Bow-drill

Materials


The basic items you need to start a bowdrill fire are as follows. Keep in mind that people refer to each item by different names, hence the synonyms in parentheses after each item.


 * Spindle (drill, bit)
 * Hearth board (fireboard)
 * Bearing block (socket, hand-hold)
 * Bow and string
 * Coal catcher (bark)
 * Tinder nest

For an easy, quick fire, the fireboard and the spindle both need to be some kind of light, dry, non-resinous wood. The friction required to generate fire with two pieces of green wood or hardwood is enormous! The best wood for this won’t have any sap, and will be light and soft enough to easily dent with your thumbnail without gouging. Many people have reported success with yucca, sage, willow, cottonwood, and cedar. Avoid hardwoods like hickory or oak because the density of the wood makes it difficult to generate powder. Also, avoid conifers (other than cedar/juniper) because the resinous sap can cause the friction surfaces to glaze over which then lubricates the surface and prevents friction.

"According to Martin Prechtel, the gods of fire hid their wisdom where no one would find it–in the water. He says this is why willow is so great for making fires."

The bow string can be made of natural cordage or any suitable string you have handy. Shoe strings, paracord, leather laces, and clothes line all make good strings. If you use natural cordage, hold your bow at an angle as you saw so that the cordage does not rub against itself on the spindle, as natural cordage has a tendency to wear out faster than civilized cordage.

Usage
The basic concept of using a bow-drill is seemingly simple enough:


 * 1) Twist your bowstring around the spindle.
 * 2) Hold the spindle in place on the fireboard with your socket.
 * 3) Saw back and forth with the bow which twists the spindle, causing it to rub against the fireboard and produce friction.
 * 4) The friction wears fluffy, little particles of wood powder off of the spindle tip and the fireboard.  The powder gathers under the notch.
 * 5) When there is enough heat (about 800º F) from this entire process, an ember forms in the powder.
 * 6) Transfer this ember into a nest of tinder–extremely light and flammable material that the ember will catch on fire.

Form
How you hold and use the materials is as important as the materials themselves. Using the proper form will increase your chances of success.

Note: These instructions were written from a right-handed perspective.


 * 1) Put the fire board under your left foot. Align it so its next to your ankle (so that the board appears to be sticking out to your right, from your ankle.
 * 2) Straighten your shins and thighs into a box shape... Make your legs right angles at your knees. Your right shin should be flat on the ground, pointing behind you. Your right thigh should come up straight, making the back side of the box/square. Your left thigh should stick out straight making the top of the box, then your left shin should go straight down to the ground making the front side of the box, then the ground between your left foot and right knee makes the bottom. The distance between your left foot and right knee should match the length of your left thigh, making it square looking.
 * 3) Wrap the spindle in the bow. Put your hand hold in your left hand, wrap your left arm around your left knee and angle your fist inward toward your body. Notice that a notch-shape appears where your wrist and hand/thumb meet. That notch or crook in your hand/wrist should fit nicely into your left shin. Since you placed you fire board, and lined up your socket near your ankle, you can use this notch in your hand/wrist to "hook" into your shin for total support. This helps mostly to keep the spindle straight up and down and in place. It also allows you to use your body weight for pressure instead of your arm strength.
 * 4) Hold the bow from the very back.
 * 5) As you begin drilling, keep your bow arm straight and let it swing like a pendulum.
 * 6) When first drilling, you want to go faster and harder to get a base of powder, as your powder builds, you can use longer, slower strides. You'll hear the rhythm of it when you've got it going. It just makes this perfect sawing sound.
 * 7) If your string slides around your bow as you drill, tighten your string. If your spindle keeps popping out every time you let off pressure, loosen the string. This may be another reason for the black stiff powder. If your spindle is wound to tight, the only way to get it to turn is with lots of downward pressure, which is generally too much. Loosen the string, see what happens.