Fire making is perhaps one of the most important skills to be first learnt, as it is a source of heat, a means of purifying water and cooking food. I was once told you should always have three means of making fire on you, preferably two physical means i.e. matches, flint and steel, etc. and the knowledge to make others i.e. bow drill, hand drill, etc. The theory of fire making is relatively simple, but, in practice it can be very frustrating, especially in wet or windy conditions. The key to success is preparation, practice and a bit of luck in finding the right materials for the job i.e. dry wood and good tinder. However, at the end of the day sometimes you just have to make do with what’s available, don’t give up and except its going to take some time to start a fire.
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Figure 1.2.0 : Bow drill components
1. Top frame : reference - Survival, evasion and recovery : fm_21-76-1survival
2. Bow, direct line tip to tip length 79cm
The bow drill is constructed from five components; bow, cord, drill, socket (bearing block), and fire board (hearth). The bow can be made of green wood, approximately an arms length in size, slightly curved, but not overly springy, as excessive flexibility makes it difficult to maintain a good tension on the drill. Tip, when thick wood is used to make a bow its worth thinning it down, removing wood off the top and bottom faces to maintain its strength, as shown in figure 1.2.7.2. Its surprising how much energy it takes just to support a heavier bow, tiring you out a lot faster. The bows cord is made from para-cord, owing to the high load and wear rate involved in rotating the drill (natural fibres can be used but must be significantly thicker). The cord is secured to the bow using a figure eight knot (top) and a clove hitch (bottom, easy to adjust to vary tension). The drill and hearth should be made of dry, dead, free standing wood. Alder, Horse-chestnut and Sycamore (best) all work well (Alder hearth, Sycamore drill shown in figure 1.2.0) also Hazel, Willow and Birch (difficult). The drill should be 20 - 30cm long, it can be shorter, however, a longer drill gives you more time to correct the travel of the cord whilst drilling, i.e. starting with the cord in the middle of the drill, as you start drilling, the cord can move up or down the drill, this can be corrected by angling the bow head accordingly. Also a longer drill gives your bowing hand more ground clearance, reducing the chance of scrapping the skin off your knuckles. The drills diameter should be 2 - 3cm, smaller diameters can be used, however, the wider the diameter the higher the angular velocity at the outer edge of the drill, therefore, the larger the frictional force i.e. heat, making it easier to produce an ember (so the theory says). This of course can be taken too far, if the drill is too wide, it will be difficult or impossible to maintain rotation for the required time. A smaller diameter can be used, however, this reduces the contact area between cord and drill, minimising grip and increasing cord wear (slippage). For me the main disadvantage of a smaller drill is that it produces less wood dust i.e. a smaller ember, which requires a lot of care and coaxing to flame. Saying this smaller drills do work if suitable wood is scarce, as shown in figure 1.2.5, a 1cm hazel drill.
Figure 1.2.1 : Drill points
The socket end of the drill should be carved to a point approximately the diameter of your little finger, whilst the drilling end almost flat, with a very shallow point just to locate the drill during the burning in phase (described below). Finally the socket or bearing block. The books say that the socket should be made of a hardwood, bone, stone etc., however, I find a split birch branch works fine (green wood), shown in figure 1.2.2. A small hole should be carved into this approx 1cm deep into which the drill will be located. The key to using this type of wood i.e. of a similar hardness to the drill is to form a hard, polished surface within the socket and on the drill tip (described later). Saying this a hardwood socket does have the advantage that it is easier to use i.e. easier to maintain a hard polished surface. An example of this type of socket is shown in figure 1.2.3.1 made form Pittosporum, a small evergreen tree with distinctive waxy crinkled leaves (the spoils of the strong winds). The wood is split and roughed out using an axe and saw. The socket was then carved into a shape that fits comfortably in the hand and minimises its weight (the intent was to split the log through the centre so that the grain was perpendicular to the drill to prevent splitting, but due to the offset centre this didn’t quite happen). Note, when cutting out the socket’s hole, divide the process into quarters. Imagine the wood’s grain is aligned North-South, push the knife tip into the wood with the cutting edge pointing North (slightly off). Then with a scoping action rotate it round to the West position, stop when the cutting edge is back inline with the grain, trying to continue the cut can lead to splitting or cracking. Lift off the knife and repeat the process North to East. Rotate the wood round and perform two more cuts, South-West and South-East, repeat until the hole is of the required depth. Stone bearing blocks are a useful alternative (significantly reduces friction in the bearing), but must be made in advance. Choose a flat stone (fine grain that can be polished smooth) that fits in the palm comfortably, using a power drill with a masonry bit and grind stone, drill out a suitable recess, as shown in figure 1.2.2. Tip, use water to cool the bit and to create a grinding paste. Alternatively you can find suitable stones on the beach, holes and depressions worn out by the sea, as shown in figure 1.2.4. These are never as optimal as a hand made one but still functional.
Figure 1.2.2 : Bow drill loading and socket
All friction not involved in forming the ember i.e. relating to the cord and socket, must be minimised, to allow the same force to produce a faster rotation. The main source of unwanted friction is in the socket. When using a wooden socket I’ve tried water, oil and grease to reduce friction, however, these quickly disperse and have little effect. The best method is to use a waxy leaf (holly, rhododendron) in the socket to form a hard, polished surface, as shown in figure 1.2.2. Note, stone sockets don’t require this special treatment. When placing the drill into the bow ensure that the drill is on the outside of the bow string, don’t have the bow string too tight and ensure that the cord is not crossed as shown in figure 1.2.2, as this will cause excessive wearing (bowing hand at the bottom of figure 1.2.2). If required, cord tension can be increase by pressing down on the cord with the bowing hands thumb. To start bowing, place one foot on the hearth and place the socket against your shine to minimise wobble (the biggest problem when learning). I prefer to have the hearth angled forwards approximately 45 degrees, instead of the 90 degree show in the drawing in figure 1.2.0. This allows me to easily see if an ember has formed and I find it gives me an easier bowing position. Start off slow, don’t apply too much downwards force on the socket, just enough to stop the drill jumping out of the bow. Make sure the bow is clear of obstacles to prevent material being dragged onto the hearth. Keep a nice steady pace until the first signs of smoke appear, then increase speed until the smoke thickens (smoke goes from white to ‘green’), increasing downwards pressure if required. Tip, as you increase speed ensure that you use the full length of the bow, as this helps conserve energy. If you find the cord is slipping on the drill, reduce your downwards pressure slightly, if this does not work, increase tension by pressing down on the cord with your thumb, otherwise stop and retention the bow. From my experience, drill speed rather than downwards pressure is the key. Again, this of course can be taken too far, if not enough downwards pressure is applied the drill tip will glaze over and not burn in correctly. The correct balance of pressure and speed is something that comes with experience. If you find that the drill tip becomes glazed / polished, add a pinch of sand or charcoal into the hearth and increasing downwards pressure a little will help. Tip, don’t be in a rush, start off slowly warming up the drill and hearth, gradually increasing speed and pressure.
Figure 1.2.3 : Upside down ‘V’ notch
Figure 1.2.3.1 : Hardwood socket
There are a number of different techniques that can be used for the hearth. In the basic technique a small depression is carved out approximately a drills radius from one edge (just large enough to locate the drill). Tip, don’t position this hole too close to the edge as the drill can break through this edge i.e. making the hole unusable. The small drill point is then located in this depression and the drill burned in i.e. the drill is rotated until the complete face of the drill is charred. A ‘V’ notch is then carved from the edge to the centre of the burned in hole, as shown in figure 1.2.4.1 (the first 3 holes). Tip, when using a very narrow hearth cut the notch on the thicker side to prevent break through i.e. the drill can wear away the notched side faster. Wood dust will accumulate in this notch during bowing, hopefully forming an ember (if the friction involved produces enough heat). Experimenting, I find that you don’t always have to cut a full notch i.e. completely through the hearth, a smaller notch will also work (the bottom of the double hole pair). My theory is that a larger notch must accumulate a large amount of wood dust to allow an ember to form, smaller notches tends to compact the wood dust, keeping it close to the drill making it easier to form an ember (it’s a theory). Tip, when a hole in the hearth is about to break through the bottom, a new hole and notch is normally started, however, if you have a spare drill or the current drill’s tip can be flattened an old hole can be reused, which can save time (figure 1.2.4.1, first hole, second wear ring visible, due to new slightly larger drill). Note, repeated use of a drill and hearth will cause the drill to become pointed i.e. wear from almost flat to a cone shape (mirrored in the hearth), both of these factors increase the contact area between the drill and hearth to such an extent that it becomes difficult to rotate the drill i.e. cord slippage, difficult to maintain rotation. In these situation try re-carving the drill head flat, however, in general it may take a little longer but its always easier to produce an ember with a fresh hole and drill.
Figure 1.2.4 : Natural stone sockets
Figure 1.2.4.1 : Hearth board
Figure 1.2.4.2 : Two stick hearth (left: top, right: bottom)
Another technique is the double hole method (the hole pair). Two overlapping holes are drilled out and a channel (notch) cut between them (the lighter diamond shape at the middle of the figure eight shape, figure 1.2.4.1). Wood dust produced by this initial drilling will not produce an ember, but should be kept and used in the tinder bundle (coal extender). The first hole drilled (the back hole) should be approximately 1cm deep. When the second hole is drilled wood dust accumulates in the notch to form an ember. This technique works well, one small difficulty is removing the ember. The best technique seems to be to carefully lift it out on a knife’s tip and place the ember on a pile of previously drilled wood dust. The final technique I’ve used is the parallel stick hearth, as shown in figure 1.2.4.2. Using this method the underside of the hearth is drilled away first (to half the sticks thickness) to allow wood dust to fall through when the other side is drilled, forming an ember under the hearth (top and bottom holes should be offset). Again this technique works well, the hole joining the top and bottom drilled holes usually needs to be enlarged with a knife to prevent it from becoming clogged with wood dust. The key advantage of the last two techniques is that a ‘V’ notch does not need to be cut if a suitable knife is not available. Tip, whatever hearth is used ensure that there is sufficient wood surrounding the drill hole to contain it within the hearth. This technique can also be used with a sold hearth i.e. producing an ember under the hearth (drawing in figure 1.2.0). I find it useful when the first attempt fails due to the drill breaking through an edge as shown in figure 1.2.3 (first hole on the left has broken through). Turn the hearth upside down and try again from the other side, inline with the first hole. This technique works best if the ‘\/’ notch is initially cut in two dimensions, wider at the top and thinner at the bottom i.e. such that you see a ‘\/’ from the top and the side. When turned upside down this forms a ‘/\’ notch that has the advantage of forming a top lip on the notch edge (as the notch is now very narrow on top) that helps to contain the drill when drilling (especially useful for thin hearths). A good test for all of these techniques and the woods used is to examine the wood dust produced during bowing. If it is a fine black powder then there is a high probability that an ember can be formed using this bow drill set. If the dust is light brown in colour / crumbly (wood too soft, punky, not enough heat being generated) or made of small rolls of wood fibre (wood could be damp) then its probably best to chose a new set, or try to dry out the current one. Note, if your unsure of the wood always start with the standard notch technique first described, if it proves successful the quicker techniques can be used later. One final tip, its easier to produce an ember during the heat of the day then late at night, this may be due to the moister levels in the air or my lack of energy at that time of the day.
Figure 1.2.5 : Other bow drill sets (hazel, willow and birch)
The process of producing a flame from the bow drill is shown in figures 1.2.6 & 1.2.6.1. The initial bowing process is performed as described. When you believed that an ember has formed, stop bowing and let the smoke clear. If an ember has formed the wood dust pile will continue to smoke. Leave the ember for a moment to let it grow, then transfer it using a leaf, or knife tip to the tinder bundle. Alternatively curve a flat ember board, placed under the ‘V’ notch before bowing and roll hearth off when the ember is formed (removing the hearth lets more air in allowing the ember to grow). Next, fold the tinder bundle over to enclose the ember (partly at first so that you can still see it). Then blow the tinder bundle to flame. At first purse your lips together as you would to whistle to produce a focused air flow, blowing gently, adjusting the tinder bundles position until you find the ember i.e. increasing ember glow. Tip, start slowly don’t apply to much pressure on the ember, blow gently to increase the embers size. When established fold ember into the bundle, increasing pressure on the ember (tinder bundle) and air (don’t place the bundle too close to your mouth owing to the increased levels of moisture), increase your mouths width, blowing strength and duration. The best technique I find is to blow into the bundle, then swing it away from your month allowing you to breath in smoke ‘free’ air (also helps to have the wind on your back). Swing the bundle back to your month and repeat until the bundle bursts into flame. Tips, don’t be afraid to hold the bundle tightly or blow strongly, be guided by the thickness / colour of the smoke and the roar / glow of the ember. Also have a good pile of spare tinder, such that if the tinder bundle is proving difficult to blow to flame you can continue to add new tinder until it does i.e. so that you don’t burn your hands. If you do run out of tinder its always worth trying placing the tinder bundle on the ground and placing on top your thin kindling, then holding the kindling and tinder in place with your hand, blow from the side at its base to flame. This method requires you to build up a good ember to allow the larger kindling to catch. If all else fails the easiest tinder bundle to blow to flame is one made from tissue paper. Although some would consider this cheating tissue paper is one of the best tinders to use with an ember, either a complete tinder bundle as shown in figure 1.2.6.2 or a small amount shredded into a more traditional bundle.
Figure 1.2.6 : Initial ember and tinder bundle
Figure 1.2.6.1 : Blowing tinder bundle to flame
Figure 1.2.6.2 : Blowing a tissue paper tinder bundle to flame
Examples of a bow drill sets from tree to fire are given in figures 1.2.7 and 1.2.7.1. This wood was taken from a Willow tree, one of the best trees for obtaining dead dry wood suitable for a bow drill. You can normally find dead branches still attached to the tree under the canopy i.e. sheltered from the elements, that can be used straight away without having to be dried. This was the case for the example in figure 1.2.7, from tree to fire within 20 minutes. I still find getting the ember to flame the hardest part, took two attempts in this case. I think half the problem is I usually don’t have enough tinder. In these situations the technique I find best is to fold the ember into a small tinder bundle and blow to enlarge the ember. When the ember is a reasonable size, place the tinder bundle on the ground and place more tinder and wood shavings on top. Then blow to flame from the bottom (side), holding the bundle in position with a piece of wood (to prevent burning your fingers). The key here is to produce an ember large enough to light the larger tinder. This method is not the quickest or the most efficient in terms of tinder, however, it is quite robust. Once a coal has formed even damp tinder or coarse wood shaving can be blown to flame. Tip, when blowing use a steady, slow, focused air flow increases the coals heat, drying out the tinder, heating the larger tinder until combustion.
Figure 1.2.7 : Mark I : From tree to fire, Willow bow drill set
Figure 1.2.7.1 : Mark II : From tree to fire, Willow bow drill set
Figure 1.2.7.2 : Mark II : Thinned down bow with alternate tensioning system
1. Bow, direct line tip to tip length 87cm
Figure 1.2.7.3 : Mark I : all natural bow drill set, five hours in the making, one minute in the breaking
1. Bow, direct line tip to tip length 85cm
Figure 1.2.7.4 : Mark II : all natural bow drill set using nettle cordage
1. Bow, direct line tip to tip length 76cm
One problem with the bow drill is that you require a strong cord, normally nylon e.g. paracord. In the event that a manmade cord is not available a natural alternative needs to be made. The obvious starting point is to use Willow bark cordage i.e. a one stop shop, bow, drill, hearth and cord all from the same source. An example is shown in figure 1.2.7.3 After removing the outer green bark the inner bark was cut into strips (half an hour) and boiled with the green bark scrapings (for three hours) to increase flexibility (didn’t have any wood ash). The bark was then dried before being moistened and twisted into two lengths. These were then twisted together to finally form a four ply length of cordage (hour and a half). Note, an advantage of twisting together two lengths of twisted cordage is that any regions in the cord that have a slack twist can be re-tensioned in the final cord. This cord was then tied onto the bow using a figure eight knot and a clove hitch (start to finish five hours work). Note, to help absorb any shocks and stop excessive strain being placed on the cord during bowing I decided to make a more flexible bow, as shown in the bottom frame of figure 1.2.7.4. At first this cord worked well, however, after about a minute it snapped in the middle. Not sure if this was due to not boiling the bark for long enough or because I didn’t use wood ash. Whatever the cause the cord was flexible but wasn’t that strong, snapping when I placed it under tension. Possible other cordage materials to test: brambles, nettles, thistles, willow herb etc. To increase cord strength the next attempt used a four cord round plait (described in cordage section) as shown in figure 1.2.7.4. This cord was made from nettles, using approximately 25, twisted into two lengths of cord about 3 times the length of the bow. These were then folded in half to form the top eye, the four strands plaited and secured at the end with a simple overhand knot. Tip, quickly pulling a few nettles through your hand to strip off the leaves is ok, 25 nettles is not, doesn’t hurt at the time, but hurts a lot later, use a cloth or glove. The top eye is re-enforced with an addition length of nettle fibres. The bottom end is secured to the bow using a Prusik knot, allowing the tension to be easily adjusted without having to place excessive bending strain on the cord caused by the normal clove hitch and locking overhand knot. The bow used is a lot more flexible than I normally use, flexible enough to allow the bow to be bent, allowing the drill to be easily inserted. I’ve read that using a more flexible bow acts like a shock absorber, reducing the stress on the cordage at the end of each stroke. I found you need to use a bow with a little flexibility, if there is no flexibility in the bow the cord will be forced to stretch and as I found out with the Willow cord this caused the cord to snap suddenly. Note, the nettle cordage seemed to have a bit more stretch in it, this may be due to slack in the plait. The nettle cord worked well, there was a bit of slippage on the drill. This was compensated for using downwards thumb pressure from the bowing hand. Note, this slippage was probably due to me being overly careful when tensioning the bow cord. Even so, I was able to produce an ember as shown in figure 1.2.7.4, however, this figure also shows the cordage shows significant signs of wearing.
Figure 1.2.7.5 : Ember pan and Pine knot socket
Figure 1.2.7.6 : Straight Pine bow
1. Bow, direct line tip to tip length 95cm
Figure 1.2.7.7 : Elder socket
An alternative bow drill socket can be made from Pine. In general Pine is quite a soft wood, high in resin. This high resin content makes it a difficult wood to use as either a drill or hearth. However, this can be used to advantage for the socket, especially if a knot is used. Selecting a piece of wood with a side branch, cut this branch off flat to the main section and carve out a recess into the knot. This wood is a lot harder with a higher resin content making it a good bearing surface. An example is shown in the first frame of figure 1.2.7.5 (bottom left). Another accessory that can be added to the bow drill set is an ember pan as shown in figure 1.2.7.5. This fits under the hearth allowing you to easily pick up and move the ember. Note, I found it best to make the pan wider than the hearth to stop it wobbling on hard surfaces, also use a hard wood to stop the embers burning through the pan too quickly. Tip, hearth woods with a soft core e.g. Sycamore, Horse chestnut etc, are best split to remove this core wood. I’ve found that when the drill reaches this core wood the centre of the drill passes through this wood too quickly forming a point i.e. uneven wear, increasing fiction and not producing wood powder.
Traditional bows used in bow drill sets have a slight curve. An alternative approach recommended by some authors is to use a straight bow as shown in figure 1.2.7.6. One of the advantages of a straight bow over a curved bow is that there is very little bending allowing you to get more tension in the cord and onto the drill. Initially I found this type of bow more difficulty to use as the drill rattles along the bow as you use it. However, with a little practice its ok. If given a choice would probably still use a curved bow as this is the type of bow I’ve had most experience with. If the cord you have is too thin to use on its own it can be doubled of tripled to increase its strength as shown in figure 1.2.7.6. This works well, have to be a bit careful not to allow the cords to overlap on the drill as this increases friction making it more difficult to bow and increasing the wear rate on the cord leading to cord failure. Also need to ensure that the load is shared equally amongst the separate cords, or again one cord will take more of the load and fail.
The typical words of wisdom for selecting woods for the drill and the hearth are avoid evergreens e.g. Conifers etc. In the past have tried Spruce with on success and therefore assumed that all Conifers would be equally as bad. However, whilst clearing a wood pile decided to give it another go using a piece of Norwegian Spruce for the hearth and Leyland Cypress (Leylandii) for the drill, as shown in figure 1.2.7.8. This combination worked very well, better even than the Sycamore I had previously been using. This surprised me quite a bit. First thoughts were that I had incorrectly identified the wood used. However, this was not so, definitely an old Christmas tree and hedge prunings. I think the key to the success of this combination is the age and condition of the wood. The wood was at least 2 – 3 year old, dry, hadn’t started to rot i.e. still solid, passed the thumb nail test leaving only a slight impression when pushed in. However, when carving out the notch in the hearth the wood definitely felt that it was starting to go over, signs of some grey mold, the wood although hard had a corky feel / sound to it when cut. Also the bark on the Spruce had fallen off another sign that it was starting to go over. The Leylandii was in better condition still had its bark and felt very firm / solid. Note, bark was so firmly on didn’t bother to remove it from the drill. Both woods when cut didn’t have a strong Pine smell, in fact could hardly smell any resinous odor. Not sure what factors are most significant in selecting the best woods. I would guess the key indicator was the lack of a strong Pine smell, perhaps indicating a low resin content. To test this theory I constructed a bow drill set out of two pieces of Scots Pine, bottom frame of figure 1.2.7.8. This also worked very. Inspired by this success made another bowdrill set from a piece of Larch. This was much more like my original experience with Conifers, took a lot more effort to produce reasonable wood dust i.e. black, fine grains and dense smoke, but couldn’t produce an ember. I guess the moral of the story is if you have the energy, give it a go, the factors that make some woods good and others bad are quite complex.
Figure 1.2.7.8 : Conifer bow drill sets, Spruce and Leylandii (top), Scots Pine (bottom)
Below are some useful documents on bow drills ive found on the web (due to possible copyright conflicts these are only accessible from the local machine) :
Figure 1.2.8 : Hand drill
The hand drill only requires two components, the drill and hearth (although I would argue it needs two more, sweat and tears). Another advantage of this technique is that you can use weaker materials than could not be used for the bow drill e.g. reed, burdock stems. Commonly used woods are Alder, Elder, Clematis, Horse Chestnut, Sycamore and Willow. When using a hand drill the wood must be very dry, the set shown in figure 1.2.8 is an Elder drill and Clematis hearth. Tip, after burning in, adding a small pinch of charcoal into the hearth does help a lot. The drill should be about 60cm long, but this is dependent on its thickness i.e. thinner diameters tend to wave about wildly when being rotated at speed. The drill should be about 8-12mm in diameter and as straight as possible, spend a bit of time straightening if required (warm over a fire and bend with your hands), then remove any bumps and smooth, as any abrasive surface can increase the risk of blisters. Like the bow drill, to produce an ember requires a balance of rotational speed and downwards pressure. Rotational speed is dependent on drill diameter, a thinner drill will produce more rotations in a single hand movement compared to a larger one i.e. gearing. However, a small diameter means that less torque can be applied to the drill, there is also a smaller contact area between the drill and hands making it more difficult to transfer the power and therefore an increased risk of blisters from hands rubbing on each other. From playing around with some different diameter drills, I find it easier to get smoke and make wood powder with the smaller drills, the theory being that as you cant produce as much downwards pressure as a bow drill you need to compensate for this by increasing the rotational speed. The hearth should be a bit thinner than for a bow drill as its difficult to accumulator the same amount of wood dust i.e. to fill the ‘V’ notch. The basic technique is sit crossed legged then move out one leg and use this foot (heel) to hold the hearth steady. Hold the drill between your hands, starting at the top, rotate by pushing one hand forwards whilst pulling the other back, applying downwards pressure with your arms/shoulders. This will cause your hands to slowly work down the drill. When you reach the bottom, hold the drill in position with one hand, moving the free hand up to hold the top, then repeat. The books ive read say its important to always keep the drill and hearth in good contact to allow the heat to build up. Tip, concentrate on using both hands equally, its easy to stop moving one hand, use the full length of your hands to maximise the number of rotations. Spitting on your hands does help to improve grip on the drill, however, it also increases the friction between your hands increasing the risk of blisters. This can be a particular problem with smaller diameter drills as you need to push you hands closer together to grip the drill. Below are some useful documents on hand drills ive found on the web (due to possible copyright conflicts these are only accessible from the local machine) :
One technique to improve your chance of producing an ember is to use thumb loops. These can be made from a length of string with loops tied in the ends. A notch is cut into the top of the drill and the middle of the string placed into it (can be tied in position with thin cord to stop it falling off). Holding the drill between your hands, insert your thumbs through the loops, this allows you to apply downwards pressure through the string whilst rotating the drill. Also you can keep your hands in the same position i.e. you don’t need to keep working your hands down the drill, stopping and re-starting from the top. Tip, the string should be long enough to allow you to rotate the drill near its base and have enough slack to allow the string to twist around the drill when it is rotated. An improvement to the basic thumb loops is shown in figure 1.2.9, this version has a bearing block allowing the drill to freely rotate. This is again carved from Pittosporum, its hole is approximately 3cm deep (formed using a tap wrench and drill, enlarged with a knife). Tip, to allow the socket to sit squarely on the drill the gap between the bottom of the hole and the top of the socket should be small, about 5mm – 10mm, otherwise the downwards pressure will cause the socket to be pulled off to the side, hindering the drill’s rotation. A notch is cut around the block to stop the string slipping when whipped in place. To tie the whipping, first tie the string in position at its base, then wrap the string around the block catching the free end with at least 3 or 4 turns. When there are about 4 turns to go, place a loop of string (high breaking strain fishing line also very good) in line with the whipping, such that when the final turns are finished the free end can be pulled under and back into the whipping, locking it in place. Tip, make sure you wet the loop and the free end with water before it is pulled through, also make sure that the loop is not twisted as this can cause it to jam or snap before it can be pull through. The thumb loops are tied using a sliding loop allowing the string’s length to be adjusted to match the drill.
I have also tried a reed mace stem and a hazel rod with a sycamore hearth as shown in figure 1.2.10.2 (using the thumb loops). Got good smoke and powder with the hazel but no ember. The outer layers of the reed mace need to be stripped away to get to the harder core, which is naturally round and smooth. Got smoke and powder from this one, however, it snapped before I could get can ember (being optimistic). Tip, one thing I have noticed when using a hand drill is that even quite a shallow hole in the hearth produces a lot of friction, making it difficult to rotate the drill. Therefore, you need to start a new hole more often when compared to a bow drill. One solution to this problem is that you can reduce the holes depth by carving off some of the wood from the top. Sometimes its difficult to find a suitable piece of wood for the drill. Even when a piece is found it will need to be dried which can take several days (remove the bark to speed up the drying process). A solution to this problem is to use a green wood drill with a suitable wooden plug at its tip as shown in figure 1.2.10. To form the notch for the tip you can just split the end using a knife, a binding stopping the split spreading down the drill (tip, the fine string fibres can be burnt off with a match). However, i find using a saw to start the notch works best. Saw a small slot in the end of the required depth, then enlarge with a knife, tap in the plug and bind in place. Tip, don’t enlarge the notch too much as the plug needs to be firmly clamped in place by the springy sides of the notch, also as long as the bark is relatively smooth I don’t remove it. I find the hand drill very difficult, this technique is further hampered by the recovery time between attempts i.e. it can take a couple of days for blisters and bruised palms to heal up, needs a bit of motivation to keep trying.
Reading around the web I found that a recommended combination is an Elder drill and Pine hearth. Using Pine is not normally recommended for fire by friction i.e. a wood with a high resin content, however, as figures 1.2.10.1 and 1.2.10.2 show it works in this case. Also not quite sure what the difference is between, common Elder and Elderberry, some sources imply these are different. From looking through my tree guide books they seem to be equivalent:
“Sambucus nigra, deciduous, to 10m, shrub, very occasionally a small tree. Identification, shoots are stout, with a thick pith and carry opposite pairs of pinnate leaves divided usually into five or seven 4-7cm by 3-5cm leaflets. Flowers are white, in large clusters at the end of shoots in mid summer, followed by purplish black berries in autumn. Distribution throughout Europe, North Africa and western Asia.”
The exceptions I could find is the box elder or ash-leaf maple, which is a different family. Also, ground elder or goat-herb, which is a perennial weed spreading through underground stems. The drill tip shown in figure 1.2.10.1 is Elder, in case there is a difference it was from a small Elderberry bush. Normally, Elder produces a lot of nice straight branches, sun spurs, ideal for hand drills. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a branch of a suitable size on this bush so I had to use a different wood for the main drill. As Elder has a hollow centre filled with a soft pith I used a spike and socket technique to attach the wooden plug to the main drill. Tip, don’t make the Elder tip too long as its more likely to wobble loose, don’t use a cone shaped spike as this will cause the Elder tip to split, you need a nice flat surface on the drill and socket to take the downwards loading. I found this methods works fine, however, after a couple of goes the tip became loose, therefore a little glue was needed to prevent the spike rotating within the socket. Note, from reading around a number of sources state that the drill should have a hollow core, a 50/50 mix of wood and pith, not sure of the reasoning, maybe, the reduced contact area concentrating the downwards pressure, or the pith produces the correct type of powder etc. To help improve my grip on the drill when using the thumb loops shown in figure 1.2.9, I added a string whipping, shown in the bottom frame of figure 1.2.10.1. Using the thumb loops I didn’t get that much more grip from the string whipping. However, what I did accidentally find out was that the string does help to keep your hands damp, transfer moister between hands. The cotton string absorbs the water from spitting on your hands, therefore, it does improve your grip this way i.e. dry skin has very little grip. Also when using the drill without thumb loops you get a big increase in grip since as you work down the drill you are pushing against the individual turns of string, allowing you to exert a greater downwards pressure i.e. stops your hands slipping down the drill. Tips, a little glue at the top and bottom of the whipping will stop it working loose, when using the thumb loops I found that the adjustable knots would tend to move a little after a while i.e. hands would no longer be inline. To stop this problem I added two additions loops of string using Prusik knots. These still allow the thumb loops to be adjusted but hold their position a lot better, shown in figure 1.2.10.1.
Figure 1.2.9 : Hand drill thumb loops
From experimenting, I found that you don’t need to rush the hand drill method. Start slow, concentrating on getting full length hand movements moving the drill from the back of the palm to finger tips. If you feel your hands are loosing grip pause spit on one hand then continue, keeping the drill tip in contact with the hearth with the other i.e. to preserve the heat generated so far. Continue this process until you see the first signs of smoke. Tip, need to be careful not to glaze the drills tip, i.e. produce a hard shiny surface, if this occurs, stop and rotate the drill on a piece of sand stone, add a pinch of sand or charcoal to the hearth to remove this surface. When smoke starts to occur, increase downwards pressure a little, not greatly, just enough to start to fill the notch with wood powder. When the notch starts to fill up with powder and you have maintained smoke for a little while, now is the time to go for it. Increase downwards pressure and rotation to max, moving from full length hand movements to shorter more powerful palm only rotations for 10 – 15 seconds. This will hopefully produce an ember. Using thumb loops does help a lot i.e. makes it easy to maintain downwards pressure. When not using them, start at the top of the drill using full length hand movements, as you reach the base, increase the downwards pressure (using your arms and bending forwards with your back and waist) and speed, switching to the shorter palms only grip. Again ensure the drill remains in good contact with the hearth as you move your hands back to the top of the drill. Two examples are shown in figure 1.2.10.2, Pine hearth, Elder and Sycamore drills, or could be Hazel, difficult to tell when the bark has been removed. Tip, the drill and hearth need to be very dry. I think the main mistake I was making when I started was not to let the heat build up, trying to maintain full power from the start, which is exhausting and very bad for your hands. The other factor was soft hands, its very difficult to maintain good technique when just rotating the drill between your hands hurts i.e. bruised palms and blisters. It takes a little while and a bit of practice for your hands to harden up. Once this has occurred it’s a lot easier to maintain the required speed and pressure. Note, not sure if its just coincidence but I find it very difficult to get an ember when there is a slight wind, or even a gentle breeze. Obviously this would have a cooling effect but I don’t think it should stop an ember forming. Finally, even with good materials and good conditions I still find this technique a lot harder and less reliable than the bow drill.
Figure 1.2.10 : Inserting a wooden plug into a hand drill
Figure 1.2.10.1 : Hand drills and hearth using thumb loops
Figure 1.2.10.2 : Basic hand drill and hearth, left Elder, right Sycamore
Reading around there are a number of different woods that can be used for the hearth. The examples shown in figure 1.2.11 are Elder and Willow using an Elder drill. Tried these two woods using thumb loops and both worked ok, but found it harder to form an ember than for Pine. Elder and Willow where about the same, the Willow being a little more difficult to form an ember. When using thumb loops with an Elder drill you need to use a wooden end plug as the central pith stops the drill from being carved to a point. Note, need to tie a whipping around the top to prevent the drill from splitting. Tip, I find clapping your hands hard together a few times before starting helps to desensitise your hands making it easier to drill, also helps warm up your hands a little giving you a better grip.
Figure 1.2.11 : Elder hand drill and hearth, Elder (right), Willow (left)
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