I'm horribly out of practice with friction firemaking, but I have a few ideas. One of the subtle points of firemaking is the amount of friction. It takes just so much to create powder. If you maintain that constant you will just make more. A slight decrease,or (depending on materials) increase will give you the critical combustion point. It's a subtle skill not dissimilar to sharpening a scandi grind, feeling the wire form and removing it instead of grind,grind,grind. It's like riding a bicycle. One day everything comes together and your riding. There is a myth of the noble indian producing fire under horrid conditions within a few minutes. Yes,I've seen some masters produce fire when my matches failed. I've even managed it in critical conditions a few times. But, the historical record is full of anecdotal accounts when the indeginous people themselves couldn't get a fire going. So, hang in there. If you get totally flustered, pour petrol on the offending log and torch the miserable creature. Then go out and get a nicer bit of bamboo and try again.