Fire with bow drill "Pointers"

[Ted]

I'm not going to go into all the blah, blah, blah, stuff thats been repeated in other threads. So I recomend you read them first and then this, just some good pointers that work!

1.Use wood,that your thumb nail will cut into,not crush or dent, "cut"

2.The fire board, spindel,and socket, can all be of the same wood!

3.Make a hole in the socket and fireboard the your knife, make a point on both sides of the spindel. Grease the socket side by running it though your hair,along the sides of your nose and behind your ear. Trust me it works!

4 Start drilling, don't use any more pressure than you need to work the thing! Drill to you get a hole at least a quarter inch deep. If at any time the socket start to smoke stop, let it cool and run it through hair, ect. again.

5.Now make the ever important notch in the fire board!

6. Start to drill again.You may need to thighten sting or you may be pushing to hard if it starts to slip.Remember this dosn't take alot of strength!Try letting up on the pressure fiirst.

7 Long even strokes are better than short choppy ones.Once it starts to smoke,increase speed and pressure on spindel.

Remember no matter how good you have this running too much pressure will stop it dead!
I hope this is some use to those who have tried and failed ...Later Bros!

[trickyrick]

i was in a sweat lodge and wanted to start a fire using this method. all went well....but i had used some fiber from a robe for the embers to ignite. we were so close, so many times...until i realized the rope was made out of something that melted when lit instead of lighting. valuable lesson learned in not "a time of need" luckily. know what you are working w/.

[Ted]

Bummer Tricky! Bet that was frustrating as hell! So did you get a proper "nest" and get the thing going?

[your_comforting_company]

also of note is that getting the string too tight will make the spindle flip out! I find it better to leave a little slack, and take it up with my fingers when i take up the bow. when I let folks try it over here, they seem to have a hard time keeping the spindle in the socket.

the best tip I can think of is "BREATHE!"