaft in two.

After this step is completed, the cut-open root of the feather shaft will form a structure that can open, similar to a clamp.

Just like putting a pen cap on a pen, this split shaft was precisely "riding" on the very tip of the carbon fiber shaft.

The feather shaft clamps the rod tip between the upper and lower sections, greatly increasing the contact area and fundamentally preventing the feathers from sliding or rotating on the rod tip.

Then, using PE braided line, tightly bind the entire base of the shaft to the carbon fiber rod tip, starting from the rod tip and working backwards.

Throughout the process, he ensured that each loop of line was tightly packed without any gaps, ensuring that the enormous radial pressure pressed the feather shaft firmly against the rod tip.

The final step was sealing. He used the tip of a small stick to dab a tiny bit of the pine resin that had melted into liquid by the fireplace and carefully applied it to the entire bound coil.

The warm resin quickly penetrates into every tiny gap between the fibers, and after cooling, it forms a hard, transparent, and completely waterproof protective layer.

This layer of resin completely binds the fibers, shaft, and rod tip into a strong whole, completely isolating them from potential erosion by melting snow and ice.

When he finished, a sensitive and sturdy rod tip was perfectly integrated with the entire fishing rod!
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.

(Two chapters in a row! Today is really the last day. If you still have any monthly votes left, please throw them all at Han Sui!!!)
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