The wooden ratchet locked over a peg and was secured with an Egyptian-made T8 wrench acting as a handle clamp. On assembly it felt solid and resisted side load well — but that tension split the wooden bows as soon as they met the granite. The takeaway: a bow with the grain running lengthwise is prone to cracking under this load, so the failed rig is now displayed as a record.
Wooden ratchet bow tensioning device fails under lateral torque
Key facts
- A wooden ratchet was used to tension the drill ropes, locking over a peg and secured with an Egyptian-made T8 wrench as a handle clamp.
- On first assembly the ratchet gave firm tension and resisted lateral movement and side torque well.
- The added tension split the wooden bows apart almost immediately once applied to the granite workpiece.
- The presenter concludes that bows made of wood with the grain running lengthwise are prone to cracking under this kind of load.
- The failed ratchet-tensioned bow and drill are displayed as a record of the failure, and the copper drill component could not be salvaged.
Sources
Egyptian Bow Drill | SurvivalSchool.comsurvivalschool.com
The “Egyptian Bow Drill” is a take-off of the traditional Bow Drill with the modification that there are 2 bow strings each being tied to the spindle in two ...
Making an Egyptian Bow Drill for Fire and Drillingyoublob.com
Build an Egyptian-style bow drill, one of the oldest mechanical tools, used for both fire-starting and drilling holes in wood, stone, and shell.
Ancient Egyptian drill bit - Press Officencl.ac.uk
A new study reveals that Egyptians were using a mechanically sophisticated drilling tool far earlier than previously suggested.
5300 year old metal bow drill found in Egypt is earliest ...archaeologymag.com
Study identifies a 5300 year old metal bow drill from Badari as Egypt's earliest known rotary tool, reshaping views of early technology.
The Egyptian Bow Drillprimitiveways.com
The objective of this article is to provide some scientific insight into the events which happen when two sticks are rubbed together to ...
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