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Hi and thank you. It sounds as though I just need a better cord. All three that I’ve tried are slipping. Here’s a picture of the two hearth boards which are around half inch thick. The first one I used, which as I mentioned shattered under my foot, and another cut from a harder part of the same...

Hopefully this link will take you to a picture on Flickr.

That should have read “roughening”, not “toughening”.

Thanks again chaps. I have switched to para cord but got the same results. Changed to a third more string like cord and still keep getting the same results. I.e the hearth starts to smoke profusely and produce powder (And lots of it.) at which point the bow string starts slipping on the spindle...

Thanks very much. Your advice is much appreciated.

Thanks for that detailed explanation. I really do appreciate it. I’m fairly confident that I understand the basic principles but appreciate all the help from everybody.

Hi and thank very much for the feedback. I think you may have hit the nail on the head re the softness of the hearth. The one I’ve made is close to being, as our USA friends say, “a bit punky.” Having said that I just took the kit with me on a hike to give it another go. When I burnt it in I...

Hi and my apologies. I did wonder if it was appropriate to discuss the subject on my intro thread, and probably should have known better.

I can well imagine that! I had a hike yesterday and collected some Poplar that I think fits the descriptions I’ve been reading about for hearths and spindles. I made a bow from a piece of naturally curved green hazel, and a top bearing from a freshly cut piece of my apple tree. I carved myself a...

Thanks Dale. I will have a read of that.

Thanks Chris. I will give that some thought.

Thank you to everyone for the warm welcome. It’s much appreciated.

Hi everybody, I’m new to the forums, so thanks for accepting me. I’m an outdoor person and enjoy a multitude of outdoor activities. I have joined these forums to try and extend my very limited knowledge of bushcraft, and in particular friction fire making. It’s something I’ve had a hankering to...

Hi everybody, I’m new to the forums, so thanks for accepting me. I’m an outdoor person and enjoy a multitude of outdoor activities. I have joined these forums to try and extend my very limited knowledge of bushcraft, and in particular friction fire making. It’s something I’ve had a hankering to...