Bow Drill

The bow drill is the easiest way to make fire primitively. It works with any type of wood and in different weather conditions. It even works in the rain or when your bow drill kit is wet! To get started, you need to make a bow drill kit. The kit consists of four pieces- the spindle, handhold, fireboard and bow. When you’re starting out, it’s a good idea to use a wood with medium hardness. Hard wood is too difficult for beginners, but you don’t want to use an extremely soft wood either… it will be too easy to make fire and you won’t learn proper form. Cedar is an excellent wood for beginners to learn with.

Spindle

The spindle is one of the most important parts of the bow drill and needs to be made with care. Your spindle should be the length of the tip of your thumb to the tip of your pinky finger and the width of the your thumb.

  • Start with a triangular peice of cedar wood. It doesn’t need to be too thick.
  • Draw a circle in the middle of the triangle on both ends that is the thickness of your thumb. Use this as a guide to carve.
  • With your knife, simply shave the wood away around the circle. Work slowly and make the cylinder as perfect as possible.
  • When you think you have it perfect, you can test it by rolling your spindle on a flat surface. If there are any places where the spindle stops or stalls, carve a little more then test it again until the cylinder is perfectly round.

Now you’re ready to start carving the ends of the spindle.

  • The top of the spindle is where it attaches to the handhold. Carve this end to a sharp point.
  • The bottom of the spindle is where it rubs against the fireboard. This end needs to be in a point, but not nearly as big or as sharp as the other end. Start carving about one cenitimeter from the end of the spindle and carve to a point.

Handhold

The handhold is what you’re going to hold on to as you’re spinning your bow drill. For this reason, it needs to be comfortable and it needs to fit your hand.

  • Start with a the rounded edge of cedar round
  • Chop it with an axe or saw it to fit your hand
  • Begin by carving a little hole into the center of the handhold
  • It should be big enough to hold the very tip of the top of your spindle
  • Later on you will burn this in more so that your spindle fits snuggly in the handhold

Bow

The bow is generally made from a branch of a tree. It’s a good idea to find a branch that has a slight curve in it. This will make it easier when you’re actually bowing.

  • Harvest a dry branch from a tree
  • The wood should be solid- the branch shouldn’t be rotting
  • When you’re starting out it’s also a good idea to make sure the wood is dry. Additionally, a branch that bends slightly can make it easier for you
  • Use a piece of nylon cord and tie it to both ends of the bow
  • One side of the bow should have the nylon permenantly attached using a very strong knot
  • The other side should have a knot that is easy to untie- this is important because you will need to adjust the tension of your bow

Fireboard

  • Your fireboard should be a flat piece that is long enough for you to put your foot ontop of.
  • Make sure it’s stable and lays flat on the ground. It’s more difficult to use if your wood is wobbly or doesn’t lie flat.
  • Boards can range in thickness, but to start, your board should be about as thick as your thumb. This will make it easy for you to get a coal, while at the same time allowing you to get a few coals out of each hole you make in the board.