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To start off, we don't consider ourselves experts on these "fire by friction" topics - we’ve certainly got a lot to learn and would appreciate any feedback that you can provide. There are many different ways to do these things correctly. Also, it should be noted that emphasis is placed on using materials found in my geographic area - Southern New England. That said, here's some information about fire starting with a hand drill. NOTE: if you're going to try this, find a good reference, and MAKE SURE beforehand that you're acting responsibly and taking precaution! Kids should have parental permission and be supervised. Have a big pail of water handy for dowsing. Fires can quickly get out of hand, and you should be prepared to deal with this emergency! OWC is not liable for your mistakes! We’ve found the Boy Scouts had some great information on the bow drill method. Also, the US Army's Field Manual FM 21-76 has a section called Survival, which is a great resource in general. |
Spindle & Fireboard
Also called the hand drill, this is a simplification of the bow technique. It is probably older in my opinion. This technique uses a spindle and a fireboard, with the spindle being simply rotated between both hands. Getting smoke is not difficult, but practice is generally needed before getting an ember. Once you do it, though, it's cool! |
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People on the Primitive Skills Group list have suggested using mullein, cattail or yucca stalks for spindle material and willow or red cedar for fireboard material when trying this. Note that while practicing the hand drill method, you may want to try for short bursts over several days. If you're not accustomed to using your hands in this manner, you can get blisters. |
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It's a wonderful feeling to be secure in the knowledge that you can create fire in the most rudimentary way. It doesn't get much more basic than the hand drill method. Using the hand drill, you generate friction with rapid spinning of the drill against the fireboard. This produces black or brown dust called goofer or goofer's dust. Eventually, if properly done with the correct, dry materials, you will get a glowing, red hot ember or coal in your pile of dust. This coal is transferred onto tinder and blown into a fire. Materials The spindle & fireboard, or hand drill method uses two components, aside from tinder. I prefer my spindle to be made from mullein and to be about 15 inches (roughly 37.5 centimeters) long. I like to point the thicker end down, so that it makes contact with my fireboard. The thick end of the mullein stalk is about 3/16-1/4 inches (about 4.5-6.25 millimeters) in diameter. My preferred fireboard is Norway Maple or willow, and is 1/2-5/8 (12.5-15.5 millimeters) inches thick, about 1 1/2 inches wide and about a foot or so long. I should note that there can be significant variation in these choices due to personal preference. Preparation For my spindle, I scrape the stalk smooth, removing the velvety covering and shaving down any bumps that could blister my hands when vigorously rotating the spindle. I like to round both ends of the spindle prior to use. The fireboard should be very dry. I start off by abrading a small divot in the fireboard about 1/4-1/2 inch (6.25-12.5 millimeters) in from the side of my fireboard. Then, I rotate the spindle with my hands, keeping the thicker end firmly pressed into the divot until it wears its own indentation. Once I'm content that the spindle won't hop out of the indentation during use, I cut a "V" notch in the fireboard such that the point of the "V" touches inside the indentation that the spindle is wearing. This way, the dust will fall into a pile inside the "V." I like a narrow "V" as opposed to a wide one. Tinder preparation and placement In order to use the kit, you should acquire and prepare tinder. Some types of tinder include milkweed down, cattail fluff or cedar bark. If it is bark, it should be finely shredded; in either case it should be formed into a bird's nest shape. The "V" notch of your fireboard should be placed such that the coal generated can be easily and quickly guided into the tinder. Often, I arrange my friction kit as follows: lay a piece of birch bark, leather or a large leaf directly on the ground, lay the bird's nest of tinder on top of that, arrange the fireboard for ease of transferring the coal. You are now ready to use your kit. Using the Kit Once this setup is complete, I again start to rotate the spindle between my hands, applying firm, downward pressure on the spindle. You will notice that your hands naturally slide down the spindle as you do this. When this happens, simply (but quickly) move your hands to the top of the spindle and continue vigorous rotation. Dust begins to form in the "V," and eventually, you start to see smoke. Once you see the smoke, continue to rotate with downward pressure until you see lots of continuous smoke and you think that you might have generated an ember. Then stop, lift the spindle out of the hole and examine the dust pile to see if it's still smoking. If it is, you may have an ember! Blow on the dust pile to make the ember grow into a decent coal. Once you see the coal, transfer it to your tinder bundle and blow on it some more until you have a fire. Note that it helps to have your tinder bundle placed under your fireboard before you start. This way, the ember plops right where you want it. Tips & Hints One pointer I picked up that helps get started: use a string to keep downward pressure on the spindle. Take a 10-inch or so string and make loops around each end. Place your thumbs in the loops and place the end of the spindle in the string much like you would place an arrow in a bow string. You may want to notch the spindle. Use this method to place downward pressure on the spindle while practicing. See the illustrations below. |