yes i know were back with the fire bow and if i look back month and month ill probably find my anser but , i spent an hour or more today trying to get an ember but no matter how hard i tryed and i just dont under stand, in getting black dust and so much smoke i was chocking on it. also i always seam to get there and my V would fill and so produse no more dust, well it did it was just very pail.
fire bow how anoying
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The Fire Bow is very efficient and from the sound of it you are there. If you're getting smoke then you are at the ignition point there can only be a couple of things keeping you from getting an ember. are you using dry? What is you wood types or combination? You could be using cedar on cedar which will wear your arm out! Soft on soft or hard on soft is best. Are you using the right pressure too much too early is wasting energy, allow the friction to do its job. Are you using too short of a bow? Doing this means several small strokes, you have to work faster and harder...use longer bow. Is the spindle straight and does it set in the eye well? Is your socket dry? use some wax or substitute to lubricate the socket..do not use spit or water as it will cause the spindle to expand when heating. Anyway, here is what i tell my students:
Make sure the powder you see is dark cocoa brown and NOT grainy!!!! The powder should be that a fine powder.
Use a Bow that is the length from your elbow to tip of finger and slightly curved.
Make certain that the bow string is durable and around the spindle firmly
when cutting in a V notch make sure it comes to the center of the eyeball
Pre heat you spindle by taking a few long sweeps with the bow then begin bustin it
when you see smoke... apply heavier pressure and faster strokes about 5 or 6 raise the spindle GENTLY and blow GENTLY or you'll blow your ember away
Transfer to tinder and blow into the mass of the tinder (rotate the nest if necessary) until you get a flame Presto!!
Make sure the powder you see is dark cocoa brown and NOT grainy!!!! The powder should be that a fine powder.
Use a Bow that is the length from your elbow to tip of finger and slightly curved.
Make certain that the bow string is durable and around the spindle firmly
when cutting in a V notch make sure it comes to the center of the eyeball
Pre heat you spindle by taking a few long sweeps with the bow then begin bustin it
when you see smoke... apply heavier pressure and faster strokes about 5 or 6 raise the spindle GENTLY and blow GENTLY or you'll blow your ember away
Transfer to tinder and blow into the mass of the tinder (rotate the nest if necessary) until you get a flame Presto!!
I went ahead to my site and made a download of some information that might help ya.
http://www.indigenousinstitute.com/Fire.pdf
If I can help you let me know.
http://www.indigenousinstitute.com/Fire.pdf
If I can help you let me know.
You might have got there already and just not realised it 
Once you are getting a good ammount of smoke from the spindle, and the notch is filling up with dust (the darker the better) you want to ease off the pressure slightly and speed up the strokes - and do at least 30 strokes (1 stroke = back and forth).
When you take the spindle away it may well look like all you have is a pile of black dust, but the telltale sign of success should be a thin wisp of smoke still emanating from the dust-pile. If you blow VERY gently on this pile, you should hopefully blow away the surface bit of dust, and see a glowing ember underneath - this is usually no bigger than a pea - it might be much smaller.
Transfer this carefully into your pre-prepared tinder bundle, hold it up wih the wind at your back, and blow through the bundle until you get more smoke, which turns yellow, then a flame!
For more info, have a look at http://www.pyrology.org.uk - especially the bow drill and tinder pages.
Once you are getting a good ammount of smoke from the spindle, and the notch is filling up with dust (the darker the better) you want to ease off the pressure slightly and speed up the strokes - and do at least 30 strokes (1 stroke = back and forth).
When you take the spindle away it may well look like all you have is a pile of black dust, but the telltale sign of success should be a thin wisp of smoke still emanating from the dust-pile. If you blow VERY gently on this pile, you should hopefully blow away the surface bit of dust, and see a glowing ember underneath - this is usually no bigger than a pea - it might be much smaller.
Transfer this carefully into your pre-prepared tinder bundle, hold it up wih the wind at your back, and blow through the bundle until you get more smoke, which turns yellow, then a flame!
For more info, have a look at http://www.pyrology.org.uk - especially the bow drill and tinder pages.
match said:
The best bit of advice i was given at this stage was 'Wait for a moment and catch your breath before transferring it to your tinder bundle'. This gives the coal a chance to grow and you to get your breath back. I have rushed at this stage and dropped the coal because of shaking hands and heaving lungs!!
Gaz,
You must be nearly there!
A few questions - what wood for drill and hearth? How do you store the wood? Is it off the forest floor, or kept in a boiler room? What diameter the drill tip? Is the V notch only up to the side of the circle or projects into it? What is the punk like in texture - silky fine or grainy or fibrous?
You must be nearly there!
A few questions - what wood for drill and hearth? How do you store the wood? Is it off the forest floor, or kept in a boiler room? What diameter the drill tip? Is the V notch only up to the side of the circle or projects into it? What is the punk like in texture - silky fine or grainy or fibrous?
Marts said:
This is very true! People often rush as soon as they get a coal to get it into the tinder to stop it 'going out' (I know I did the first few times I made a coal
) but in reality you've got a long time to play with.Having made ordinary sized coals and just left them on my coal catcher, I've found that they can sit there for anything up to 2-3 minutes undisturbed and still be perfectly viable for tinder-lighting, possibly more (after all, 2 minutes is a long time when you're just waiting...
)
Gaz,
I can only echo what the others have already said. You must be so close!
When the notch is full and smoking of its own accord, use a thin dry twig to hold the ember in place while you roll the hearth board away from it. Provided that the ember is viable and reasonably sheltered, it should grow into a coal within a minute or so. When "blowing", I use my hand to gently waft away the column of smoke, so that you can ensure that more smoke is being produced. For the next minute, you should be able to catch your breath and watch in amazement as the coal starts to glow red.
Good luck Buddy
Ogri the trog
I can only echo what the others have already said. You must be so close!
When the notch is full and smoking of its own accord, use a thin dry twig to hold the ember in place while you roll the hearth board away from it. Provided that the ember is viable and reasonably sheltered, it should grow into a coal within a minute or so. When "blowing", I use my hand to gently waft away the column of smoke, so that you can ensure that more smoke is being produced. For the next minute, you should be able to catch your breath and watch in amazement as the coal starts to glow red.
Good luck Buddy
Ogri the trog
Hazel is probably best with light pressure on the top and good speed of drilling. If you press hard then the particles can be grainy and too big to ignite. If you press very lightly with lots of speed you get finer dust that catches much better.
(As a hand drill it is hopeless as one tends to need much more pressure.)
(As a hand drill it is hopeless as one tends to need much more pressure.)
I sort of had that problem the frst couple of times I did it - as long as the powder is dark, the trick is to simply leave it for a while (just long enough to catch your breath, not go and make a cup of tea, as tempting as it may be...). That worked for me. If it dosn't work, then try a different wood????
Would any one have any recommendations or success stories with types of wood for the spindle and board with this method.
i have used a willow spindle and a field maple board (which was from attached dead limbs) this has worked for me, i heard cedar was good.
in a reply earlier it was mentioned that soft on soft or hard on soft (woods) is good but which comprises the spindle-hard or soft mine seems to be soft on hard?
JON
i have used a willow spindle and a field maple board (which was from attached dead limbs) this has worked for me, i heard cedar was good.
in a reply earlier it was mentioned that soft on soft or hard on soft (woods) is good but which comprises the spindle-hard or soft mine seems to be soft on hard?
JON
Hi Striker,
Sounds like you are doing well at bow drilling as you report success with willow on field maple. Great to hear.
As to advice and success stories, well I will mention one only as it illustrates a couple of points.
I was with some mates (the Kent crowd) and people were practicing their drilling techniques with hazel drill on (I'm not sure what the hearth was). A lot of effort was happening and loads of smoke but no coal. I had noticed also that the hearth was fairly thick and the punk was falling a half inch or so to the bottom of the notch. So when I had a go I first filled the notch with fine material so that the hot dust would move sideways, as a sort of sausage, onto the pile rather than fall as powder through cold air. That and starting slow, dawdling for a while once I got a bit of smoke before putting more effort in did the trick and desired coal appeared and we had a go at getting the coal to create flame via tinder.
Point one - it is fun to do it with mates.
Point two - learn from every failure.
Point three - the Kent crew are great guys
Sounds like you are doing well at bow drilling as you report success with willow on field maple. Great to hear.
As to advice and success stories, well I will mention one only as it illustrates a couple of points.
I was with some mates (the Kent crowd) and people were practicing their drilling techniques with hazel drill on (I'm not sure what the hearth was). A lot of effort was happening and loads of smoke but no coal. I had noticed also that the hearth was fairly thick and the punk was falling a half inch or so to the bottom of the notch. So when I had a go I first filled the notch with fine material so that the hot dust would move sideways, as a sort of sausage, onto the pile rather than fall as powder through cold air. That and starting slow, dawdling for a while once I got a bit of smoke before putting more effort in did the trick and desired coal appeared
and we had a go at getting the coal to create flame via tinder.Point one - it is fun to do it with mates.
Point two - learn from every failure.
Point three - the Kent crew are great guys
The willow drill on maple hearth gets a point from me, too.
It's the only combo I've succeeded in drilling fire with, AND I can use it almost as easily as flint and steel. Takes about 30 seconds.
My main concern with these two woods is REMEMBERING TO EASE OFF THE PRESSURE! And when smokey, just let'er RIP!
A friend saw me do it, then sat down and spun up an ember in less than a minute, with only verbal coaching.
Also, willow makes a good bow (I use the Egyptian setup, one knot on the drill and a few turns above and below).
It's the only combo I've succeeded in drilling fire with, AND I can use it almost as easily as flint and steel. Takes about 30 seconds.
My main concern with these two woods is REMEMBERING TO EASE OFF THE PRESSURE! And when smokey, just let'er RIP!
A friend saw me do it, then sat down and spun up an ember in less than a minute, with only verbal coaching.
Also, willow makes a good bow (I use the Egyptian setup, one knot on the drill and a few turns above and below).
hi and thanks guys-its a great forum
thats good to hear your experience with the set up i have seemed to me they would work when i was thinking of woods to use
went out on the weekend impressed my mates with the striker and charcloth, had a go with the bow couldn't get any coal but i think you have highlighted where i went wrong so il let you know
it is good with mates (and beer)
if anyone knows of any good fire plough posts/ sites that would be real good!
JON
thats good to hear your experience with the set up i have
seemed to me they would work when i was thinking of woods to usewent out on the weekend impressed my mates with the striker and charcloth, had a go with the bow couldn't get any coal but i think you have highlighted where i went wrong so il let you know
it is good with mates (and beer)if anyone knows of any good fire plough posts/ sites that would be real good!
JON
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