bowdrill blues

Runsalone

Runsalone

Joined
Oct 22, 2003
Messages
1,150
I have tried the bowdrill method of making fire until I have literally injured my arm around the wrist.

Ive gone and gotten a piece of cedar from the home store cause I heard this is a great way to start out and refine ones technique before moving on to other natural materials.

I was using Sycamore, and getting tons of dust and smoke...Piles of it. I actually succeeded in getting a ember once which was very pleasing but I dont know what I did different that time.

Anyway Im working with the handdrill for the time being cause it dosent hurt my wrist (go figure???!!) but when it gets better does anyone have any suggestions about success in this matter. My kit LOOKS like im carving it right, so Im thinjking its my technique or wood choice thats failing me.

Any advise. :(


:cool: Patience = Virtue :D
 
Fire = fuel + heat + oxygen

Most fuel will spontaneously ignite if all the parts of the triad are present when the temperature gets high enough.

If you have suitable fuel and can build enough heat with the dril the other componet is oxygen. My main mistake in fire drills was not designing the cup the drill rotates in with enough of a groove for air to get to the heated fuel. Now days I usually leave a LARGE V shaped opening at the front of the cup and make a small hole all the way through the bottom. This allows plenty or air to get to the fuel. If you are getting smoke try blowing the heated mixture to see if it will catch up.

http://www.hollowtop.com/Articles/Friction_Fire_Woods.htm
 
Thanks for the reply and the great link!

The notch Im cutting for the bowl is usually about a 1\4 inch wide at the opening and extends into the bowl approx. a dimes width befor the center. I try to get the bowl started around a 1\4 inch or slightly less into the fire board, that is, from the outside edge, not depth.


Also I keep thinking Im having to work the bow for an awfuly long time (long enough to hurt myself :rolleyes: ) it seems this process should take around 30-40 seconds max, though I may be wrong. Ive been "bowing" for like, a minuite and a half, maybe longer, . Big piles of dust , lots of smoke, but seems I cant get the punk that is created to turn to spark.

I know one thing I cant wait for my dadgum arm to work again so I can get back to work on it. I was starting to think that I was trying to "muscle "it too much as sometimes the resulting dust was sort of thick black and clunky. In the reading Ive done the dust is needing to be more "powdery" and dark brown.


Heck Im just ticked that my arm jumped ship. I feel like I was getting closer to refinement. Must have used muscles that werent used to being used like that or something.


Any suggestions on the Cedar? Is it really a good wood to start with as Ive heard? Also anybody got any suggestions on the handdrill method, as I can do that while waiting for my tendon to reatatch itself or whatever is going on in there. :eek:


Its really quite wierd I had my mother in law feel the muscle in my wrist when I move my hand, and she got all grossed out AND SHES A NURSE :confused: :confused: It feels like it should squeak when I move really quite comical. I have to think of a good excuse to tell people when they see the ACE bandage, something better than "I was trying to build a fire and........" :D


Sorry for the sermon! Im really getting into this stuff for some reason lately, and its nice to have like minded folks to share with.

thanks all! :cool:
 
If you are getting a good amount of smoke, you probably have enough of an ember to start a fire.

You have to have the right materials in your bird's nest. Take the smoking pile that you've created and transfer it to the bird's nest. Fold the nest like a taco around the ember and blow. Continue to blow. your ember will start to grow and ignite the tinder. Blow until you see fire...

Good luck with your arm.

S.
 
Runsalone, to add to this a little, one of the keys (in case you didn't already know) is to make the point of the drill very very sharp where it meets the handbit/socket on top, and put a little oil on it (even from your nose). This will greatly reduce the friction at the top because there will be far less contact between the materials there, and will make your "bowing" more productive before you get too tired. Also, kneel with one knee, keeping the other leg up on your foot, and lean your arm across your thigh for support (the arm holding the bit/socket). It'll also help conserve energy. So, same side bowhand/knee down, same side drill hand/leg up. By doing this, you literally make your body act as a support platform, and use your skeletal structure to reduce the amount of muscling you'll need.

Also, first drill a small hole in your firebase and then "prime" it by using the bowdrill until it draws some smoke. THEN cut your notch to meet up with the hole. Have your tinder bundle ready right next to the firebase once you've got it set up, and make sure the notch comes right up to the hole to create a small opening "ramp" for the tinders to easily fall down into the tinder bundle. The opening can't be too large though, because you want the embers to gather a little to have enough falling at once to create ignition. Also, make sure the tinder bundle has lots of airspace and very small materials so the air can run right through it and give the spark breathing space to ignite the tinder. The texture of your tinder bundle should almost be wispy, hairlike, featherlike.

The drill wood should be harder than the firebase, or at least the same hardness. If the drill is softer wood than the base, it'll wear down too quickly and embers won't result, or at least, it'll probably bind up on you while drilling.

What kind of cordage are you using on the bow? If it's paracord, do a double twist rope with it, so that it is rougher and grabs the drill tightly -- this way, it won't slip on you while you drill. Whether it's paracord or sinew you use, making it rough by twisting will not only make it gripper, but will prevent stretching of the cordage. Having to constantly retighten your bow because of cordage stretching will certainly make it nearly impossible to get a spark because of the contstant interruption in your drilling.

Once your set-up is fine-tuned, and your technique as well, you should have no trouble getting a spark most of the time. I say most of the time, because no matter how long you've been using them, firebows can still be quirky and it may take a few attempts even on your best day to get a spark.

Oh, and keep yer wood dry!!! :D

Hope this helps a little. It's hard to describe this stuff in a text forum...

Best,

~Brian.
 
At the following website are a number of excellent articles on fire by friction http://primitiveways.com/

One key clue is to look at the type of dust generated by the drill. If it is coarse then change wood for the board and or the drill. You want fine grained black dust to get a coal
 
Guys.....

I MADE FIRE!!!!! :D


Thanks for the comments and advise! My arm started acting right about a day ago, so naturally I was back to work with the cedar. A few tries and I got a HUGE ember (bout the size of a marble :eek: ) Then it was off to make sure I could get an ember reliably and it wasnt just a fluke. Ive gone through about three newspapers now making little sierra cup fires on my front porch Hah haa :)


ITS MAGIC!!!!!!!!!

I have made fire!!!!!!!!!


Sorry for the jubilee but ive been trying this since I was a little kid, and I get it now!

I promise when that little sierra cup flamed up with cedar shavings and little strips of newspaper the war whoop could be heard for miles.

Thanks to all!! :)
 
Welcome to the club! :cool:

It is actually a humbling experience to realize that you have now mastered what has been man's most useful and important skill. I cried when I made my first fire by friction.

Congratulations!!!

Quiet Bear
 
Thanks Q.B.!

You know its funny, now that I got over the initial "hump" of getting ember and flame, I feel like there is twice as much work to be done now! Studying different materials, for components of a bow-drill set as well as Local tinder materials, learning how to make it work in a moist environment.

And just in case I get all cocky and think I got all that " mastered" theres always the handrill method to start all over with! Ha Ha.

I dont think Id have it any other way! :)

Funny side note. The first spark I finally got was after I took a break from the meniacle work (arm injury) when I approched the task again I tried to keep an attitude of reverence,... gratitude for the materials, thanks to the creator for what nature had provided, and for the health to be here with it, learning. Before I seem to have been trying to 'make ' the wood give me fire, this time I humbled myself internally and remembered the great, and beautiful cedar that my fire board and drill once could have been a part of, and the sycamore that provided my bow, still living and growing nearby. I tried to remember that fire is a gift, that is given us, instead of treating it like a buffet. I guess that sounds silly to some but as I get older the more these things start to make sense to me, and in doing so they make me feel as though Ive just read the introduction page to a huge book that could take the rest of my life to read. Like this friction fire, I thought once I could make fire I would feel like " I got it whooped" Instead I feel like a child with so much more to learn. Life is wonderful :D

I guess I got carried away at first. Its truely an amazing thing, I wish I could have been a fly on the wall as the first humans who figured this all out did so.... it must have been quite a sight and they must have been very..VERY happy!


Sorry for the sermon. ;)
 
No need to be sorry, I go through the same thing. I have worn myself out trying to get an coal knowing I am doing everything mechanically correct, but no ember. It's seems that it doesn't work or least work as well until I appreciate and give thanks.

Parable of the bow-drill:
> the bow creates a circle and spins the spindle through the 4 directions.
> the handhold is the loving hand of the Creator from above
> the spindle is the male entity
> the fireboard is the female entity
> the notch is the womb
> the dust is the physical body
> A coal is new life
> Tinder is the Earth Mother
 
I sounds like you "primed" your drill and fireboard the first time around, so when you came back for your second try, it was ready to go. I had the same experience with my first attempts. First time around, it was a LOT of work, with very little result. Second time around, it was faster and a little bit easier, and much better results.

Lunumbra
 
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