OK I've been trying to master the bowdrill fire making method. The predominate wood around me is rock maple. I made a good spindle out of this with a small piece of cocobola that was an arrow footing as an extention to the hand hold socket. A hearth board of the same rock maple proved ineffective as the hearth board and the spindle simply polished each other. The rock maple just chewed up a hearth board made of punk hard maple and did the same to a hearth board of yellow pine.
My questions are what are the best woods to make the spindle and the hearth board from? Also is it better to use a spindle and hearth board of the same or different woods? In my books on survival it just says "available hardwood"; but as I am seeing rock maple to rock maple is not working. Neither does rock maple to sugar maple. Any help and advice you can offer will be greatly appreciated.
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