Help with fire.

[klickitat]

First let me say that I carry a magnesium fire starter, a butane lighter, trioxane fuel bars and petroleum jelly/cotton starter. However my brother and I tried to start a fire with a bow drill and failed.

Please help me figure this out. We made our drill and board out of Western Red Cedar. We both were able to get tons of smoke and black sawdust, but could never get a coal to emerge and hold together. Is Cedar a bad choice for the drill? What did we do wrong? We worked on it for over an hour and could easily get smoke within 10-15 seconds, but never an ember.

Do I ever expect to have to use this? NO, but I do like to learn and have it just in case.

Thanks for the help.

[crimescene450]

ehem*

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...ad.php?t=11393

[Rick]

As an aside, the trioxane fuel is poisonous. Make certain you wash your hands thoroughly before eating or drinking after handling it.

[Erratus Animus]

I have a cedar set that I made from a downed tree and it woks well. It is kinda particular too how much pressure you place on the spindle. Make sure the wood is bone dry and it it has been sitting out in high humidity it will have adsorbed that moisture up too.

[letslearntogether47]

Pick up some Eastern White cedar at the local Home Improvement store.
Try that first.

[your_comforting_company]

I have some red cedar I've been toying with for the hand drill. I'll go outside in a little while and try to start the grill with it and post my results for you. Might be tomorrow before I post tho. The wood I'll be using was cut from a live tree that was too close to a house, weathered in my yard for several months, and dried under my shed. Though it is rather humid here and just rained..
I'll let you know how it goes, soon.

[your_comforting_company]

You're right. 10-15 seconds you get smoke. It is a fine powder that likes to cling together. Notch fills up quickly. BUT...
It took a good 45 seconds to a minute to pop out an ember. Remember, just because you see smoke, doesn't mean you have fire yet. You have to look for the yellow wisp of smoke.
The piece I just used took a good bit of pressure and a very tight string. Start gentle, focus on breathing and filling up your notch. Pace yourself.. if you let it cool off it tends to polish. After you've had smoke for probably... 20 or 30 seconds, put all the pressure you can still spin, on it. Took me 3 tries to figure out the mechanics of the wood. I just made fire with red cedar, and I would rank it up there among some of the harder woods, just for the sheer amount of pressure and spin required.
I took pictures, but I gotta go check the grill. Will post pictures tomorrow.

A side note.. it squeeked horrendously for a few seconds.. this is a quality that would indicate a bad wood.. that means it's polishing, rather than grinding... apply enough force and you should get it.. Pressure and speed!

I gotta get me a dang video camera.

[klickitat]

Thanks, it looks as though some practice is all that is needed. In our area we have an abundance of red cedar stumps and dead logs in our forests. I usually find a hollow stump for kindling when building a fire.

[your_comforting_company]

Red Cedar kit. spindle and hearth. Makes a nice fine-clingy powder.
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not the easiest one I've ever tried, but it works.
A lot of pressure and a lot of spin. Persistence!