I was attempting to burn in a drill today (I'm off work with nasty tummy, but bored!!) and was contemplating all the mistakes I've made so far as a newbie fire-lighter. I'd find it really useful if you could all post mistakes you've made and why they were a problem, as I'm sure there's loads I've still got to learn!
If others would find it useful too, then I could collate it all in a doc and make it available to the forum, let me know if you'd be interested? I know nothing beats experience, but at least then there'd be a checklist to refer to when trying to trouble shoot the latest non-starter!!
I'll go first with all the mistakes I've made so far...
Problem: Used a bow that was a little bit bendy
Why it didn't work: When I got up speed with drilling, the bow started to bend on the push stroke so that the string lost tension and slipped instead of turning the drill.
Solution Use a bow that has very little or no bendiness.
Problem: Used some cheap pretend-paracord that turned out to be a bit stretchy
Why it didn't work: The cord kept stretching and would start slipping just at the vital moment when I should have been drilling harder, so I'd have to stop and tighten the cord and everything would go cold again.
Solution Use cord that has very little stretch in it
Problem: Used an old drill that had become too short (about 11cm) through use
Why it didn't work: Because the drill was so short, it came lower on my leg, so it was more difficult to lean body weight on it to keep up the pressure. This meant I was unable to make fire with a set-up that had previously been working, so it took me ages to figure out what was wrong!!!
Solution Use a drill that is long enough to be able to lean some body weight on it - in my case, that's at least 16cm, but for larger folk it would probably need to be longer.
Problem: The hearth end of the drill was all polished and the bearing end kept burning in to the bearing
Why it didn't work: In this case, there was more friction at the bearing end because it was rougher than the hearth end.
Solution I had to re-cut the point on the hearth end of the drill and use lots of green stuff at the bearing to try and get the drill back into shape - which was successful, but hard work!
Problem: Damp tinder
Why it didn't work: The coal went out instantly, even though the tinder was only slightly damp and I had thought I might be able to get away with it
Solution Find some dry tinder, or wait until some has dried out in your pockets. Dead bracken dries out very quickly as soon as it has any sun on it, and makes really good tinder. In fact, I did manage to create fire with some bracken that wasn't totally bone dry once.
If others would find it useful too, then I could collate it all in a doc and make it available to the forum, let me know if you'd be interested? I know nothing beats experience, but at least then there'd be a checklist to refer to when trying to trouble shoot the latest non-starter!!
I'll go first with all the mistakes I've made so far...
Problem: Used a bow that was a little bit bendy
Why it didn't work: When I got up speed with drilling, the bow started to bend on the push stroke so that the string lost tension and slipped instead of turning the drill.
Solution Use a bow that has very little or no bendiness.
Problem: Used some cheap pretend-paracord that turned out to be a bit stretchy
Why it didn't work: The cord kept stretching and would start slipping just at the vital moment when I should have been drilling harder, so I'd have to stop and tighten the cord and everything would go cold again.
Solution Use cord that has very little stretch in it
Problem: Used an old drill that had become too short (about 11cm) through use
Why it didn't work: Because the drill was so short, it came lower on my leg, so it was more difficult to lean body weight on it to keep up the pressure. This meant I was unable to make fire with a set-up that had previously been working, so it took me ages to figure out what was wrong!!!
Solution Use a drill that is long enough to be able to lean some body weight on it - in my case, that's at least 16cm, but for larger folk it would probably need to be longer.
Problem: The hearth end of the drill was all polished and the bearing end kept burning in to the bearing
Why it didn't work: In this case, there was more friction at the bearing end because it was rougher than the hearth end.
Solution I had to re-cut the point on the hearth end of the drill and use lots of green stuff at the bearing to try and get the drill back into shape - which was successful, but hard work!
Problem: Damp tinder
Why it didn't work: The coal went out instantly, even though the tinder was only slightly damp and I had thought I might be able to get away with it
Solution Find some dry tinder, or wait until some has dried out in your pockets. Dead bracken dries out very quickly as soon as it has any sun on it, and makes really good tinder. In fact, I did manage to create fire with some bracken that wasn't totally bone dry once.
)
