Backpack Camping and Woodland Survival/Skills/Fire/Fire Starting/Bow Drill

The bow drill is an ancient tool. While it was usually used to make fire, it was also used for primitive woodworking and dentistry. It consists of a bearing block or handhold, a spindle or drill, a hearth or fireboard, and a simple bow. Related drills include the pump drill and the hand drill.

The spindle, carved to reduce friction at one end and maximize it at the other, is held at one end by the bearing block, and at the other by the hearth. The string of the bow is wrapped once around it, so that it is taut enough not to slip during operation. A variation on this called the Egyptian Bow Drill attaches the string in a slightly different way.

The usual position that a person assumes whilst operating the bow drill is as follows: the right knee is placed on the ground (assuming a right-handed operator) and the arch of the left foot is on the board, pinning it in place. The left wrist, holding the handhold, is hooked around the left shin so it can generate enough downward pressure and speed; achieved by pushing down with the handhold and spinning the drill. The heat of the friction between the hearth and the spindle both creates charred, fuzzy dust and causes it to ignite - forming a coal or ember. The handhold is lubricated and the spindle is carved to about thumb thickness, usually six to eight inches long.

An indentation and a "v" notch into the center of the dent is made into the fireboard and the spindle is placed on it. The notch allows a place for the dust collect while it is being abraded off the spindle and the hearth. Eventually, the friction generates heat to ignite the dust, which can be used to light tinder.

Whilst a "v" is most common, other methods to create a cavity to contain the dust whilst it is being ignited can be used. For example: drilling part-way into a hearth made by lashing two sticks together from one side, and then drilling from the other side to meet this hole; or using the area where two branches separate. This is to keep the coal off wet or snow covered ground.

This is by far the easiest method of producing a coal by primitive means and anyone can do it by using good materials and maintaining a calm mentality, concentrating only on working everything slowly and smoothly.