Bow and Drill Learnings

[bp1974]

Hi all. In my introductory post I mentioned that I would be spending the weekend outdoors practicing bow and drill (for the first time). Talk about a learning curve. Experience and hindsight are wonderful things. I learned several things.

I learned that to my mind, bow and drill technique is not a survival skill, it's a technology. This may sound obvious, but until I began the process of making a bow and drill set and trying to produce fire, I was not aware of the distinction. In the past, I've based my survival skills on knowledge - knowing how to do things, where to find things, how to be comfortable etc. That approach didn't work in this case.

I read a linked article (post #1 in this thread) last week which talked about the importance of having time on your side; how the people who use these skills every day also have the years in which to find the right materials, to make note of where to get good drilling wood, etc.

So the notion I had that knowing how to make a bow and drill was enough to get me by in a couple of days in the woods, was plain wrong. Instead, I spent my time trying out different woods, different diameters, different combinations, different lengths of bow, different tautness of bowstrings. It's all about the technology - the materials used, the components made, and the way they work together. The more I know about the technology - what works, what doesn't, and the more practiced I become at making it work, that's where the survival skill is.

I like that I learned this and hope others find it a useful insight.

So here's my practical results. I used two drills - one about 8mm diameter (sycamore), the other closer to 30mm (unknown, hard wood). The 30mm was much more successful but was too long (30cm long) to be held stable until I cut it down to 20cm. At that length it was much easier to control. My hearth board (sycamore) was too soft for the hardwood drill and has almost worn through, producing huge amounts of smoking black powder but no spark. If I'm to use this drill, I need a harder hearth. The bow was difficult to use until I cut it down in size to ~70cm long. The string (3mm nylon cord) worked better when loose - too tight and there wasn't enough slack for it to take the wide drill.

I also learned that identifying dead trees is harder than identifying living ones because the bark and other identifying features degrade, and identifying fallen branches is harder still unless they are lying underneath the only tree for a square mile. And I'd like to meet the person who said there's no smoke without fire, because he's obviously never tried a bow and drill

I fully intend to master this technology so any tips from experienced members are very welcome.

 

[match]

I'll skip all the chatter about wood types, and just focus on the little things that make it easier - I was teaching someone how to use a bowdrill on Sunday, and discovered a lot of things that I 'just do' that I hadn't noticed before - so here are all the things that he said he thought helped him...

Tie a clove hitch in one end of the bow, that way you can easily release and adjust the tension to make sure it grips the spindle well.

Grease the axle-end well, using fat, oil form your skin (nose) or even earwax. The better greased it is, the less wasted energy in your drill.

To put the spindle into the bow, hold the bow in your right hand, string towards you, then rest the spindle (bearing end up) on top of the string perpendicular to it. Push the bearing end down and turn the bearing end towards you, under the string, then back up to lock it in. This way you should end up with the string at the handle end of the bow 'on top' coming into the spindle twist, and going out underneath. This for some reason causes the cord to rub against itself less, and reduces wasted energy and wear on the cord.

If you're in the 'usual' position (left foot on hearth board, right knee on ground with foot behind) move your right foot as far to the left as possible. This spreads out your body more, and means you are more solid and spend less time thinking about balance when kneeling.

Move your bow hand out slightly form the body, so your right leg/body don't obstruct your bow movement. Keep all movements smooth and regular, changing speed or force can upset your concentration, and a smooth motion will build up a good rhythm.

Keep the bow level - a lot of people are tempted to tilt the point down, but this makes the string ride up and down the spindle - if you keep it level it'll find a nice position to run at.

A good rule is, start with heavy pressure, when you get a good amount of smoke, ease off the pressure but do longer faster strokes, and count 60 strokes (1 stroke = in AND out) with the bow before stopping. This is a good way to guarantee you've got enough ember when you stop.

Keep your whole body locked apart from your right arm - have your left shoulder on top of your left thigh, lock your wrist in under your left kneecap, and put your whole bodyweight on top of the spindle - don't be tempted to lean round and look at the spindle from the side - doin this puts your weight off-balance and can waste effort.

Prepare everything before you start - have a nest made, be close to your fire, have somewhere dry to put your spindle (if you get the end wet your next fire will be a major pain to start!) Have a knife or stick nearby - often you'll need some kind fo tool to dislodge embers, move them about and move them ito the centre of your nest - don't use your fingers!

Make your tinder nest out of as many materials as possible - make it bigger than you think you need, and use a good mix of extenders and igniters (extenders, such as seed fluff, extends the coal with less heat input, but doesn't flame- igniters, such as dry grass, catch into flame but need more heat (from extenders) to ignite).

Remember that getting a coal out of a bow drill is the easy part, getting it to ignite tinder is the hard part. Don't be disheartened if your tinder smoulders and goes out - use this as an opportunity to reshape your tinder, add new materials, redesign it etc. Even good bow drill users often have to make several coals before their tinder will take to flame.

And a couple of things that aren't necessary, but I like to do anyway. Take off your shoes and use bare feet, especially for holding the hearth board - the extra grip and control can make a lot of difference. And take a moment before you start make an 'offering' or 'give thanks' to whatever fire spirit you would like to offer to - a lot of people think this is silly and refuse, but even if you don't actively believe in any higher 'forces of nature' the time taken will mentally prepare you and put you in the right mindset to get fire. Rushing straight in can be one of the main reasons it won't work.

Hope these tips can be of help to both those starting out, and also for those who are lookign for ways to improve their technique.

 

[bp1974]

That's all useful stuff, Match. Thanks for taking the time to put it all down there.

I like the idea of having a moment beforehand to appreciate the task at hand, in whatever form that appreciation takes.

 

[PurpleHeath]

And a couple of things that aren't necessary, but I like to do anyway. Take off your shoes and use bare feet, especially for holding the hearth board - the extra grip and control can make a lot of difference. And take a moment before you start make an 'offering' or 'give thanks' to whatever fire spirit you would like to offer to - a lot of people think this is silly and refuse, but even if you don't actively believe in any higher 'forces of nature' the time taken will mentally prepare you and put you in the right mindset to get fire. Rushing straight in can be one of the main reasons it won't work.

Hope these tips can be of help to both those starting out, and also for those who are lookign for ways to improve their technique.

that is so true i have occansionally rushed into trying to strat a fire without the proper perparation and have paid the price of looking very stupid but the thing is people can tell you to do it properly but you still have to find out for yourself what happens when you cut corners (when you are practicing though) before you fully understand what they mean.

Proper Planning Prevents P*ss Poor Performance

 

[Biddlesby]

Two things i don't fully understand, that I hope you can clarify:

Tie a clove hitch in one end of the bow

I know I'm being very noobish (for lack of a better word) here but could you clarify?

To put the spindle into the bow, hold the bow in your right hand, string towards you, then rest the spindle (bearing end up) on top of the string perpendicular to it. Push the bearing end down and turn the bearing end towards you, under the string, then back up to lock it in.

What are you defining as the bearing?


Thanks for the advice - it's all very helpful for when I try to make fire on the weekend .

 

[Ogri the trog]

Biddlesby,
Perhaps this will go a little way to aid your understanding.

A clove hitch (google search will show you how to tie one) is a knot that will hold tight, but allow ease of adjustment for the tension of the bow string.

The bearing block is the piece that you place on top of the actual drill. It allows you to push down to increase the friction at the business end, but should not increase friction itself.

HTH

Ogri the trog

 

[Biddlesby]

Aah right. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[match]

Usually the bearing block is made of something designed not to burn This could be a piece of freshly split green (and wet) wood, a bone socket, a limpet shell or something else that will keep the spindle in position, but not provide lots of friction. This is where a lot of extra grease (fat, nose oil, earwax etc) comes in handy!

 

[Richard]

When I teach beginners how to use the bow and drill I tend to find that the key message is that it's "mostly in the LEFT hand" (if you are right handed). What I mean by this is that once you've got a feel for the basic action of drilling, success or failure often depends on what your bearing hand and block are doing. Stability is the key and people on the verge of succeess often fail because their left hand starts to wobble and gives-up and/or there is too much friction in the bearing-block. The bearing block can be lubricated with fat, wax or a waxy leaf such as holly, but also the socket needs to not be too deep, otherwise the sides of the socket will start to bind around the spindle-top. If you make your spindle-top too pointy this can also cause it to drill into the bearing-block and slow your drilling. I'm a bit sceptical about using green wood for the bearing block as I find that the wetter wood can swell with heat as you are drilling and bind around the spindle. I prefer to use a well-lubricated, seasoned hard-wood, but that may just be personal preference.

As for stability, you have GOT to hold the spindle straight and still. If you watch beginners, the hand soon wobbles, the spindle looses downward pressure and speed and eventually pops out of the hearth-socket as a critical angle is reached. Very frustrating! Beyond developing muscle stability through practice, it is important to have as much fore-arm as possible firmly braced against your shin and your torso supported. If your spindle is too long, this combination can be difficult to achieve. Apart from a shorter spindle another 'trick' is to tuck a rolled-up blanket or jumper between your chest and left thigh which slightly raises your shoulder and allows more fore-arm contact with your leg.

Finally, in my experience getting the tinder to flame is usually easier than producing the coal, but you need good tinder, properly prepared and not to be too gentle with it. The finely teased tinder (clematis bark, dry grass) needs to be relatively dense and firmly folded around the coal. If your coal is well nested in the bundle, you can be a lot more firm and blow harder than most beginners realise.

 

[bp1974]

I like the idea of a limpet shell bearing block. I'll look out for one when I'm at the coast next weekend.

I found that carving quite a deep hole in my (wood) block and sharpening the drill to quite a long narrow end helped stop the drill slipping out under pressure. A bone or shell block sounds ideal.