First time Failure

[Survival Guy 10]

Well today i tried my hand at a hand drill fire i tried about 15 times and then that hot south alabama sun ran me off i had a tulip popular fire board and a willow spindile i would get smoke but never an ember any suggestions?

[Sparky93]

I had the same problem when I tryed the other day using a bow drill, I tryed two different spindles, one was yucca and the other was maple, and my hearth was also maple. All I acomplished was a little bit of smoke and drenching myself with sweat. Also my string kept breaking, but I think I just need to find a thicker string.

[Survival Guy 10]

i should try some maple

[Sparky93]

I think somebody on here sade maple could be used for the hole setup, I plan on replacing my hearth with a piece of sycamore or willow once I find it.

[Canadian-guerilla]

try cedar for the fireboard ( with the notch )

how long are your strokes ?

i tried to teach a friend how to fire-bow
he was working himself into a frenzy with 2-3 inch strokes
if you have a 12-15+ inch length of string(?), go for long strokes

one of the most important parts of fire-bowing
is how much downward pressure you're putting on the spindle

imo


EDIT: your thread title

“There are no failures - just experiences and your reactions to them.”
Tom Krause

[Survival Guy 10]

i am using a hand drill not a bow drill but thanks for the advice and cool quote

[your_comforting_company]

I like hand drill spindles to be quite a lot smaller than bow-drill spindles. Usually only a little bigger than a pencil. I like willow for my hearths as it seems to have a high silica content (grows in sandy soils), and spindles range from horseweed and wild lettuce, to mullein, yucca, and other similar weeds. There have been lots of combinations I've tried that don't work easily. The easiest to me are the horseweed (Conyza canadensis) and lettuce (Lactuca canadensis).
Pre-heat your mating surfaces by just gentle spinning and downward pressure for a few minutes before you give it hell. A minute to two minutes should be sufficient, then lots of downward force and fierce spinning from top to bottom.
One other tip I should mention: I've seen videos of folks who hand-drill a fire while sitting cross-legged, flat bottom on the ground, but I cannot do it that way. I like to get up on one knee, much like with the bow-drill. I've had many, many failures sitting down and the most success with my body over the work.
We should have many of the same plants, as it looks like you live near me, just on the other side of the river. Look for materials that grow in sandy soils. The Lettuce in my yard (black dirt) does not produce embers as easily as lettuce I get from the side of dirt roads (sand, mostly).
Keep trying. You can do it!

Also, if it helps, I offer this video. http://youtu.be/qMR7Stckvws

[letslearntogether47]

You can also make a thumb strap for the spindle so you can get more downward pressure.
Once you get a coal with the hand drill you'll know then what it takes.I'm a big fan of Mullein for the spindle and white cedar for the fire board.
This last attempt I did was using lettuce and a pine fire board.I failed and ended up burning through the board without a coal.Nursing a few blisters today,but,it's all part of the process.
I do the same as YCC,I like to be on one knee like when I'm doing a bow drill fire.The spindle is generally around 20 inches or more.Enough to get to about my ear when I'm on my knee.
Pay attention to what your V cut looks like as well.Make sure it's a nice clean cut and deep enough,but not to the center of your burn in.
Good luck.

[Canadian-guerilla]

i am using a hand drill not a bow drill but thanks for the advice and cool quote

have you tried the " floating hand technique " ?

[Survival Guy 10]

does anyone have any pics of yucca and horseweed i belive that i have both on our land but i just wanna make sure

[letslearntogether47]

I might have yucca in my attachments.
BRB

[letslearntogether47]

This thread has some pictures.
My yucca stems grow quite fat.Better used for bow drill spindles.
I like Mullien for a hand drill spindle.

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...hen-to-harvest

[Beans]

try cedar for the fireboard ( with the notch )

how long are your strokes ?

i tried to teach a friend how to fire-bow
he was working himself into a frenzy with 2-3 inch strokes
if you have a 12-15+ inch length of string(?), go for long strokes

one of the most important parts of fire-bowing
is how much downward pressure you're putting on the spindle

imo


EDIT: your thread title

“There are no failures - just experiences and your reactions to them.”
Tom Krause

I tried and tried and tried and the bad side of me just would not let this go.

Long strokes are important

[your_comforting_company]

little horseweeds
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grown and lost their leaves
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ready to make fire
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yucca
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a stalk ready for harvest
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they can get really tall
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The video above shows yucca in use.. at that point, tho, it just looks like any other stick lol.