Starting a fire with a bow drill

[Maineshooter]

I'm working on some boy scout skills with my eight year old. We played around with it a bit while camping this weekend with mediocre results. Does anyone know of a link to a really good tutorial you have tried before? I googled it and got a ton of hits but I am looking for a particular technique that actually worked well for one of you.

[johnnychimpo]

I can remember my dad teaching my brother and I how to build the bow, drill and cedar friction boards. Look on ebay for a Boy Scout field manual. The older the better. The newer manuals don't have as useful info.

[LonghunterCO]

The type of wood used has alot to do with your sucess. There are several YouTube videos that will help you.

[usmc1371]

My hunting buddy and I tried it whil deer hunting in south east Oregon, with juniper bein the only tree around. Made a nice drill and notched base. We dripped so much sweat trying to light a fire it was comical. I pulled the cheap-o flint and steel out of my pack, wadded up some grass and had I fire in less than a minute. We decided hat fire drills are just a sick joke made up by bear grills.

[03humpalot]

I was fortunate enough to learn this in the USMC Mountain Survival Course (GREAT training and i highly recommend getting a slot for the active duty guys). It is a perishable skill FYI.

A few things that helped me.

1.) If it is physically kicking your ass...you are doing it WRONG. Play with the tension of the bows string...if it is either too loose or too tight you will not get a fire started. Position your leg that is stepping on the fireboard as close to vertical as possible/maintain downward pressure on the drill and keep it spinning as straight as possible.

I get a fire going easier with less tension on the string/drill.This takes trial and error. Ensure you have a QUALITY birds nest of flammable shit ready to drop your coal in. There is nothing more disheartening than geting a coal going and not being able to blow it into a proper fire.

2.) Find a couple grains of sand/dry rough dirt and dump them in the notch of your fireboard. Makes life a whole lot easier.

3.) Once you crack the code and get a fire going, dry your drill and fireboard by the fire in short intervals to remove more moisture and in turn get fires started faster.

Im in the stan at the moment and youtube is currently blocked but will be home stateside in about a week. I can try to get a vid up on youtube then if you guys think it will help you.

S/F,
Buck

[zb39]

bushcraftusa.com has more info on this than you will ever need. Get ready to spend some time in front of the screen.

[Maineshooter]

bushcraftusa.com has more info on this than you will ever need. Get ready to spend some time in front of the screen.

Thanks for the link. I have never come across this site before.

[Maineshooter]

Never thought of the sand idea in the hole and you are the first person who suggested it. We will give that a try next.


I was fortunate enough to learn this in the USMC Mountain Survival Course (GREAT training and i highly recommend getting a slot for the active duty guys). It is a perishable skill FYI.

A few things that helped me.

1.) If it is physically kicking your ass...you are doing it WRONG. Play with the tension of the bows string...if it is either too loose or too tight you will not get a fire started. Position your leg that is stepping on the fireboard as close to vertical as possible/maintain downward pressure on the drill and keep it spinning as straight as possible.

I get a fire going easier with less tension on the string/drill.This takes trial and error. Ensure you have a QUALITY birds nest of flammable shit ready to drop your coal in. There is nothing more disheartening than geting a coal going and not being able to blow it into a proper fire.

2.) Find a couple grains of sand/dry rough dirt and dump them in the notch of your fireboard. Makes life a whole lot easier.

3.) Once you crack the code and get a fire going, dry your drill and fireboard by the fire in short intervals to remove more moisture and in turn get fires started faster.

Im in the stan at the moment and youtube is currently blocked but will be home stateside in about a week. I can try to get a vid up on youtube then if you guys think it will help you.

S/F,
Buck

[Tortuga]

I"ll check the share drive at work and see if there's a good tutorial. We usually teach/learn that skill 1on1, but someone may have shot some video. The type of wood used for each piece makes a huge difference. One of the great things about Maine is there's plenty of what you need.