Hello folks - Beginner bow drilling

[CPH]

Hi everybody, I’m new to the forums, so thanks for accepting me.
I’m an outdoor person and enjoy a multitude of outdoor activities. I have joined these forums to try and extend my very limited knowledge of bushcraft, and in particular friction fire making.
It’s something I’ve had a hankering to do for many years but just never gotten around to it. Throughout the Xmas period -when at home-I’ve done little else (Other than eating and drinking too much.) but watch YouTube videos about bushcraft and wild camping.
I’ve had lots of long hikes to gather various bits and pieces to hopefully make decent bow drill equipment from.
I’m looking forward to browsing all your experienced threads, and hopefully eventually to posting a few topics myself.
Happy new year to one and all.
Regards Chris

 

[demented dale]

welcome. heres a thread bowt bow drill. its actually not that hard with good technique and materials. Go to the bushmoot. someone will run a workshop on it You just have to ask and someone will step up to teach. enjoy x

Thread 'GOOD WOODS FOR BOW DRILL.'

Mar 23, 2024

What different woods do you consider useful for making a bow drill set? What have you used? what worked/didn't work? I looked on the forum and whilst there is a tremendous amount of knowledgeable postings they are scattered. I could not find a thread specifically discussing just this one aspect. As ever I look forward to your collective knowledge and experience. d x

• demented dale
• Replies: 33
• Forum: Firecraft

 

[CPH]

welcome. heres a thread bowt bow drill. its actually not that hard with good technique and materials. Go to the bushmoot. someone will run a workshop on it You just have to ask and someone will step up to teach. enjoy x

Thread 'GOOD WOODS FOR BOW DRILL.'

Mar 23, 2024

What different woods do you consider useful for making a bow drill set? What have you used? what worked/didn't work? I looked on the forum and whilst there is a tremendous amount of knowledgeable postings they are scattered. I could not find a thread specifically discussing just this one aspect. As ever I look forward to your collective knowledge and experience. d x

• demented dale
• Replies: 33
• Forum: Firecraft

Thanks Dale. I will have a read of that.

 

[demented dale]

Thanks Dale. I will have a read of that.

ps its the most incredible feeling in the world when you do it for first time.i beat my chest and bellowed I AM MAN! x

 

[CPH]

I can well imagine that!
I had a hike yesterday and collected some Poplar that I think fits the descriptions I’ve been reading about for hearths and spindles. I made a bow from a piece of naturally curved green hazel, and a top bearing from a freshly cut piece of my apple tree. I carved myself a couple of boards from the poplar and whittled a spindle from a thinner branch and prepared a board with an indentation.
I spent about twenty clumsy minutes drilling last night out in the garden but couldn’t even get the spindle or hearth to feel warm. I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t at least getting some heat and gave up feeling a bit crestfallen.
I gave it a good bit of thought over the evening and decided the problem (If it wasn’t simply the wrong kind of wood) was because not enough of the business end of the spindle was making contact with the indent in the hearth.
So I gave it a tweak by carving the board a little thinner and making the spindle point a bit more slender at the burning end this morning on the fire hearth at home while cranking up the log burner.
I gave it another go out in the back yard and was delighted to see a wisp of smoke. Unfortunately at that very point the hearth board shattered under my foot and left me with a bit about five inches long.
I need to get out for a walk now before the snow arrives but will have another go when I get home. I’m hoping there’s enough board left for me to pin down properly.
I took a photo of the set but can’t work out how to insert it?

 

[C_Claycomb]

Perhaps I have misunderstood your description.
Typically you want the bearing end of the spindle to be thinner and pointier to reduce contact area, and the hearth end to be wider and flatter with only enough of a point so that it stays centred in its spot.

While literature often says that soft woods work better, my own experience has been that it is possible for wood to be too soft, which can make getting the balance of pressure and speed difficult. I have had good success with willow and hazel for spindles, and elder for the hearth, and these often feel pretty hard...not oak hard, but much harder than the starting-to-rot alder we used and struggled with on a Woodlore course.

Poplar bark, the thick corky stuff, can make a pretty good bearing block, it glazes a bit, but not as good as really hard wood like hornbeam or box. It better than green maple. Apple is pretty dense, so should be good.

There are lots of ways to do this stuff. My own preference for a bow is stiff, curved and 2.5 feet long, which is longer than many use. I think there is a balance between too long and having trouble controlling and not hitting the ground, and being too short to get a good long stroke for lots of rotations before changing direction.

I was on a course where Mors Kochanski was teaching, demonstrating his methods (lots of interesting hearth arrangements) and witnessed him being impressed with Dave Goodworth's technique using a longer bow than Mors was recommending.

 

[John Fenna]

I agree with Chris.
My own preference for both drill and hearth is seasoned Hazel, with the "burning " end of the drill very much flatter and fatter than the bearing block end (max friction on the board min friction on the bearing block) and I line my bearing block with a limpet shell as a "friction free" bearing....
The stuff below is an article I wrote many years ago for a magazine...

Fire by friction, also known as bow drill technique, “Indian fire fiddle” etc is a prehistoric fire-lighting method and can be performed with nothing more than materials found out in the woods, !


As with all fire-lighting, preparation is key to success and before you even think of making your ember you need to have your fire laid and ready with at least twice the amount of tinder you would imagine needed, with kindling, small wood and fuel to hand. To make fire you are going to need to produce heat, so protect your equipment from the cold and damp, insulated from ground which is nearly always colder and damper than you want to work on.


The main pieces of equipment needed for fire by friction using a bowdrill set are the “bow” a “base-” or “hearth-board”, a“spindle” and a bearing block. A dried leaf, sliver of wood or piece of bark is useful as an “ember catcher” and a good dry tinder bundle is essential.


The bow needs to be about as long as your arm from armpit to middle fingertip, rigid or semi-rigid and with a curve to allow the spindle free play. The bow cord can be made of any tough cord. I have used nettle cordage, plaited leather and other natural cordage, but paracord and other synthetics tend to wear better.


For the base board and spindle most people find using the same kind of wood works best and hazel on hazel is one of my favourites. The idea is that the spindle will spin on the base plate creating heat by friction and the two pieces will wear each other down creating “char”dust which will collect and eventually ignite. Using woods of different hardnesses means that one will wear the other away faster.


The bearing block needs to be of a hard wood with a recess cut in its underside to take and support the top of the spindle and have the topside shaped to fit comfortably in the hand. I have seen people use a stack of limpet shells as a bearing block and I will, if possible,set a limpet shell into my bearing block as a “frictionless bearing”. If you do not have limpets you can lubricate the bearing by inserting green leaves – holly is very good – to reduce friction. The bearing block is not where you want the heat!


The base or hearth board needs to be between 1.5 to 3cm thick and long enough for one end to be trapped under your foot while you work. As long as the base board is wider than the spindle, width is not too important, but it does need to be worked reasonably flat.


The spindle needs to be very straight, around 20-30cm long and about as thick as your thumb with one end domed and the other brought to a strong point.


Both base board and spindle need to be thoroughly dry and seasoned for best results.


The cord on the bow needs to be tied so that when you twist the spindle in the cord grips, it is tight enough to get the spindle turning, but not so tight that it is hard to turn it at all! Tension can be adjusted by gripping the cord as well as the bow with as many fingers as it takes to get the tension right.​

To start getting fire by friction, dig a small indent into the top of your base board using the tip of your knife. Trap the base board under your left foot (I am describing the set-up for right handers; left handed folk will have to make their own adjustments – sorry!)and kneel left knee up, right knee on the ground. Twist the spindle into the bow cord and put the domed end into the indent of the base board.


Place the bearing block onto the pointed end of the spindle and position yourself so that you can lock your left arm around your left knee and press vertically down on the spindle. This prevents the spindle from wobbling or flying out of the base board as you “saw” the bow back and forth.



As you push the bow back and forth keep the string parallel with the ground or it will climb up and down the spindle and may fly away! If you press down too hard, the spindle will not spin; if you do not press hard enough the spindle can jump off the base board. However you should soon see smoke and “char” developing as the spindle wears in.


Once this occurs you need to cut out a “pie slice” notch from the base board, reaching from the centre of your newly made depression to the edge of the board. The slice needs to be around 1/8th of the circle of the depression. This is to catch the char and start your ember.


Place your ember catcher under the pie slice and start bowing again. Start slow and steady, increasing pressure and speed until you have great clouds of smoke developing. You cannot have too much smoke!


You will know you have succeeded when, if you stop bowing and remove the spindle, the char that has collected in the pie slice keeps smoking and you see a pinpoint of red glowing coal in there. No smoke or glow to be seen? Get back to bowing!


Once the ember is forming you need to let air to it so it can develop. Gently tap the base board to free the ember and lift the board free then, gently blowing on the ember if it needs it, use the ember catcher to tip the ember into the tinder bundle.


All that now remains is to blow the ember up to flame as with most“primitive” fire lighting techniques. Sometimes during the bowing you get excessive squeaking – try altering your downward pressure to avoid this, and sometimes the wood “glazes”,polishing not charring. If glazing occurs rough up the spindle and base depression with your knife and go again.​

If at first you do not succeed, try, try, try again! Bow drill friction fire becomes easier the more you do it and get the feel for it. Initially it is hot, hard work (my first ever ember was immediately dowsed when a drop of sweat dripped off my nose right onto the coal as I tried to blow the ember brighter) but with practice it becomes fast and easy. Trust me on that!​

This is just what works for me ( other people may give different advice )and it has worked well for a lot of my students as well
Keep trying - the first fire you make will feel fantastic
The photos feature Greg Hardman of Wilderness Emergency Survival Training - not me!

 

[Broch]

Remember, you're only trying to get an ember from your bowdrill! You wouldn't believe the number of people I have demonstrated to that were expecting a flame

I typically use an elder drill and hazel or ash hearth but loads of combinations work. My bearing is a palm sized granite flattish pebble with a pit ground into it

You could do worse than look at Paul's article here - he's also done a video.

Bow-Drill – The Keys to Success

Maximise your success with the bow-drill method of fire-lighting.

paulkirtley.co.uk

 

[CPH]

Perhaps I have misunderstood your description.
Typically you want the bearing end of the spindle to be thinner and pointier to reduce contact area, and the hearth end to be wider and flatter with only enough of a point so that it stays centred in its spot.

While literature often says that soft woods work better, my own experience has been that it is possible for wood to be too soft, which can make getting the balance of pressure and speed difficult. I have had good success with willow and hazel for spindles, and elder for the hearth, and these often feel pretty hard...not oak hard, but much harder than the starting-to-rot alder we used and struggled with on a Woodlore course.

Poplar bark, the thick corky stuff, can make a pretty good bearing block, it glazes a bit, but not as good as really hard wood like hornbeam or box. It better than green maple. Apple is pretty dense, so should be good.

There are lots of ways to do this stuff. My own preference for a bow is stiff, curved and 2.5 feet long, which is longer than many use. I think there is a balance between too long and having trouble controlling and not hitting the ground, and being too short to get a good long stroke for lots of rotations before changing direction.

I was on a course where Mors Kochanski was teaching, demonstrating his methods (lots of interesting hearth arrangements) and witnessed him being impressed with Dave Goodworth's technique using a longer bow than Mors was recommending.

Hi and thank very much for the feedback. I think you may have hit the nail on the head re the softness of the hearth. The one I’ve made is close to being, as our USA friends say, “a bit punky.”
Having said that I just took the kit with me on a hike to give it another go. When I burnt it in I actually thought the hearth was going to set alight, there was that much smoke. It produced about a half teaspoon of brown/black soot and I was certain I would get an ember after I notched the hearth. Curiously I struggled to get the spindle going as smoothly again when I tried for an ember. It started squeaking a lot but the spindle was struggling to turn under any sort of hand pressure from the bearing but eventually, by lightening the pressure the smoke started to wisp again. At that point the blinking cord broke! I had made the school boy error of only having that piece of string with me, and was five miles from home, so headed home a bit frustrated.
I will try again after reciting the bow with some cord (I will use para cord this time.)
I did video the attempt but can’t figure out how to post vids or pictures on here yet. I’m guessing the pics have to come from a host site?
Ps Just to clarify, I do understand that the bearing end needs to be a point and the other end a sort of blunt pencil shape.

 

[CPH]

I agree with Chris.
My own preference for both drill and hearth is seasoned Hazel, with the "burning " end of the drill very much flatter and fatter than the bearing block end (max friction on the board min friction on the bearing block) and I line my bearing block with a limpet shell as a "friction free" bearing....
The stuff below is an article I wrote many years ago for a magazine...

Fire by friction, also known as bow drill technique, “Indian fire fiddle” etc is a prehistoric fire-lighting method and can be performed with nothing more than materials found out in the woods, !


As with all fire-lighting, preparation is key to success and before you even think of making your ember you need to have your fire laid and ready with at least twice the amount of tinder you would imagine needed, with kindling, small wood and fuel to hand. To make fire you are going to need to produce heat, so protect your equipment from the cold and damp, insulated from ground which is nearly always colder and damper than you want to work on.


The main pieces of equipment needed for fire by friction using a bowdrill set are the “bow” a “base-” or “hearth-board”, a“spindle” and a bearing block. A dried leaf, sliver of wood or piece of bark is useful as an “ember catcher” and a good dry tinder bundle is essential.


The bow needs to be about as long as your arm from armpit to middle fingertip, rigid or semi-rigid and with a curve to allow the spindle free play. The bow cord can be made of any tough cord. I have used nettle cordage, plaited leather and other natural cordage, but paracord and other synthetics tend to wear better.


For the base board and spindle most people find using the same kind of wood works best and hazel on hazel is one of my favourites. The idea is that the spindle will spin on the base plate creating heat by friction and the two pieces will wear each other down creating “char”dust which will collect and eventually ignite. Using woods of different hardnesses means that one will wear the other away faster.


The bearing block needs to be of a hard wood with a recess cut in its underside to take and support the top of the spindle and have the topside shaped to fit comfortably in the hand. I have seen people use a stack of limpet shells as a bearing block and I will, if possible,set a limpet shell into my bearing block as a “frictionless bearing”. If you do not have limpets you can lubricate the bearing by inserting green leaves – holly is very good – to reduce friction. The bearing block is not where you want the heat!


The base or hearth board needs to be between 1.5 to 3cm thick and long enough for one end to be trapped under your foot while you work. As long as the base board is wider than the spindle, width is not too important, but it does need to be worked reasonably flat.


The spindle needs to be very straight, around 20-30cm long and about as thick as your thumb with one end domed and the other brought to a strong point.


Both base board and spindle need to be thoroughly dry and seasoned for best results.


The cord on the bow needs to be tied so that when you twist the spindle in the cord grips, it is tight enough to get the spindle turning, but not so tight that it is hard to turn it at all! Tension can be adjusted by gripping the cord as well as the bow with as many fingers as it takes to get the tension right.​

To start getting fire by friction, dig a small indent into the top of your base board using the tip of your knife. Trap the base board under your left foot (I am describing the set-up for right handers; left handed folk will have to make their own adjustments – sorry!)and kneel left knee up, right knee on the ground. Twist the spindle into the bow cord and put the domed end into the indent of the base board.


Place the bearing block onto the pointed end of the spindle and position yourself so that you can lock your left arm around your left knee and press vertically down on the spindle. This prevents the spindle from wobbling or flying out of the base board as you “saw” the bow back and forth.



As you push the bow back and forth keep the string parallel with the ground or it will climb up and down the spindle and may fly away! If you press down too hard, the spindle will not spin; if you do not press hard enough the spindle can jump off the base board. However you should soon see smoke and “char” developing as the spindle wears in.


Once this occurs you need to cut out a “pie slice” notch from the base board, reaching from the centre of your newly made depression to the edge of the board. The slice needs to be around 1/8th of the circle of the depression. This is to catch the char and start your ember.


Place your ember catcher under the pie slice and start bowing again. Start slow and steady, increasing pressure and speed until you have great clouds of smoke developing. You cannot have too much smoke!


You will know you have succeeded when, if you stop bowing and remove the spindle, the char that has collected in the pie slice keeps smoking and you see a pinpoint of red glowing coal in there. No smoke or glow to be seen? Get back to bowing!


Once the ember is forming you need to let air to it so it can develop. Gently tap the base board to free the ember and lift the board free then, gently blowing on the ember if it needs it, use the ember catcher to tip the ember into the tinder bundle.


All that now remains is to blow the ember up to flame as with most“primitive” fire lighting techniques. Sometimes during the bowing you get excessive squeaking – try altering your downward pressure to avoid this, and sometimes the wood “glazes”,polishing not charring. If glazing occurs rough up the spindle and base depression with your knife and go again.​

If at first you do not succeed, try, try, try again! Bow drill friction fire becomes easier the more you do it and get the feel for it. Initially it is hot, hard work (my first ever ember was immediately dowsed when a drop of sweat dripped off my nose right onto the coal as I tried to blow the ember brighter) but with practice it becomes fast and easy. Trust me on that!​

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This is just what works for me ( other people may give different advice )and it has worked well for a lot of my students as well
Keep trying - the first fire you make will feel fantastic
The photos feature Greg Hardman of Wilderness Emergency Survival Training - not me!

Thanks for that detailed explanation. I really do appreciate it.
I’m fairly confident that I understand the basic principles but appreciate all the help from everybody.

 

[CPH]

Remember, you're only trying to get an ember from your bowdrill! You wouldn't believe the number of people I have demonstrated to that were expecting a flame

I typically use an elder drill and hazel or ash hearth but loads of combinations work. My bearing is a palm sized granite flattish pebble with a pit ground into it

You could do worse than look at Paul's article here - he's also done a video.

Bow-Drill – The Keys to Success

Maximise your success with the bow-drill method of fire-lighting.

paulkirtley.co.uk

Thanks very much. Your advice is much appreciated.

 

[Furbles]

I’ve always liked this short YouTube bow drill demonstration by Dan Hume:

 

[Broch]

TBH paracord is not the best in my experience; it's too stretchy. Unless I'm trying to be all paleo, I use starter pull cord (for starting mowers and chainsaws etc.).

 

[C_Claycomb]

Broch beat me to it.

I was going to recommend starter cord. It does not stretch the way Paracord does, you don't want (edited) *much* stretch in this application. It also tends to stay rounder in cross section under load while Paracord tends to flatten, which I think is better for maintaining grip on the spindle. I was able to buy cord per metre (its pretty cheap) from https://georgebrowns.co.uk/, which is local to me. A second place cord would be a 3 or 4mm polyester (braided jacket and a core) line from a chandlery centre, but I would expect that to be more expensive than starter cord.

Every aspect of bow drill contains what I think of as bushcraft duality; knowing what is the best and most effective material or method and making the effort to use it, vs knowing how to use what you have immediately to hand, and making it work well enough. I think that when learning it is easier to try to figure out and follow the first before moving on to the second.

 

[CPH]

Thanks again chaps.
I have switched to para cord but got the same results. Changed to a third more string like cord and still keep getting the same results. I.e the hearth starts to smoke profusely and produce powder (And lots of it.) at which point the bow string starts slipping on the spindle. I can barely put any pressure on it at that point and seem to lose momentum.
I am wondering if my dead standing,bark off spindle is too slippery? It’s quite shiny. I have tried two or three times roughening it up by chequering it lightly with a saw, but still the same result.
If I could figure out how to post a picture on here I could show you the kit I’ve made and get some feedback. Can anyone offer any advice on how to post pics please?

 

[CPH]

That should have read “roughening”, not “toughening”.

 

[CPH]

https://flic.kr/p/2qDC7Di

Hopefully this link will take you to a picture on Flickr.

 

[Broch]

Hi Chris, you can only post pictures directly in your post if you are a full member; otherwise you have to use a hosting site and post the URL of the picture on that site. Ah, you've done that!

I don't know how others do it, but I hold the string and the bow together at the end, that way I can put more or less tension on the string (I think John says the same above). If your bow is stiff enough and the tension is high enough there should be no slipping even with relatively high pressure on the bearing if you're using decent cord. Paracord is useless, it stretches an slips. Other than when I've used something like nettle cord, I've never had a string break.

How thick is your drill? Mine tend to be about 2cm diameter.
How free running is your bearing block? I didn't get a result really until I moved from wood-on-wood even with lubrication - a limpet shell really does work quite well.
Then, there's just the two woods you're using - if you're just getting polishing try changing one to a slightly 'softer' wood or put a very small amount of sand in the depression.

In the photo you haven't cut the V slot yet; you won't get a decent ember dropping down unless you do. Also, Your hearth looks quite thick - it needs to be no more than 12 or 13mm thick.

 

[CPH]

Hi and thank you.
It sounds as though I just need a better cord. All three that I’ve tried are slipping. Here’s a picture of the two hearth boards which are around half inch thick. The first one I used, which as I mentioned shattered under my foot, and another cut from a harder part of the same poplar log. Also the spindle.
Ps The spindle is about 25mm/1”

https://flic.kr/p/2qDJ4SW

 

[Toddy]

Thanks again chaps.
I have switched to para cord but got the same results. Changed to a third more string like cord and still keep getting the same results. I.e the hearth starts to smoke profusely and produce powder (And lots of it.) at which point the bow string starts slipping on the spindle. I can barely put any pressure on it at that point and seem to lose momentum.
I am wondering if my dead standing,bark off spindle is too slippery? It’s quite shiny. I have tried two or three times roughening it up by chequering it lightly with a saw, but still the same result.
If I could figure out how to post a picture on here I could show you the kit I’ve made and get some feedback. Can anyone offer any advice on how to post pics please?

If your string is slipping just grasp the string and the bow at the butt end and keep the tension going........we used blue polypropylene rope, cheap as chips, and we demonstrated making fire successfully at least ten times a day.

It's technique, practice, and an awareness of the situation that makes it work.

Where's the wind coming from....it'll chill your coal right down before you have enough to keep the heat generating into an ember if you get it wrong.

Do you have your tinder nest ready ?

Have you got something warm enough under the hearth board so that again you don't lose the heat ? bark's fine, and if you don't have to disturb your coal but can just curl that bark around the coal and your tinder to blow....brilliant

Paracord's fine, it works, it lasts fairly well, better than blue polypropylene !, but sometimes you need to grasp the cord as well as the bow to keep the tension and the spindle birling.

Best of luck with it It's one of the most satisfying things to master, it really is

cheers,
Toddy