Bow drill fail

BenchmadeBoy

BenchmadeBoy

Joined
Sep 4, 2005
Messages
1,982
Hiya. Got out and used my (nearly) new RC-6 to fashion a bow drill. I carved the hearth board, handpiece and spindle all from a dead ceder I harvested a few months ago. Anyway, I read a whole bunch of threads here, including KGDs excellent tutorial but I blew it anyway. All I get is polishing, not grinding when "burning in". Now I know there are a huge set of variables here and obviously I can't explain in detail what I did here. However, I also had Les Stroud's "Survive" with me and he recommends chipping or roughening the sockets/spindle end if polishing occurs. I did this and still no grinding. I went very slow at first but still nothing. Anyone encounter this? If so, what is the solution. I was under the impression that dry, clear grained ceder was a good "starter" wood. Any tips/suggestions are welcome

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cut a few deep groovs into the socket and your stick that should do it for you.
 
Many variables come into play when using primitive fire making techniques but several have proven absolute for me in my ecosystem (materials available).

First ensure that your baseboard (hearth plate) and drill are made from the same wood, softwood such as cedar or pine seem the work the best. The hand hold needs to be a much harder wood with a much higher friction point as the hand hold can steal the friction pressure you want on the bottom. Ensure you lube the top point of your drill with pine gum or sap. This will help with ensuring the handhold does not steal friction.

Make sure you pre-dig the hole partially to ensure your drill doesn't come slipping out.

Do not place too much downward pressure on the drill as it will inhibit the speed you want.

Another member suggested sand which does work great. After each try ensure you use your knife to cut away the burn on the bottom of the drill. This is a major error people make.

Cheers.
 
Update:

I have been at it for the past few days. I have thinned the spindle, cut grooves in the bottom as was suggested. I have succesfully "burned in" the spindle. I get lots of smoke and fine, brown dust. I will continue to try it out. Any tips for cutting my notch in the hearth?
 
I spent endless hours on the bowdrill before I got it to work. No joke, hours and hours.....and hours......

But once I changed out the kinds of wood I was using a few times, tried different shapes and angles, a few different tensions on the bow, lost 15 lbs spinning it and tried to beat myself to death with my own hearthboard I got it!

And I've never gotten it again.:D
 
I agree with Shotgunner.
Changed woods, more pressure, spin faster!!!! It was HELL!!!
Hours and hours and hours and I only made it work once.......but you GOTTA practice till that one time (though more is better) so that you KNOW what you need to make it happen.
Practice makes perfect.
Good luck.



My next challenge is the hand drill.
I'm gonna cheat and use a thumb string!!!
 
stjones said:
I agree with Shotgunner.
Changed woods, more pressure, spin faster!!!! It was HELL!!!
Hours and hours and hours and I only made it work once.......but you GOTTA practice till that one time (though more is better) so that you KNOW what you need to make it happen.
Practice makes perfect.
Good luck.



My next challenge is the hand drill.
I'm gonna cheat and use a thumb string!!!
Click to expand...

I just put a dowel rod in my powerdrill, works alot better and faster.;)
 
When you start the process ensure that you bow like you're driving a standard car. The point of the whole exercise is to allow dust to collect in the notch you have cut. Think of the drill hole as a piece of pie. Cut out an 1/8 of the pie as your notch. Ensuring that the notch goes close to the middle of the hole.

Start nice and slow in 1st gear slowly getting the technique and starting the dust build up. When you start to see the small amount of smoke move into 2nd gear stroking just a little faster. As the smoke starts to billow move into 3rd. When the notch is filled with dust and the smoke and dust start to escape out the top rather than the notch then you need to get into 4th and 5th gear using good long strokes.

If you start bowing too fast at the start you will burn yourself out. Make sure your handhold arm is on the outside of the support leg. This will provide stability and reduce fatigue.
 
Practice makes perfect - polishing is a sign of not enough downward pressure - you should get dark brown-to-black powder.

In the hearth bowl, as stated, put a couple grains of sand to clear out the sheen, or make another notch entirely. On the spindle, you can just shave off any polished wood.

On the handle divot, you can put a bit of soap (it's OK to "cheat" in order to perfect your form) or some oil from your face (right next to your nose works great!) to lubricate the spindle on that end.

Make sure you lean forward enough so you put your weight on the spindle and LOCK that wrist on your shin to keep the spindle upright.

Keep your bow parallel to the ground, use long strokes. many people use too short of a bow. The tension on the spindle should require a bit of work to wrap the spindle in (it should "pop" into place).

Keep trying! Don't get frustrated.

I finally got my form down at Tracker school - it took some people a WHOLE WEEK of practice during every break before they were able to produce a flame-worthy coal.
 
shotgunner11 said:
I just put a dowel rod in my powerdrill, works alot better and faster.;)
Click to expand...


I just keep a firesteel (and a butane lighter) on me, about 75% of the time I'm not in bed. :D And certainly any time I leave the house.

I guess it is good to know how to use a fire-drill. But it seems to dependent on the kind of wood, and it being dry and all.... just seems too iffy. Seems you now need to keep 3 pieces of wood with you at all times to make sure you have the right kind when you need it (plus cord and bow, but I figure those are the easiest things to find/make in this method).
 
The whole point, to us, about teaching primitive fire making is it makes you much better at making fires with more modern tools. Trust me, we have had students that couldn't get a fire going with a Bic lighter. If they learn the basics from taking a fragile coal all the way to a roaring fire, then they are going to be much better equipped to survive when the chips are down, they're cold, wet, and nothing around will light. So, primitive fire making is an extremely important skill to learn.
 
R.A.T. said:
The whole point, to us, about teaching primitive fire making is it makes you much better at making fires with more modern tools. Trust me, we have had students that couldn't get a fire going with a Bic lighter. If they learn the basics from taking a fragile coal all the way to a roaring fire, then they are going to be much better equipped to survive when the chips are down, they're cold, wet, and nothing around will light. So, primitive fire making is an extremely important skill to learn.
Click to expand...

Can't disagree with you there, I suppose. And one day I may regret not learning the fire-drill. But about as far down the primitive spectrum I feel the need to go is only as far as actual flint & steel.

Is the idea with the fire-drill, though, to actually have the pieces with you? Or find all the pieces you need every time you need to build a fire?

Like I said, seems neat and all, but much easier to carry firesteel, flint & steel, AND butane all together with you than one kit for using a fire-drill.

Hmmmm.... thinking I need to go find at least one flint/steel kit now.... :cool:
 
You only need the perfect wood at the right dryness when you're first learning your technique and the tricks of the trade. After you have the confidence you can start challenging yourself by soaking the nice wood for 30 minutes and try again.

Soon you will be able to get a coal when using wetter wood and different combos.

It`s addictive just like ESEE knives !!!
 
Rog. That makes much sense, and probably will lead me to give it a try sometime. I need another addiction. :D
 
Thanks for all the replies and encouragement so far! I will keep at it! Everytime I get tired of studying I head down to the basement and start sawing away:D I'll get it yet!
 
Yes, I must say that I learned ALOT about the basics of fire, tinder and nursing a coal from the primitive methods.
 
shotgunner11 said:
Yes, I must say that I learned ALOT about the basics of fire, tinder and nursing a coal from the primitive methods.
Click to expand...

Calling our ancestors "primitive" is sometimes a disservice! :-)

There was a LOT of science to what they practiced, they just didn't have scientific method to explain it... they often had mystical origin stories surrounding the history, proper technique and components, though.

Fire is not easy to obtain (nothing in the "sacred order" is, actually!) - remember, according to the Greeks, Prometheus was banished for sharing the secret of taming fire to mortals. Fire has forever been a source of wonder and fascination - if you don't believe me, count the silent stares watching "Caveman TV" at the next campfire.
 
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