The Fire Drill. Have you used it?

R

Ralf

Joined
Oct 11, 1998
Messages
565
I'm not talking about leaving the building during a fire drill
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I'm talking about the bow and drill which you can find as the most popular method of fire starting according to all those "survival" books. Whenever I read this I wonder if it actually works in the real world. Does anybody here have tried it and what was the result? Any tips to make it worthwile the try?
 
Very popular method, since it doesn't require you to bring any materials with you. Of course, most will choose to bring a metal mathc or such, but it's good to know how to make a drill, in case the match is lost. Yes, it does work.

--JB

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e_utopia@hotmail.com
 
Good question Ralf!

I have not tried yet but sounds like pain in the neck. I am curious too......

HM
 
With good materials available, it is not very difficult, but it does require patience and skill to begin from scratch. I have only done it using yucca for my drill and a soft wood for the fireboard. Some tricks to learn include using an oil to lube the top piece, nose oil works great, and you generally have a steady supply of it. Unless you are in a speed contest, don't even think of stopping when you first get smoke, keep going for a bit. If you do stop, and there is no coal, you've just wasted all the time you spent drilling.

You will get a fine charcoal powder with the coal, have something ready to transfer it to. Chances are, you will not actually get a flame from the fire drill, you will need to have an already prepared tinder to put the coal into to get your flame.

This is not my preferred method of firestarting. It does not work with wet materials, and some woods are much harder to use than others. Practice it at home the first coupla times, and carry the supplies with you if you think you want to use this method.


Stryver
 
Difficult to learn. A friend who attended the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare School in Reno said his USMC survival instructor could not get it to work in the demonstration.
 
The bow drill does work and is actually pretty easy to do (with lots of practice and materials pre-gathered). I know dozens if not hundreds of people who can make fire this way.

Now here is other side of the coin. I don't know ten people who can walk into the woods with nothing but a knife and build the entire bow drill, bow string, and gather all the materials in a reasonable amount of time. One of the most famous survival instructors was challenged to do this and it took him almost nine hours to get that first fire going. The bow drill works but starting from nothing it is a difficult way to make fire.
 
A very good question.

A bow and drill is a good source of heat for a fire. However, it is not without problems. It requires practice and appropriate materials. Most of the people who do demonstrations on TV use "So Tall" or "Yucca" which is very easy to use and misrepresents how difficult it can be with other materials. Students who go through my program use cedar for their spindle and baseboard... once they master it... and only then... do we let them advance to yucca (which is not native to the NW... except in the landscaping of banks
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).

So to answer your question... yes it does work... but technique and materials are very important to your success.

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Greg Davenport
http://www.ssurvival.com
Are You Ready For The Challenge?
Are You Ready To Learn The Art Of Wilderness Survival?

 
I'm not an expert, but I've done it. Check out the page <A HREF="http://lynx.neu.edu/m/mbennett">here</a> and follow the friction links.

If anyone can add input, I'd appreciate it.

Mike

 
I have done it before, from scratch, with only a SAK and a hatchet. You need to be instructed, in the flesh, to really understand it, and to see how it is done.

My Scout Council has a program called Fircrafter, which, over the course of two or three weeks at camp (no-consecutive, in the summer) teaches the basics of camping, wood tools, ropework, cooking, wilderness survival and of course firebuilding.
One of the hardest things to do is the fir-by-friction requirement, which is doen in the presence of your instructors. You may use only your knife, hatchet, and a piece of cord.

I will tell you the three keys:
1) keep constant, steady motion and pressure on your bow.

2) Lubricate your thunderhead (the piece that you put on top to hold the spindel still) by chewing up some leaves and spitting them into your hole.

3) use your body weight to it's full potential by kneeling and putting your thunderhead hand under your upright knee. You should cut the spindle about an inch too long so you will get a very tight fit.

It helps a lot to be big (I am 230) becuase your weight will do a lot of the work for you. Don't get discouraged if it takes awhhile. When you can do it once, you can do it a lot of times.

One last thing: keep EVERYTHING except the thunderhead completely dry. Duh, you say, but if the CORD gets damp, it may slip, and then it is useless.
 
Lubrication is required, but using water, or spit, can be counter productive. The wood will absorb it, and swell slightly, binding up and diminishing any lubricating effects you would get. Oil will provide similar lubrication, without the swelling effects. Most of the time you can find a ready supply of oil next to your nose and behind your ears. Warning! Remember which end is which, if you start a fire next week, and swap ends, the small amount of oil will still be there, and likely make your flamage impossible.

Stryver
 
Sure I have used one. They work just fine, once you get the hang of it. I almost gave up my first time, when after I stopped; lo and behold, the tinder was smoking! After a few blows, like magic, fire!

It's a great feeling to be able to create fire without matches or lighters, etc. Also great to participate in a skill that is thousands of years old.
 
My first post!

After reading how to start a fire using the bow drill, I figured it would be easy... it wasn't. After many failures I can do it regularly now. Things have to be DRY and wood selection is critical. My first successes were with western red cedar for both the drill and fireboard, the hand piece has to be harder and lubed with skin oil.

Size of the person is not important when using the bow drill -- technique is.

When things go right after 30 seconds of drilling you have a coal formed in the notch, this will not magically burst into flames but must be blown on during and after you move it into the loose tinder bundle then blow on it some more folding the tinder into the growing coal and blow a bit harder then voila! fire.

My next challenge was to start a fire using a hand drill which is only a drill and fireboard. After many failures I learned how to do it using a mullein drill and a cedar board. It is much harder... strength and endurance is a factor. The movie 'Quest For Fire' has a nice demonstration of the hand drill method.

In a survival situation neither method is likely to work, conditions have to be dry and one must be very competent using different materials. That is why I carry a lighter and matches.
 
I have made manymanymany fires using these, and other, primitive methods. While all are difficult (especially the first time!) they are not impossible. I teach high school kids these methods with pretty good success. I also issue the kids knives- in a public school. We use Swedish carbon Clippers and Ericson #811.

For the spindle on a hand drill, use a stiff weed. I like mullein, horseweed, broadleaf cattail, and teasle. It should be strong enough not to be crushed by a firm pinch.

The fire board should be a wood that is soft enough to be scratched with a thumb nail. It should also be non-resinous..... to test this, see if it has an aroma. You should not smell anything.

Both components should be DRY. A test is to hold them to your lips. If dry, they will insulate and feel warm. If they are damp, even a little, they will feel cool.

For a bow drill, the spindle and the base board can be the same species of wood, although they don't have to be. Both should be dry and soft enough to pass the thumbnail test.

Remember to breathe when giving things a spin!

 
I gave the Fire Drill a try without success. I think my problem is the type of wood I used - maple. I got some smoke but no coal. The drill end became "polished" after a while.
Can anyone suggest another type of wood that is common in Southern Ontario? I read above about cedar, but was wondering if there are any others?
 
I'd go ahead and start with cedar. I'd use a dead straigh branch that can be obtained off a tree (lower end) for the spindle and either a larger one split or a piece of a deadfall or snag for the baseboard. Cedar actually works very well for a bow and drill. It does require practice and technique though.

In addition, the selection of cedar is very important. I use the thumbnail test to help decide if a piece will work or not. If I can make a small indent with my thumb...I try it... If not I throw it aside and look for another piece. Even with this rule... sometimes a piece will not work.... :\don't get frustrated.... try another.
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Greg Davenport
Simply Survival's Wilderness Survival Forum
Simply Survival's Web Page
Are You Ready For The Challenge?
Are You Ready To Learn The Art Of Wilderness Survival?
 
Building firedrills takes me back to my Scouting days. Can't have much more fun that that! If you think its hard, try to do it in the rain. We carried our firedrills around in plastic bags during hikes to keep them dry.

Here's a great thread with some good stuff on making fire.
http://www.gripclips.com/primitiveways/

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Hoodoo

Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly?

The Merchant of Venice, Act IV. Scene I.
 
There's an excellent booklet called
"Primitive Fire and Cordage" by John McPherson. This guy really gets it across!
I got mine years ago from BOSS (Boulder Outdoor Survival School) He explains how to use the Bow Drill, and the Hand Drill. The secret seems to be in the notch of your fireboard. I had a hell of a hard time getting the first fire lit, but now its a snap. I start fires for local Native American ceremonies with a hand drill, so some times the pressure is on to perform quickly and efficiently. I'd feel confident in a survival situation.
John McPherson also offers other great booklets about traps and snares, brain tan, bow making. All cheap, but all good.
 
Thanks all for the advice, I finally had success today with the fire drill. It actually surprised me when I started to blow and saw the "coal". I tried it again to make sure it wasn't a fluke - again with sucsess. I'm not sure what type of wood I used but it was dry and passed the thumbnail test. I used all natural materials I found in the bush except for the string.
How do you make string or cord from materials in the bush?
Greg - I purchased your book last week and found it to be quite helpfull as well.
 
Kevin,
Get john McPhersons booklet that I mentioned in the post above. He covers cordage as well as fire. He wrote other great booklets called makin' meat I &II, which cover traps & snares, and another one on braintaning leather if you're interested.
I got all four for under $20 from BOSS a few years back.
 
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