No drill? No problem.

[GunnyGene]

Need to make a round hole in a piece of wood for a bolt or dowel, but don't have a drill? No problem. File this under Primitive Technology. :mrgreen:

I seldom see any current woodworkers using this method to make perfectly round or square holes in wooden workpieces.

When I was but a youngster burning augers were common here in the Missouri Ozarks and were often used by blacksmith's to make bolt holes in wooden wagon parts. But their use was not limited to smiths because I remember a man named Punk Murray sitting by a small fire in his yard burning holes in wood with a burning awl.

My impression is that this was a common method used during pioneer times to make holes in logs and rived boards.

In 1974 I made a burning auger that I have used many times since. It has a square cross section at the top for a distance of about two inches and then is square tapered to a sharp tip. With it I can burn 1/2-inch square holes or use it as a reamer by turning it to create tapered holes of various diameters smaller than 1/2 inch.

Full article: http://www.wkfinetools.com/contrib2/priceJ/boringWtFire/boringWfire-01.asp

 

[Sin6Sec63451022]

Well, who'da thunk! Pretty cool.

 

[737tdi]

Gunny, I have done this before but with a screwdriver and a torch. After seeing the pictures it joggled my childhood memories where we also used a fire. It was done mostly for fun but we would bore holes in small trees to run ropes through to make a sort of fort or stockade. Redneck kids you know, also if it was a clear day you could use a magnifying glass to heat the screwdrivers.


Karl

 

[mikewriter]

I had the bright idea to use old shovels - without handles - as leg brackets for a deer feeder, needed to drill holes in the blades to bolt them to the 55 gal drum that is the "hopper". Did not have a drill bit at my camp that would do the job, so I shot holes in the blades for bolt holes. Quickly found a .22 would not work, seems like a .38 might have, but a .44 was much more better! Probably faster than a burning awl?