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Rat Action - Bowdrill
- Thread starter kgd
- Start date
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- Feb 28, 2007
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- 9,786
I like basswood the best, followed by cottonwood or other popular, white cedar. Willow is supposed to work well also. If you can, make the drill and hearth from the same piece. If you need to make them from different pieces, try to have the drill harder than the hearth.
Good luck.
WOW. This should be a sticky!.. Awesome presentation of the How To on Drilling for Fire. One of these days I'm going to sit down and figure that out for myself.
PS. I noticed a good point of note in you're pics. The serrated RC-3 has been sharpened quite a bit. AND STILL LOOKS GOOD. Something I noticed when I got mine about the RC serrations design but had never seen an actual photo is that the serrations are "sharpenable" throughout the life of the blade. Lots of other serration designs are a freakin PAIN to sharpen.
PS. I noticed a good point of note in you're pics. The serrated RC-3 has been sharpened quite a bit. AND STILL LOOKS GOOD. Something I noticed when I got mine about the RC serrations design but had never seen an actual photo is that the serrations are "sharpenable" throughout the life of the blade. Lots of other serration designs are a freakin PAIN to sharpen.
- Joined
- May 14, 2009
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- 1,410
Thanks, great post ... that will be easy to follow!
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2007
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- 9,786
Thanks guys, but there are better tutorials out there. I just tried to give a few tips with my photos. There are lots of little skillsets that go with the bow drill. It is a time consuming thing to learn and do but you really get a sense of reward like no other when you bust out that coal. I still love the lingering smell of coal embers on my hands. Its the smell of success and its better then getting to 2nd base 
I think the first and most important thing is technique and posture which I can't demonstrate because I didn't have a 2nd photographer. You need to have a relatively smooth bowing action and posture that won't tire you out. You need to add pressure on the head piece but not apply too much pressure. You need to keep the drill straight while bowing. Simple things just like how to correctly fit the drill to the bow. Its a fast and easy single motion, but when I started I had a hard time figuring that out on my own. I also always had my bow strung up too loose.
For those of you interested in learning the method, the fastest and easiest route is to find somebody in your area who will give a quick demo. Ten minutes with them will have you in the right bowing technique. A lot of people joke about them, but you can buy bow drill kits with all the materials made up for you. It certainly isn't the same as foraging everything on your own, but at the same time you get to work with the best of materials and refine your technique. Its not a bad way to learn.
After technique then the next step is fashioning your own bow drill set up from woods you know should work in theory. Finally the last step is identifying trees and harvesting wood in a natural setting and putting together your bowdrill on the spot. I'm still not all that proficient on the latter when I'm in the bush.
A few members here who have taught me much - Doc Canada who invited me over to his place to teach me the method. Doc posted some good tutorials in W&SS in the past and he is a happy owner and fan of the RC-3. Magnussen who is amazing at the method and showed me some variants like the two stick hearth. Talfuchre who compiled a bunch of tutorial resources and cajoled me into working on the method.
Anyhow, I sent a couple of users a bunch of materials by e-mail. They were PDFs of old BF thread tutorials that were good for bowdrills. There is also a top notch powerpoint slide that was distributed by Kevin Estela. I hope they will be generous and pass on those materials to others who want to read further on the subject.
I think the first and most important thing is technique and posture which I can't demonstrate because I didn't have a 2nd photographer. You need to have a relatively smooth bowing action and posture that won't tire you out. You need to add pressure on the head piece but not apply too much pressure. You need to keep the drill straight while bowing. Simple things just like how to correctly fit the drill to the bow. Its a fast and easy single motion, but when I started I had a hard time figuring that out on my own. I also always had my bow strung up too loose.
For those of you interested in learning the method, the fastest and easiest route is to find somebody in your area who will give a quick demo. Ten minutes with them will have you in the right bowing technique. A lot of people joke about them, but you can buy bow drill kits with all the materials made up for you. It certainly isn't the same as foraging everything on your own, but at the same time you get to work with the best of materials and refine your technique. Its not a bad way to learn.
After technique then the next step is fashioning your own bow drill set up from woods you know should work in theory. Finally the last step is identifying trees and harvesting wood in a natural setting and putting together your bowdrill on the spot. I'm still not all that proficient on the latter when I'm in the bush.
A few members here who have taught me much - Doc Canada who invited me over to his place to teach me the method. Doc posted some good tutorials in W&SS in the past and he is a happy owner and fan of the RC-3. Magnussen who is amazing at the method and showed me some variants like the two stick hearth. Talfuchre who compiled a bunch of tutorial resources and cajoled me into working on the method.
Anyhow, I sent a couple of users a bunch of materials by e-mail. They were PDFs of old BF thread tutorials that were good for bowdrills. There is also a top notch powerpoint slide that was distributed by Kevin Estela. I hope they will be generous and pass on those materials to others who want to read further on the subject.
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2009
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- 757
Kgd, Great pics and great tinder!! Thanks for the Pics.
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2007
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- 9,786
Here is another demo trying to show some technique on the bow drill.
In this example we are using a piece of jute twine instead of natural tinder for the birds nest.
Here is a demonstration of how to string up the drill. Your bow should be tied so that the string isn't tight, but isn't slack without the drill either. Hold the drill in your hand so the drilling part of the tip is facing forward and the head peace end of the drill is backward.
Position the drill inside the bow.
Twist on single loop around the bow string. If you use this orientation, the loop will be correctly placed on the outside of the stick. This method provides less binding of the drill when bowing. The line should be nice and tight. You might even have to have the bow flex some during stringing it up. For the first timer this is perhaps one of the hardest things to do.
In this example we are using a piece of jute twine instead of natural tinder for the birds nest.
Here is a demonstration of how to string up the drill. Your bow should be tied so that the string isn't tight, but isn't slack without the drill either. Hold the drill in your hand so the drilling part of the tip is facing forward and the head peace end of the drill is backward.
Position the drill inside the bow.
Twist on single loop around the bow string. If you use this orientation, the loop will be correctly placed on the outside of the stick. This method provides less binding of the drill when bowing. The line should be nice and tight. You might even have to have the bow flex some during stringing it up. For the first timer this is perhaps one of the hardest things to do.
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2007
- Messages
- 9,786
My buddy Gord learning to get his first coal. Notice his technique - it is the proper way to do it. His left foot is on top of the hearth keeping it stable. The hearth is right under the arch of his foot. If you have boots on this makes it even easier. His left arm is wrapped around his knee. His forearm should be a little bit straighter, more parallel to his knee but he is working with a bit too short of a drill. The knee in the crotch of your elbow is key to the method. This helps keep your posture straight and aids in balance. His left hand is on top of the headpeace and he is keeping the drill nice and straight during the bowing action.
Again, I like to use tinder fungus as a keeper or charcloth to grab the ember more so than the dust from the bowdrill itself.
Blow into flames...P.S. Don't forget to let go of your ball of flames!
Again, I like to use tinder fungus as a keeper or charcloth to grab the ember more so than the dust from the bowdrill itself.
Blow into flames...P.S. Don't forget to let go of your ball of flames!