i also need help please. i went on a course a while back with
http://www.thecanoeman.com/bushcraft.asp where we were supplied with hearth and drill and made our own bows. i didnt manage to make fire using it but was so enthralled by flint and striker that i wasnt fussed.
i kept my kit tho. i tried to use it with teenagers this week and experienced the same difficulties as i did on the course. i can generate smoke in copious amounts but from the top of the drill not the base!! i wonder whether the hearth wood supplied was the wrong wood or whether ive just come across a tough bit of it.
the base of the drill and the hole i am trying to drill are beautifully smooth and seem to slide wheras the top of the drill is ferociously smoking and grinding away!. if the piece im using at the top were large enough i would just use it as a hearth but its a hand hold piece of unknown wood found lying around in the tech room at school