how do you harden wood without fire? i wanted to make a javelin in my other topic, but i didn't want it to break... any help (i'm counting on Aztec, paleoarts, or David morningstar for this one, but anyone is welcome)

You could do it over, say the burner of an electric stove. At least it would be a consistent temperature, rather than the relative randomness that flame produces. I would be sure to disconnect all of the fire alarms, though.  

I'd suggest a bag of charcoal. Relly hot, but no flames for the most part.

im not sure how you could do that. i think a stove would work good. just dont burn the house down   ;D

and i have a high powered bench grinder and when you use wood on it ,it burns as it sharpens.

i have a heat gun (think of a hair dryer on steroids!) that i use. i bought it at 'harbor frieght' tools. i don't know if you have those, but they are a great place for dirt cheap tools. the heat gun was like $8. other than that, i don't know ...gas grill? really, really, REALLY big magnifying glass ;D oooh! how about car exhaust? nah, too dangerous and probably not hot enough.

I'd go with sticking it in the coals of a barbeque. You can use this for helping to shape the point too, just burn away the end and it will naturally come out pointed and hardened when you scrape away the charcoal.

If you cant do that, then grinding is reckoned to make a tougher point that carving, but I dont know why. I would carve or rasp down to a rough shape and grind to finish, and then soak the tip in white PVA wood glue (Elmers glue?)

David Morningstar wrote on Jul 21^st, 2009 at 6:17am:

I'd go with sticking it in the coals of a barbeque. You can use this for helping to shape the point too, just burn away the end and it will naturally come out pointed and hardened when you scrape away the charcoal. If you cant do that, then grinding is reckoned to make a tougher point that carving, but I dont know why. I would carve or rasp down to a rough shape and grind to finish, and then soak the tip in white PVA wood glue (Elmers glue?)

does that make it harder, or more durable? and if i used my gas stove, just stuck the wood on top of the flames, wood it slightly char enough for me to do a small amount or rubbing? it would be slow, but i would have a more controlled point

there is some debate as to 'fire hardening'. some woods do get harder when heated but not all (pine, cedar, douglas fir and other soft woods just seem to char). i personally think that ancient people used fire as a reduction method more than a hardening agent. what it is good for, besides reduction, is quick drying of green wood and straightening. you can reduce your closet rod over a stove but it's gonna be smelly and take you forever. scrape your point with a knife and then do some burnishing. that's where you take a heavy glass bottle or an extremely smooth rock and vigorously rub it on the peice going with the grain. this compacts the wood fibers and makes a protective outer surface. as well as giving it nice shine! to make it even stronger and shinier, rub the entire thing with vegetable oil before you burnish it.

(okay, i know there at least 4 or 5 dirty jokes hidden in that last paragraph!)

sharpen the tip and soak it in superglue.
makes it very tough :-)

Curious Aardvark wrote on Jul 23^rd, 2009 at 11:23am:

sharpen the tip and soak it in superglue. makes it very tough :-)

hey good idea (i can go to the dollar store and get large amounts of superglue)

I soak my atlatl hooks in superglue. They never seem to wear out that way.

K'Jev
8-)

it doesnt dry in a big chunk around the hooks? and then what do you do, like grind away the excess?. i might try that  ;)

Actually, super glue soaks in really fast, and dries almost instantly. So fast, it's difficult to glue two pieces together with it. It just soaks into the pores of the wood, apparently. It dries really fast on paper too.

If you need to fill a gap in something, you might want to try this:

• Fill the gap with baking soda (any brand will do)
  
• Clean up the area around the gap (any granules of baking soda left will be REALLY hard to get rid of later.
  
• Drop super glue on the gap, drop by drop. Let each drop soak in before adding another. Capillary action will pull the glue into even the smallest spaces.
  
• Sit back and wait for it to dry (it doesn't take long--less than a minute usually.
  

Once it's dry, it can be sanded, filed, drilled, and is incredibly strong. What happens is this:

Superglue reacts chemically with baking soda for some reason, creating heat, and dries super-fast. The result is rock hard (which is why you want the area around the gap clean of excess baking soda). You can actually feel the heat coming off of it. I found this trick in an old model railroading book, and have used it for years on a wide range of projects.

Professor K'Jev
8-)

Kjev wrote on Jul 26^th, 2009 at 9:01am:

Actually, super glue soaks in really fast, and dries almost instantly. So fast, it's difficult to glue two pieces together with it. It just soaks into the pores of the wood, apparently. It dries really fast on paper too. If you need to fill a gap in something, you might want to try this: Fill the gap with baking soda (any brand will do) Clean up the area around the gap (any granules of baking soda left will be REALLY hard to get rid of later. Drop super glue on the gap, drop by drop. Let each drop soak in before adding another. Capillary action will pull the glue into even the smallest spaces. Sit back and wait for it to dry (it doesn't take long--less than a minute usually. Once it's dry, it can be sanded, filed, drilled, and is incredibly strong. What happens is this: Superglue reacts chemically with baking soda for some reason, creating heat, and dries super-fast. The result is rock hard (which is why you want the area around the gap clean of excess baking soda). You can actually feel the heat coming off of it. I found this trick in an old model railroading book, and have used it for years on a wide range of projects. Professor K'Jev 8-)

ha, a baking soda and super glue fueled fire place  ;D

kjev, great tip! that one is gonna come in handy. ;)

That tip super glue tip is going to come in really handy...  8-)

if you have a bench grinder that would work, it burns the wood as it grinds but it dosnt blacken it it just gives it a dark brown color

dang, i don't have any good tools

i'm going to find a time when i'm going to be able to start, probably around October where everything is beautiful outside and i can find good wood because they will probably be easier to find