1st attempt at a Bow- Drill Fire

Tanto63

Tanto63

Joined
Sep 11, 2010
Messages
176
FAIL..............

But I did learn a few things:
1. I think my drill was a bit (no pun intended ) too short and skinny.
2. The bow was not long enough and was to rigid, plus my cord was overly tight on the drill, causing a jerky action.
3. My base wood was not thick enough because I drilled through it before I got an ember going. I did get a lot of smoke though, and used a piece of cardboard as a platform. Just could not get it hot enough.
4. I think my handle was to small.

Even though I was able to get a lot of smoke, and a little ember, just not enough before I drilled through the base. I used cotton from Q-tips and the wood shavings from the bow drill, dry pine needles and a napkin as tinder.

I'm confident once I assemble the components properly, it will be a bit easier. I was in my driveway because my yard is still saturated from Sandy and the snow storm on Wednesday.

A bow-drill fire making is definately a skill. I must master it and would be a backup to my Bic, then my Ferro rod and cotton/vaseline balls.

And of course the BK2 chopped, split and whittled without an issue and was still sharp as hell when I was done making the components. A few passes on my leather belt with the green compound and it was back to hair popping sharp.

A pic for review, and any suggestions would be appreciated.




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Did you undercut the notch?........ Usually you let the coal build in the char dust on a piece of very dry bark or similar that has been placed under the notch and then carefully tip the coal on to a tinder bundle and then gently blow it into flame...... It really helps if the ambient humidity is forty percent or below...... A general rule of thumb is thatevery ten degree drop in temp doubles the difficulty of acheiving a coal.......a south facing, windless slope at three pm is always your best bet....LOL......

Matches and Bics and ferro rods are truly magical things!!!!!........

Ethan
 
Ethan Becker said:
Did you undercut the notch?........ Usually you let the coal build in the char dust on a piece of very dry bark or similar that has been placed under the notch and then carefully tip the coal on to a tinder bundle and then gently blow it into flame...... It really helps if the ambient humidity is forty percent or below...... A general rule of thumb is thatevery ten degree drop in temp doubles the difficulty of acheiving a coal.......a south facing, windless slope at three pm is always your best bet....LOL......

Matches and Bics and ferro rods are truly magical things!!!!!........

Ethan
Click to expand...

This is great info. I need to practice this a bit more. The last few times I managed to do this it was during the summer back home in Phoenix AZ where the temp was over 110, and the humidity was below 5%. Currently the weather outside is 32 degrees with 70% humidity here in Utah. Based on your info, that would make it roughly... 256 times harder to get a coal going (~80 degree difference means 2^8). Wow. I better get practicing.

Also I agree with the other comments about it being long enough, but not wide enough. Also, I like to make the spindle a bit thinner in the middle, this helps keep the cord in the middle while using it.

Good luck man :).
 
A couple rules of thumb -
1) The bow should stretch from your armpit to the tip of your fingers. The one you have looks OK.
2) Smaller diameter drill = more pounds per square inch for any given downforce. I wouldn't go a whole lot thicker than you have.

As Uncle E said, the humidity is what kills people with bow drill fires. They are a piece of cake in the desert. Keep trying. You'll get it eventually. The key after getting the coal is having a very good nest built. Put the coal in gently and then blow into the nest, but hold it so that you are blowing upwards. Does this make sense? I think I have video of this somewhere in the BOSS course series.
 
Thanks guys for the input and encouragement. It does require being prepared and having experience. I thought at first it might be a snap, but not so and if I were to rely solely on a bow-drill at this time stuck overnight out in the woods, I would be cold and possibly wet. Fire is a life saver and a taker, and knowing how to make and use it sure builds confidence.

What got me thinking seriously about this was when on Wednesday night on my way home from work my truck died in the Nor'easter. I drive 75 miles each way to and from work. I called my auto club and it took 4 hours for a tow truck to come get me. Ha, stuck in my truck with no heat gave me time to think about "what if". Needless to say I now carry a sleeping bag in my truck along with other gear. Not becauseI live in an isolated area, I'm in NJ, but you just never know when and where it will happen again.

I will definitely make the drill, base, drill cover (?) beefier and keep at it till it becomes second nature. Question though, is the base and drill reusable? If so I would like to make a few sets in advance and pack them away.

"Thinner in the middle"... Lol. I wish, but understand what you mean also.
"blow into the nest, but hold it so that you are blowing upwards"... Ok, it does make sense.

I enjoy reading about what you guys know and experience, and respect the skills it takes to achieve these tasks... Thanks so much.
 
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I would recommend that you don't make the drill too thick for reasons of force per unit area explained above. Make it thick enough to be useable but not too thick.
 
averageiowaguy said:
I would recommend that you don't make the drill too thick for reasons of force per unit area explained above. Make it thick enough to be useable but not too thick.
Click to expand...

Ok. Will do. Initally my drill was crooked a little but whittled it down to make it as straight as possible. Is there a rule of thumb regarding the base thickness?

"Yes, its all re-usable"... good news:thumbup:
 
I guess my most successful have bee about 3/4 in .......AIG is suggesting a shallow hourglass shape.....A VERY good suggestion and something I did not know about......Wood types are reasonably important.....My fave is PawPaw.....but too esoteric.....Poplar or basswood , willow, the white part of eastern cedar,(the inner is too resinous for all but the most energetic) ?....You want something soft and without much resin.........

Ethan
 
If you are along a river or near water - cottonwood is good. In desert regions where there is sage - live green sage. Yeah I know. It doesn't make sense, but the best thing I've ever made a drill/board out of was live green sage. Ethan's other suggestions work like a charm.
 
I gave it a try a couple weeks ago, I didnt get fire but I did get smoke... so I was happy with at least that much
 
Remember guys what you get is a tiny coal in a bed of char dust.......Very delicate......

Hey Doc.....
..Green sage ????......WTF over....... i believe it from you......Did you use a cordless drill perchance.......Did not know.....Cool....

Ethan
 
Ethan Becker said:
Remember guys what you get is a tiny coal in a bed of char dust.......Very delicate......

Hey Doc.....
..Green sage ????......WTF over....... i believe it from you......Did you use a cordless drill perchance.......Did not know.....Cool....

Ethan
Click to expand...

WTF indeed. Nope. Cut straight from a living sage bush. Live, green sage. It was the easiest bowdrill fire I've ever had. And it was done old school. Harvested from the bush with a knife. I took the trunk and I had to baton it to make the fireboard. I learned that on the BOSS course.
 
Also pressure is key, different woods like differnt pressure. With soft wood sometimes it helps to not use a lot of down pressure and a little bit more speeds. See if you can find a yucca stock to play with. You can get a coal in under 30 seconds using it as a drill. It is a soft would and that also helps prevent drilling holes.
 
Bow drill instructions starts about 3:30. The board and spindle are live, green sage.
[video=youtube;IUaq_MkbbPQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUaq_MkbbPQ[/video]
Watch how she holds the tinder bundle when she is blowing on it. That is key.
See how she tips it up at 5:00? That is key. 5:37 is the harvesting of green sage.

Enjoy.

Another video on primitive fires:
[video=youtube;aj202waePRE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aj202waePRE[/video]
 
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