Bow Drill Not Easy

[oops56]

Now i did not want to mess up the one that Jeff got going. So a bow is a good thing now we all do at home in the yard in our living room and etc. try tell we get it right well to me thats not the real world nice to know to do . Now do this put your bow drill in the trash get your car keys a pocket knife one blade or two no multi tool one or no boy scout knife. Go out to the county side find a good patch of woods walk into them so as not to see the main road now lets see you make a bow drill that works before dark hard time finding wood or theirs no sea shells no bottle caps no beer bottle oh dam the new style shoes got no shoe laces i know i cant do it even if i had the good stuff at home

 

[Ogri the trog]

I hear you Oops,
Its one thing to practice and get proficient with your favourite set. However once you get practiced, you can change one thing at a time until you have the ability to do just as you say - though I'm not sure cordage would be possible in my case .
You carry the thoughts of how the ideal situation works, and improvise until you get your "unaided" ember.

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[rik_uk3]

Now i did not want to mess up the one that Jeff got going. So a bow is a good thing now we all do at home in the yard in our living room and etc. try tell we get it right well to me thats not the real world nice to know to do . Now do this put your bow drill in the trash get your car keys a pocket knife one blade or two no multi tool one or no boy scout knife. Go out to the county side find a good patch of woods walk into them so as not to see the main road now lets see you make a bow drill that works before dark hard time finding wood or theirs no sea shells no bottle caps no beer bottle oh dam the new style shoes got no shoe laces i know i cant do it even if i had the good stuff at home

Hi Robert, whichever way you do it its hard work mate. I myself won't try and make the cordage yet, but aim to in the future

 

[hammock monkey]

first time i tried it with just a simple knife and a lace i failed - and still do, but more often than not it comes together ok nowadays. really helps to have laces of paracord!
i'd never rely on it, its just a hobby to experiment with, i think part of the deal is that you fail sometimes, learn a new trick and build on it.

its a great pastime, iits re-inforced my patience, putting in 100% effort, and accepting when its just not happening that day - and not letting it get you down.

i think that these things are equally as important as actually getting a fire going.

 

[BobFromHolland]

Now i did not want to mess up the one that Jeff got going. So a bow is a good thing now we all do at home in the yard in our living room and etc. try tell we get it right well to me thats not the real world nice to know to do . Now do this put your bow drill in the trash get your car keys a pocket knife one blade or two no multi tool one or no boy scout knife. Go out to the county side find a good patch of woods walk into them so as not to see the main road now lets see you make a bow drill that works before dark hard time finding wood or theirs no sea shells no bottle caps no beer bottle oh dam the new style shoes got no shoe laces i know i cant do it even if i had the good stuff at home

One of my next goals exactly. Getting the ember is not the full trick either...
Good chance I need to do a lot more practice on Rich59's 'crumble in the oven' trick to battle some tinder out of some handfulls of old leaves.

 

[rich59]

Now i did not want to mess up the one that Jeff got going. So a bow is a good thing now we all do at home in the yard in our living room and etc. try tell we get it right well to me thats not the real world nice to know to do . Now do this put your bow drill in the trash get your car keys a pocket knife one blade or two no multi tool one or no boy scout knife. Go out to the county side find a good patch of woods walk into them so as not to see the main road now lets see you make a bow drill that works before dark hard time finding wood or theirs no sea shells no bottle caps no beer bottle oh dam the new style shoes got no shoe laces i know i cant do it even if i had the good stuff at home

That is a key reason why I got into hand drilling as an alternative. It all takes a lot more time with no useful tools and only a few people have mastered the bow string from natural materials. At least the hand drill is only 2 bits of wood. Mind you - without elder for a drill I am stuffed and there are loads of woods where this no elder anywhere near.

 

[Jeff Wagner]

Not to make light of this, however I suggest its a bit like flint knapping - Once you know how....its not so difficult. There are clearly a couple of critical design and form elements. You need to fashion a set-up that eliminates string slippage and you have to be able to hold the bearing block in a way that avoids spindle wobble. When you have a well-made set from correct materials I think the physical stamina / arm strength aspect is greatly reduced in importance. As Rich and Bob have shown, it is possible to get an ember in only a few seconds. Which leaves us with the following required elements for success in the field. 1 - Knowledge of desireable materials, 2 - Knowledge of correct design, 3 - Experience and ability to assemble a well designed set. 4 - Technique

I have made fire using a bow drill set that was made entirely in the bush. To me the cordage component is the most challenging part of the assembly as good cordage plants and trees do not grow everywhere. Spruce rootlets and the limb bark from certain trees can be used depending on the time of the year but its a lot easier to carry the needed cord in your pocket.

I used a leather thong with my bush set that I carried in with me.

Opps, come down to the Stone Tool Show this August and I wager that we can put you on the path to success in an afternoon.

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[dommyracer]

Which leaves us with the following required elements for success in the field. 1 - Knowledge of desireable materials, 2 - Knowledge of correct design, 3 - Experience and ability to assemble a well designed set. 4 - Technique

Number 1. Is my weak point at the moment.

 

[oops56]

Oh think if i really tried hard i could do it but everybody says to use elders well all my elders are gone so now i am the elder see its like this i tried 2 weeks ago the hearth was poplar the drill was a wood dowel form the hardware store who knows what kind of wood it was the hand hold was a wood draw knob plus it was to dam cold in the shop flint & steel for me fire piston next the bow drill on hold tell spring yep i know you can teach me but you see you well have the right woods to do it with i know if i had the right wood i could also do it i got a wood pile out side i can name most of the wood but witch one to use OK i go out in the shop and fix up some camping stove can make them burn

 

[rich59]

A lot of people say that hazel drill on ivy wood board is one of the best. I am only beginning to experiment with this combination.

For the drill, outside of competition, I would not perhaps recommend elder. Hazel - taken green, stripped of bark and dried for 3-4 days in an airing cupboard would be my current preference. For hearth board I usually use commercial pine (untreated, for indoor use).

Whatever you use it works much better thoroughly dry. So anything collected this time of year outside for immediate use is going to be a challenge.

 

[oops56]

Well all this type wood i don't think i got here so here is what i got on the wood pile silver birch cheery elm soft maple swamp ash plain ash also got some lilac trees can any of these be use and witch part can i cut to fit can dry over wood stove to dry more se when did it i know the wood set was wrong was not geeting any heat on board or drill my body heat was hotter he he oh they both got black but no powder

 

[Jeff Wagner]

Oops - You must have Poplar in Vermont. I suggest getting out and cutting a dead limb from one. You can make both the spindle and board from the same piece. Use your harder fire woods to make the bearing.

 

[addyb]

Oops,

You're right. It's NOT easy. I had a few cursing fits and threw some things around this summer when myself and my buddy Alex were learning how to use the bow drill. To be honest, I've only actually got it to work once, and Alex has gotten it to work maybe three times. (And it was a beautiful sight)

But we haven't given up and that's the key thing here. At the moment bow drilling is impossible due to the really wet weather here, but once springtime hits Vancouver Island and the forests start to dry out we're going to hit it again.

Practice practice practice!

Adam

 

[leon-b]

yes it sure is hard i have got one ember since i started learning the bow drill, i have just had a little practice and cant get anything exept a little dust
leon

 

[oops56]

Yep we got poplar i got a nice flat board this how i am going to do it take the spindle drill a hole in bottom and put a short piece of poplar cause i don't feel like making a sq. into a round one

 

[merlin]

tried with a few different woods from my wood pile, birch pine alder and a few others, then i tried ivy worked almost straight away. didnt even dry it just took some off a tree ( it was dead had been cut some time ago) split it then made drill from the other bit and used a hazel bow and some garden twine job done. wraped the string around the drill twice made all the difference.