Limpet bow drill block

[John Fenna]

One problem a lot of people have using a fire bow/bow drill set is that they get too much friction at the top of the spindle/bearing block meeting point.
I have just revamped my bearing block to eliminate this potential problem.
What did I do? I glued a limpet shell into the block and hey presto - no friction!
The limpet I used was not even a very regular cone shape, just an odd shell I picked up at the w/e, but it works like a dream (though a more conical one would be even better) and improved my rig no end....
I glued it into place with a Spruce resin/charcoal/beeswax glue/filler in a hole made using my frost knife and spoon knife to enlarge the hole thast excess friction had worn in the block.
Fire at my first go with this rig and the block/top of the spindle stayed cold for once!
I hope others find this method of use to them.
Personally I rarely use friction to start my fires, prefering trad flint and steel, but I like to keep my hand in now and again.
John

 

[Ogri the trog]

Great stuff John,
been thinking along the same lines myself - though not as authentic as you've done it!
I'll forage a few next time I come down from the mountains.

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[dwardo]

Good idea !

 

[Alberto Hernandez]

For a bearing block or hand hold you can also use hard wood like oak. The drill will not be able to burn in to it much and the hole will have a tendancy to glaze in the inside and that will prevent friction.

Good luck!
Alberto

 

[JohnC]

I am using limpet shells this week as part of a bow drill demo to scouts, in practicing, I found one shell on its own grew uncomfortably hot after 1-2mins bowing, it could still be held with care. I put a slightly smaller shell inside the larger and it acted like a bearing to a degree. The heat was much reduced and I felt the friction was lower too. Next time at the beach I'll look out for more regular ones to try further.
Could a small shell be fixed to the top of the spindle??

 

[Burnt Ash]

One problem a lot of people have using a fire bow/bow drill set is that they get too much friction at the top of the spindle/bearing block meeting point.
I have just revamped my bearing block to eliminate this potential problem.
What did I do? I glued a limpet shell into the block and hey presto - no friction!

I guess one has to make a bearing block (and the rest of the friction fire set) out of whatever is available at the time and place that you want to make fire. It rather defeats the object of the exercise if one has to carry ready-made friction fire-starting equipment. That then poses the question: why not carry some butane lighters and/or ferrocerium 'firesteel' in the first place?

But back to bearing blocks. By far and away the best bearing blocks I have come across are flints, with suitable dimples or depressions in them. I get all my flint from the East Sussex coast: Cuckmere Haven at the western end of the Seven Sisters, or Birling Gap, which are a few miles south of where I live. Half an hour's fossicking on the beach will usually turn up several suitable flints. The trick is to find a really nice one that has the right sized dimple, is not too big and heavy and which fits the hand nicely. After long use, the dimple in the flint becomes polished, offering even less friction.

Burnt Ash

 

[John Fenna]

Ah - it seems we have a difference of perception!
IMHO - using only what you find on the spot = survival.
Using stuff you make yourself, preferably from natural materials that you source yourself = bushcraft.
Using only what was available to our neolithic ancestors = primitive living.
Using every consumer luxury = camping

I guess what you use is what you are comfortable with.
I love the idea of flint as a bearing block, (but if you have flint why not use a flint and steel to light your fire?). What do you use for the cord on the fire bow? I am trying home cut leather thongs but they stretch like a stretchy thing trying to get a record for stretching ....
paracord seems too easy....willow cord is iether very thick or breaks very quickly and takes ages to make, nettle cord the same. palm fibre cord is a bit slippery and (except perhaps in Torquay) hard to source in the UK!
Flint and steel are my fave fire lighting system, but there is no flint or iron pyrites near me so I use a flint from SE England and a broken file......

I realy dont get dogmatic on these points - having fun in the great outdoors is the main point of it all!
Do what makes it fun for you!