Bowdrill fire problem

[perkunas]

Hello everybody,

Recently I've been trying to get an ember using a bow drill. I made a nice hazel bow with a paracord string, set the tension right (feels not too tight, doesn't slip either).
The top bearing block is made of oak. However, I still get a lot of friction in the top, even with lubrication.
But that's not the main problem. So far I only get a lot of dust, usually that short, stringy kind, but no ember.
So far I've tried birch on birch, hazel on birch and hazel on some other wood which I don't really know (all I can say it's from a leafy tree, not a conifer). All of this wood is firewood for the winter so it is more or less dry.
Should I try some other kind of wood?
Or maybe my technique has something to do for it?
I've been trying to maintain proper form which was taught by practicalprimitive on youtube, but I'm not really sure about the sequence of how fast should I spin and what is the proper pressure.

Looking forward to your suggestions!

Algirdas

[charleslockerbie]

The bowdril making course at the moot we did Sycamore on Ivy.

My only other suggestion is keep trying.

[The Big Lebowski]

It sounds like the hearth is not good...
Try willow if its local, beech, Ivy or see whats working on here that you can find locally.

Hazel spindles are fine, so stick with that. Or, use the same wood as the hearth.

Black fluffy dust good, brown stringy dry dust, not so good.

[Bushwhacker]

The top of the spindle should have as small an amount of contact with the bearing block as possible - sharpen it to a point.
I think it also sounds like you're applying too much pressure.

[perkunas]

Hey guys,

I just got an ember! Apparently you have to really let it build after spinning it. I succeeded with a hazel spindle and birch hearth. Also, I've read that grass leaves can be used as a lubricant and it worked excellent! Too bad I didn't have a decent tinder bundle ready.

[perkunas]

Played around with the bow a bit more today and failed. Tomorrow I'll probably go and look for some different kind of wood. Has anyone tried osier? It's somewhat similar to willow and quite common in my area.

[perkunas]

Sorry for posting again, but Is there an edit button in this forum? I just can't find it.

Here's the result of my drilling:

And here's my setup:


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[Scottishwanderer]

I can't really help but say willow on willow works for me, osier is related to willow i belive.

It took me over a month of constant practice to get it right, never give up once you get flame it is the most amazing feeling.

If you pick the right wood, it wants to do what you want it to very much, you just need to point it in the right direction.

This is the same as carving. It's all ready there we just need to take away the bits that arent needed.

Good luck brother.

[Siberianfury]

try a skateboard wheel as the bearing block, the bearings make it spin friction free.

[perkunas]

I thought that I'll give up the bow drill for now because I am getting some numbing sensation in my pinky finger of the hand which holds the bearing block. Or is it a sign that I am pushing too hard?
The skateboard wheel idea looks really good, now I have to go into my backyard and try it!

[lannyman8]

I thought that I'll give up the bow drill for now because I am getting some numbing sensation in my pinky finger of the hand which holds the bearing block. Or is it a sign that I am pushing too hard?
The skateboard wheel idea looks really good, now I have to go into my backyard and try it!

from your pics your doing it right, your notch looks a little small though, when you start go a little slower with the bow and not quite so much pressure. dark brown light fluffy looking dust is what your looking for at this point. fill the notch with dust like this, this is the "filling" stage. now add more pressure and go for it, keep going with the bow (but under controll or its pointless). the dust will pile right up loads of smoke all over the place, do about 30 good strokes the whole length of the bow.

now stop.....

remove the spindle carefully, chill now dont rush or even do anything for a few moments, if the dust is still smoking then you have a coal, again dont rush, chill for a minuite. let the coal form and start to show through. now remove the hearth board rolling it away useing a stick to keep the coal from going with it.

very carefully tip the coal into your tinder bundle, make sure all the dust goes in around the edge of the coal. now blow into flame, look on you tube if your not sure how..

hope this helps.

chris.

[lannyman8]

also i forgot to say, you must be comfortable when you do it, if you finger is going nimb then your grip is wrong, change your bearing block for a bigger one and see if that helps....

[Arizroughrider]

I have made a fire with the below components.

[Glydr]

I fortunately live not too far from the coast, I acquired a limpet shell from here, for they make great bearer "blocks", very smooth inside, almost zero friction on your spindle top. Just to make it spin even more freely, I spit into the shell before starting.

[perkunas]

Thanks for all the tips guys!
Unfortunately, I don't live close to the coast. I've tried putting somewhat of a metal inlay in the top bearing block, it improves the top friction problem, however the metal part gets freaking hot, it even sizzles if I put my finger on it. Have to be careful or I can get burnt easily!
Tried out a skateboard wheel too, works very well, however it seems to be harder to apply as much pressure as I did before. Anyway, it got dark so I'll postpone further testing until tomorrow.
Also, tomorrow I'll try to find some softer would. I hope I'll find something useful.
Here's the dust I got with the skateboard wheel. I guess I should be using less pressure? Sorry for the bad picture too, camera battery died.

[perkunas]

Hey everybody!

Today I managed to start a fire with my kit using a skateboard wheel. I admit that it made it so much easier, but I also realised that I was using too much pressure before with wooden top bearings. Next time, I'll try to start a fire without the skateboard wheel. I'll let you know how it goes!
Also, I'll be trying to start a fire using the thumbstring hand-drill technique. Has anybody tried this technique? I've recently seen it on Man Woman Wild. I've also made an improved version of the string so that it doesn't hurt my fingers. I hope it works well.

[udamiano]

Tried it a few times, some tips i found that worked:

I always keep some bike tyre inner tube in my fire kit, use this to provide some grip to the drill, it also stops the dreaded blisters, on your hands until they get the calluses.

if you have some hose pipe (big enough to put you thumbs in) cut a little bit off each end to provide a bit of protection for your thumbs in the loops, this stops the cord cutting into them.

Never look down the drill from the top, I witness a very nasty accident using this method where the cord snapped and the person fell forwards onto the top of the drill, they missed their eye by a couple of mills but left a nasty gash in the forehead.

please post any pictures you may have, I for one would be very interested in how you get on.


Day

[perkunas]

Here's the gadget that I'm going to use. It's just paracord with two leather strips that are pretty much like slingshot pouches. My brother is really into slingshots so he made these extra long pouches (long enough for thumbs to fit in) for me.

[drewdunnrespect]

Is it a hard wood or a soft wood to use as a drill bit and I assume u need hard wood for the bearing
And can u use pine planking for the hearth

[mountainm]

Cherry spindle and leylandi hearth work for me. Pretty quick too. I don't have to press hard - infact my pressure is pretty light but constant. I start slow then when it begins to smoke speed up until I get a lot of smoke then slow up again keeping it constant. Then when I think "it must be ready" I do another 20 strokes.

I find paracord just rips itself to shreds and stretches so I favour an old lawnmower rip cord.

[Siberianfury]

sycamore as the board, hazel as the drill, make the drill around thumb thickness as it rotates faster and is easier to drill. for the bearing block a big lump of green holly is the best naturaly, i usualy stick some grass and spit in there too. if you wanna go all out use a skataboard wheel as a bearing block, works fantasticly.

[Kepis]

This is what you want, natural as it can be, as tough as well a piece of rock and will certainly out last all of us



For a board try Sycamore on Sycamore, it's about the easiest there is, i used a good dozen sets of Sycamore last weekend doing demo's, i also use Hazel on Hazel, Hazel on Sycamore and Willow on Willow, my personal favourite though is a Willow spindle on a sycamore hearth.

As noted above the best cordage is lawn mower / chain saw pull start cord

More info on the bearing block here http://kepisbushcraft.blogspot.com/2...ing-block.html

[drewdunnrespect]

Now that i know what wood to use how do I tell one from the other considering
I am using stuff lying on the ground on the woods

[Kepis]

try and get dead standing if you can, it's drier and much easier to use than anything you will find laying on the ground, that being said all of the Sycamore sets i used last weekend were made from green wood that i then processed into boards and spindles and left in the shed to dry out for a week or so.

[Nonsuch]

Bottle cap embedded in bearing block makes for a smooth action!

[mountainm]

Microwaving green wood works a treat to dry it out quickly.