Bowdrill - what level are you?

[shaggystu]

Have a look here.

http://nehawkaprimitiveskills.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/egyptian-bow-drill.html

Thanks for that

Stuart

 

[jackcbr]

I like the look of the Egyptian method. Think I'll give that a go

 

[sasquatch]

I've yet to make my own cordage for a bow drill but it's something I'll crack oneday...

 

[Big Stu 12]

I am probly a 3, do it for a bit of fun,

 

[Wook]

I think I'm a level 3. I made a bow drill from some b&q dowell and a boot lace.

However in probably 12+ hours of trying I've only achieved a coal 3 times. Amazing exercise though

 

[mark]

I'm a 7 with the occasional 8. I'd like to do 9 and 10 but a bit of research is required first.

 

[al21]

Very pleasently surprised to find myself an eight. Woo hoo!

Natural cordage next then.

Al

 

[Seoras]

This thread reminded me that I had a Bowdrill album in my Photobucket Account that I would put in the 7/8 range.

I was trying out Rich59's damp tinder method at the time so got my friend Mark (Lupus) to forage a bowdrill set one day.

I took a series of shots documenting it. Due to a lack of time though I decided to use synthetic cordage.

All the tinder was pretty damp so we took our time buffing it up and made a little oven out of it.

This slideshow shows the whole process http://s219.photobucket.com/albums/cc177/seorasgma/Bowdrill day 10th Aug 2008/?albumview=slideshow

The whole thing took a couple of hours to go through but certainly reminded me that preparation is everything. The actual job of getting the ember was the easy bit.

Cheers

George

 

[Firelite]

Is it worth differentiating between "foraged" and "foraged to fire on the same day" - or is that "pre-prepared"? As for myself, I'm quite happy wandering into the woods with my EDC and sparking up a bow drill for a smoke, but I either have paracord in my pouch or use bootlace. That makes me an 8 I guess. Interersting idea, thanks for taking the time.

 

[wilderlore]

I did struggle a bit finding 10 levels... they might need some refinement!

This is an awesome system/idea you have come up with. Maybe just use the number of levels you think there should be instead of trying to hit a round number.

Ste

 

[the interceptor boy]

I am at 6 and 7, but now learning to make fire in complete darkness, that is another matter, was lucky enough for Frazier c to take a picture of me making fire in the dark.
cheers the interceptor boy.

 

[Native Nathan]

The sale of 1 to 10 doesn't apply to me (I'm simply that good)

Now back in the real world.

The scale still doesn't apply to me, I've never yet been successful with the bow drill, but saying that I have only tried a couple of time, I definitely need more practice.

I have been toying with the Idea of a hand drill with Thumb loop attachment to see if I have any more luck

for all of you you have been successful, what woods have worked the best for you?

 

[Stringmaker]

The sale of 1 to 10 doesn't apply to me (I'm simply that good)

Now back in the real world.

The scale still doesn't apply to me, I've never yet been successful with the bow drill, but saying that I have only tried a couple of time, I definitely need more practice.

I have been toying with the Idea of a hand drill with Thumb loop attachment to see if I have any more luck

for all of you you have been successful, what woods have worked the best for you?

Keep practicing mate, you'll get there.

Two of the most popular wood combinations are hazel on hazel or sycamore on sycamore.

The absolute best tip I can give is a zero friction bearing block when you are learning; a large limpet shell or stone with a hollow in it are excellent, but if all else fails use a steel egg cup or something of similar size and material.

 

[Native Nathan]

Cheers Stringmaker

 

[PTDan]

Today was my first success in bowdrill woo! (i'm new to the community so this is also a very humble hello to everyone). The two things iv'e noticed that held me back from getting an ember was over confidence in powerful strokes and my notch was no way near the correct size. My first notches were quite thin in comparison to what I'm going to carve out now, but besides that I kept thinking more powerful strokes were going to win me a hot ember. Not the case. I've learned to slowly increase strokes, and be patient with it. over all its taken me ten unsuccessful tries, so keep at it. Also, can anyone help me with a stringing knot? I've been using a traditional bow knot for it, but it can be hard to adjust and re-correct off the cuff.

Thanks

 

[MartiniDave]

There IS smoke without fire!

Must practice more often.

Dave

 

[DaveBoon]

Hi there,

Thanks for this interesting discussion. I've been practising with a firebow a couple of times and have run into an issue. It seems that the hearth and bottom of the drill both become brown & smooth, so there's very little friction. I'm using Sycamore for both, and although they're recently cut (few weeks ago), I've dried them out completely on the log burner so they're both very dry.

Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?

Thanks

 

[j111]

Hi there,

Thanks for this interesting discussion. I've been practising with a firebow a couple of times and have run into an issue. It seems that the hearth and bottom of the drill both become brown & smooth, so there's very little friction. I'm using Sycamore for both, and although they're recently cut (few weeks ago), I've dried them out completely on the log burner so they're both very dry.

Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?

Thanks

Shave the charred glazed wood off the drill and get back to it! You'll find you'll have to do this for each and every attempt ime.

 

[jackcbr]

Shave the charred glazed wood off the drill and get back to it! You'll find you'll have to do this for each and every attempt ime.

Also add a little bit of sand or grit as this will help build up the friction. Well that's the theory anyway.

 

[Retired Member southey]

Just score both the hearth and face of thebdrill then go agin with more pressure, you'll soon hear the tone change and powder production will commence.

Hi there,

Thanks for this interesting discussion. I've been practising with a firebow a couple of times and have run into an issue. It seems that the hearth and bottom of the drill both become brown & smooth, so there's very little friction. I'm using Sycamore for both, and although they're recently cut (few weeks ago), I've dried them out completely on the log burner so they're both very dry.

Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?

Thanks