Egyptian Bow Drill

[chem_doc]

Is this as easy as it looks?

http://dirttime.com/egyptian bow and drill.html

I'm gearing up to learn the bowdrill, and I'm wondering if this might be a good halfway point. Get this to work, know that come H*ll or high water, I can get a fire going with this method, and then try the unadulterated bowdrill.

Anyone try this?

Doc

 

[philaw]

I made one like that and got an ember from it- the first time I'd ever tried friction fire lighting. After that I couldn't get it to work again! There's no substitute for just having a go. I bet many people always use this method for friction firelighting and you don't need to see it as cheating or a half way measure. The cordage could have been made from natural materials and used just like this by our ancestors.

The dude on that page has obviously made his kit to be portable, but bear in mind that a longer bow is easier, and bigger parts are less fiddly.

Good luck!

 

[Ogri the trog]

I've not tried a kit that small,
but I regularly use that method of securing the spindle in the cord.
Philaw - I'm sure your advice is sound, but I recently had cause to use a kit that was larger than I would have liked (I was under instruction!) and could not get an ember despite dozens of attempts over five days. On returning home, my regular set which is about half the size (and different woods) gave me a ember within a few minutes.
Good luck Doc, keep us informed of your progress.

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[rich59]

Is this as easy as it looks? Anyone try this?Doc

Not as easy as it looks. It takes practice to manage multiple turns without it all getting twisted. Having said that it is easier on the cordage as it needs to be much less tight. Exactly as they said, you can use much weaker cordage, even cordage I made myself stands up to the treatment.

And it works just as well without the knot by the way.

 

[Seoras]

I find it a handy method when coaching anyone who has trouble using the traditional method as the drill piece does not tend to pop out so frequently.

Richard is quite right that it can be a bit fiddly but when mastered it is easier to maintain your position and is much kinder on the cordage.

Good luck.

George

 

[philaw]

Philaw - I'm sure your advice is sound, but I recently had cause to use a kit that was larger than I would have liked (I was under instruction!) and could not get an ember despite dozens of attempts over five days. On returning home, my regular set which is about half the size (and different woods) gave me a ember within a few minutes.

Ogri the trog

That's fair comment. What I mean is that the longer the bow is, the slower you can move it, because you get more movement on each stroke. I've only made that one set, though, and every subsequent time it failed to work; I think because the wood had dried out too much. If I could recognise different woods and use the most recommended ones it would help.

 

[Chris G]

This may be a silly question, but how come none of the books by the usual authors teach the EBD?

Chris

EDIT - I've found out why - 'cos none of them know about this technique! Ray Mears & Dave Watson to name but two.

 

[chem_doc]

I've started playing with this technique, and I find I have one big problem that I keep running into....

For sake of discussion, on one side of the spindle, the rope is unwinding. On the other, it's winding.

When I move the bow, the "winding" part doesn't wind nicely. It wraps very loosely and is useless when the bow reverses direction.

Any thoughts as to what I'm doing wrong? Do I really need to get the cord very taught around the spindle? That's the only thing I can think of, and I thought I had the cord very tight...

Doc

 

[Chris G]

If I understand what you are saying correctly, then yes, you do need to have the cord tight around the spindle, but you don't need to have the cord tight between the spindle and the ends of the bow (if that makes sense!). All you need to do is move the bow to the side and this will tighten up the cord on the "pushing" side. So, rather than bowing straight forwards and backwards, try to bow in a slight crescent. ie; rather than (looking down on a clock face) going from 6 to 12, aim for 5 to 1.

Chris

 

[rich59]

My two penny worth is that I if your bow is too springy then you can lose tension. I tend to use a dead straight, rigid bow. If it is going a bit slack then one thing you can do is back the bow off from the drill a bit to take up the slack. Or, you can use your bowing hand to tighten the string as needed by either just squeezing the string into the side of the bow, or by twisting the string into some of your fingers and pulling it tighter as needed.

 

[chem_doc]

So close and yet so far. The whole "1 to 5" technique mentioned above got me spinning. And spin I have!

I've managed to get two embers! TWO WHOLE EMBERS! TWICE! As in, "It wasn't a fluke!"

The problem is that I have yet to coax those embers into an open flame. To make things easy, I was trying to use cotton balls as my tinder, but as good as those things take a spark from a firesteel, they make really lousy tinder for an ember.

I'll work again more on it tomorrow, but I'm pretty happy with my experiments thus far.

Doc

 

[Ogri the trog]

Nce going Doc,
you often find that tinders for one type of ignition, don't work for another type - like shredded birch bark works well for spark ignition but hardly at all for ember based ignition. I'd say to try a nest of buffed dry grass or shredded cedar bark.
Personally I dislike cotton wool as its only a short step from carrying those to carrying a lighter - I prefer to use natural tinders all the way. It sometimes makes for difficult firelighting but its always there waiting to be used.

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[Shambling Shaman]

Thanks for the info, I for one will try it.
Any info in the knowledge tool box is helpful.

 

[chem_doc]

Nce going Doc,
you often find that tinders for one type of ignition, don't work for another type - like shredded birch bark works well for spark ignition but hardly at all for ember based ignition. I'd say to try a nest of buffed dry grass or shredded cedar bark.
Personally I dislike cotton wool as its only a short step from carrying those to carrying a lighter - I prefer to use natural tinders all the way. It sometimes makes for difficult firelighting but its always there waiting to be used.

ATB

Ogri the trog

I agree about carrying the cotton wool, Ogri. But this is me, learning how to do this in my back yard, where natural tinders are a bit scarce.

I also wanted to learn more about the mechanics of making the ember (the real trick of the bow drill method) than the blowing it into a flame. I've got PLENTY of hot air to blow an ember into a flame. Flint & Steel and tinder fungus I can get going without too much trouble. Now, granted, I never tried these with cotton balls....

I may have to hit my pile of dead branches that fell and see if I can strip off enough inner bark to make a nice nest, but it's been a bit rainy here (which is refreshingly nice here in Atlanta for a change) so things may be a bit damp.

I really want a fire from this method today!

Doc

 

[rich59]

If we are talking tinders then crunchy dead leaves are pretty good. Gather a few handfuls, buff them/ rip them a fair bit, pack the loose stuff between a couple of bits of wood or bark, then scoop up the remaining dust and push this carefully into a hollow in the shredded leaves. Make a dimple in the dust pile and place your ember in it. Then blow into flame.

 

[chem_doc]

I'm sitting outside, enjoying a martini and a cigar (I may be "King of the Castle," but She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed doesn't like cigars indoors...). I promised myself if I managed fire from the bowdrill, I'd have a martini.

I'm so pumped right now. I DID IT!!!!

My last spindle was worn down to a nub (much like my first firesteel when I was learning to use it). I smoothed out a new spindle and set to work.

The first attempt, based on the half-worn divot from teh nubby spindle... nothing.

Next attempt (where I've learned a thing or two about the proper tension on the cord), an ember. A nice, big, fat ember. I blew it into substantial size, dropped it into my tinder bundle (shredded inner bark and pine needles), and... missed the bark. Not wanting to give up, I blew and coaxed and cajoled that ember into... blackness. D*mmit! Back to square one.

I set to making another ember. I first "squared off" the business end of my spindle and had at it. Smoke. Pain. Keep going. Lots of smoke. A little more. Don't quit now... and... ember!

I dropped it into my tinder bundle again and missed AGAIN. This time, though, I grabbed my Mora and shoved that ember into the bark nest part. Coaxing... C'mon.... I can hear that roar of the flames wanting to start. C'mon... more blowing. C'MON.... And the flames leaped out of the thing.

I had a small pile of kindling/sticks set aside. I had set up a "V" of sticks to allow airflow, etc. Once that tinder bundle leapt into flames, I set about getting the kindling going. In short order, I had a nice, but small, fire going.

I need to repeat it (which will happen shortly), but right now, I am very full of myself!

Doc

 

[John Fenna]

Feels good doesn't it!
My first ever ember was put out by a drop of sweat running off my nose as I tried to get the ember to my tinder!
The second ember was brought to flame....

 

[rich59]

EXCELLENT!!!
Took me months to get from ember to flame.

 

[Chris G]

Nice one - guess I need to have a go now as I've never (only 3 attempts ever) got a coal yet!

Chris

 

[chem_doc]

Nice one - guess I need to have a go now as I've never (only 3 attempts ever) got a coal yet!

Chris

I was looking at my hearth last night and noticed something... The better/easier the coal formation, the better cut my "wedge" was. In some of my earlier attempts, the notch didn't quite go to the middle of the... Divot? in the wood. Those were hit and miss. As I stopped and looked and starting taking the cut all the way to the center, things started happening a lot better.

You may want to keep that in mind as you try...

Of course, I'm still new to this method, and there's a really, really good chance that I have no idea what I'm blathering on about.

Doc