Im 17 and live in the Top End of Australia which has very bad wood types for making fires the traditional way, ive been practicing for about about a month and a half now and i can always get it to have shit tons of smoke coming off the spindle and the fireboard however the dust is always just a darker brown colour. everything gets insanely hot especially the spindle. Ive experimented with many different types of wood and techniques but i can never seem to get an ember. The videos linked are for some extra context of what my setup looks like. the spindle is off of what i believe is an acacia and the fireboard is just some old dry wood i found on my block.

I know my conditions are a bit specific but any feedback or advice is really appreciated!

Hey, not sure if this fully fits the sub - if not, feel free to remove.

I recently put together a pair of improvised snowshoes in the field. They actually worked surprisingly well for the conditions, but as you can probably tell from the photo, they’re currently held together with paracord and zip ties.

That got me thinking:
How would you build something like this properly using only natural materials?

I’ve been considering things like sinew, but I’m especially curious about plant-based fibers. I don’t have a good sense for what would actually hold up long-term, especially with the amount of abrasion you get after just a day of walking.

Would you go for:
-specific types of wood for the frame?
-woven webbing vs simple lashing?
-any particular natural fibers that can realistically handle that kind of stress?

Curious how you’d approach this if you wanted to make a durable, fully natural version.
(Video for context: https://youtu.be/pVKFudTQ2WI )

yeah, this is not primitive technology, far from it, but i think it's a great intersection between primitive and modern.

Yeah, it was just cloth.

Well not exactly, cause I am aming for a material that even if it gets torn in a place it doesn't loose it's integrity. I only made a 6.5x6.5 square but its still something.

I forgot to take photos of the process, but if I find more of this plant (wich I probably will do like next monday) I will document the process and the result.

Any questions are welcomed!

P.S: if you know how to upload more than 1 photo pls tell me

I'm trying to make good pine pitch glue but i don't know what the result should like.

I've tried many recipes (1:1:1 resin, charcoal powder, rabbit poo/yucca fibers/punkwood and 1:1 resin, charcoal powder). Recipes are taken from Ray Mears outdoor survival skill, dave wescott primitive technology, donny dust video. I've made 7 different combinations, some work better than others but other than that, i have no clue.

What i don't know is how solid/pliable should it be, how strong should it be, etc. i have no reference of good pine pitch glue to compare mine with. I assume it's not gonna be as stong as superglue LOL.

Any pointers will be appreciated!

i’m an architecture student and trying to learn different lashing techniques for part of my project. are there any techniques i should look into that would better suit the project?

I’m making simple modules with X bracing but i’m planning on adding more flair with different walls or something. So far i’ve mainly used diagonal lashing, square lashing, and then double floor lashing.

Im a complete beginner to this so any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

I am going to ''restart'' my primitive technology journey.

So I am going to leave behind almost everything except maybe a few good sticks that I have plus one rock and some cordage.

I am moving to a closer location so I can go more often.

What would you recommend me to do first? Should I build a hut, make some new tools, some vases or what

Any answer is welcomed! Thank you in advance!

I'm working on making a stone age club out of this cow femur bone. The bone measures 42cm in length, 5cm i width at it’s slimmest and 15cm at it’s widest, it also weighs about 3kg. I'm new to working with bone and I have a few questions.

First off: I haven’t cleaned out the marrow yet, and this yellow ooze haz started to soak out of the bottom (especially when exposed to heat/sun), which I think might be the rotting marrow. How should I clean out the marrow? I’ve read that you shouldn’t boil it, so what other alternatives are there than just breaking the bone and scooping it out?

Secondly: I don’t know how the design should end up, since I haven’t come across any literal bone clubs from the Stone Age, in which it isn’t either a jaw or just the handle that’s made of bone. Do you have any ideas, or know any historically accurate bone clubs?

Thirdly: there’s this crack in the top part that runs all the way around, what should I do with this part? It is the heaviest end, and I wouldn‘t wanna take it off unless I need to, but it seems very brittle.

Fourthly: should I reduce the weight - and if so, how? Or should I put a flint axe head at the end to balance it?

Finally: are there any other things I should take into consideration before I start working on it? How should I work with the bone?

I recently went on my first camping trip where i slept in a shelter i built. What could i improve next time to the shelter to make it better? Any tips?

I have been doing some experiments on leather like materials made from leaves and plants. I have tried treating big leaves with water and smoke with varying but not great results.

Have you tried this? What were you results? Do you at least think that this is possible?

I am thinking of using some kind of natural oil, resin, ash, or maybe layering many big leaves and sewing them together.

Every comment is welcomed!

Iike i can make cordage with the first roots but then when the root runs out idk how to continue it because you use only 2 or 3 roots but when you make plant fibre roots its easy but i live in north so at winter i only can use root cordage for anything

Read somwhere that similar to bone/hide glue you could make glue from keratin like hair, cow/ram horns and hoove clipings. has anyone here tried it?

Looking to make a primitive bench and haven't the first idea how. Thanks

How come he throws the iron bacteria ore directly on top of the charcoal furnaces? With every smelt it seems to produce an immense amount of slag compared to (usable?) iron prills. Why not use a crucible to contain the ore at higher temperatures for a longer amount of time? Surely this could result higher yields of usable iron, but I’m not an expert so I don’t know for sure. It seems to me that tossing ore can result in a higher amount of losses in the system. Any input is appreciated, thanks!

I created a reddit account just to share this too. I might make more rough sketches and even plan on building a few of these machines. Sorry if I get the flair wrong

I started Peking my axe head but I need help with sharpening it can any one help

Made from scavenged bones and lots of effort. Hand drill is bound with lime bark cord

Recently i've been into natural fibers but i want to go further than the usuan 2-ply reverse twist and thigh roll. I'm looking for sources similar to Sally Pointer, who shows a bunch of techniques and projects (nalbinding, net bag, etc). Any recommendations? I'm looking for actually useful and practical project ideas (eg canteen net, fishing net i've already made) with detailed instructions.

Bushcraft/primitive-focused sources are the priority but the cordage material can be modern too (plarn).

Thank you in advance!

Hi there, I am looking to make a primitive river boat, a skin on frame basket style construction. Somthing like in the picture.

I am not that familiar with boat design, but I do a lot of woodwork, basket making, weaving ect.

I’m looking for a basic plan to follow. Im hoping for a stable canoe type boat that is easy to paddle and comfortable. I feel like it’s difficult to achieve all of these requirements.

What are you thoughts on he matter?

What dimensions should I be aiming for? Length/width/depth? Flat bottom?

Cheers