Posted on 07/09/2006 1:39:37 PM PDT by Momaw Nadon
I am going camping next weekend and think it would be cool to start a campfire using a fire bow drill.
I have all the parts, but can only seem to get just a bit of smoke at best. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.
I put pine tar on the string to keep it from slipping.
The wood for the fire board is cedar, and the spindle is made of poplar.
I watch Survivorman on the Science Channel, and he makes it look so easy, but it is not easy!
I am not a survivalist but I sure am impressed with what you are trying to do!!!
Bookmarking!
Have plenty of patience. That is advice based on experience with this technique.
We go camping approx six times every year at our house, and I've never had luck doing that. OTH Duraflame logs are a handy back-up
Keep a BIC lighter in your pocket and use it when your arm gets tired.
Take some dryer lint and place it at the edge of your cup on the fireboard when you start seeing smoke push some of the lint into the cup and blow gently.
I've practiced a few times already, and it seems that patience is definitely going to be helpful!
Thanks netmilsmom!
Then go camping. Since everyone will be (secretly) rooting against you, show them what a true genius you are!! Then let them ALL have a try!! :-)
I love watching Survivorman; it's one of the best shows on cable. Ever.
Les makes things look easier than what they are. I don't know how he does it. He has tons of patience and a great ability to adapt to any environment.
You might try making your hearth out of cottonwood or yucca, or sagebrush. Yucca flower stalks make excellent spindles. You don't have to have two different woods for the spindle and hearth. Yucca does well for both.
Cedar can be too oily to catch.
Do you have some good inner bark like cottonwood or juniper or the outer bark of birch to get your fire moving from ember to flame?
(This is my hubby's hobby - he's dictating to me. I've made fire with magnifying glass, but he likes to do things with flint and steel as well, and has worked with a firebow as well.
here are some sites you might like:
http://uqconnect.net/~zzdlittl/aussiefirebow.html
http://www.muzzleblasts.com/vol4no5/articles/mbo45-3.html
Now, dryer lint is cheating!
Thanks, I don't have any shortage of that stuff!
Thanks for the advice and links, Knitting A Conundrum!
It's the best tinder around, if you keep it dry.
You HAVE to use tinder.
Hubby and I do things the way they did during the American Rev and Federalist period...I've picked up odd knowledges about all sorts of things...
Shredded cottonwood bark, maybe linen tow, followed with cedar chips works good. I did that all winter building a fire from coals in the morning...
First things first. Unless you are wearing nothing but a loincloth, starting the fire with a fire drill would be very difficult. Secondly, having several times the hand strength of a contemporary humans would also help.
Now you know that it would be nearly impossible that someone would successfully use this method for starting a fire on their first/last attempt if they were lost, tired, cold and remembered seeing this technique in a movie 15 years ago.. I always use cottonwood for both the spindle and fire-board. It is strong and light enough for this purpose. No "pine" or softwood types should be used. Cedar might be OK, but cottonwood is near universal and known to work. The key-hole notch shape is important. All you end up with is a glowing pile of ash/carbon dust which is carefully transferred to your tinder-box. It is exhausting. I suppose with practice you might settle on a thin spindle and large bow which would increase the RPM and maybe speed the process.
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