Uploaded October 2012 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Friction fire bow drill using all natural materials (found on-the-spot).
The video's a bit long, but includes overcoming problems. I could have easily edited it to make it look like I did it perfectly in 2 minutes or so, ha ha, but opted to show pretty much how it happened instead.
I originally thought to use only Yellow Pine for everything, but it didn't work out that way. Ended up using Sabal Palm for the spindle. Which is OK, it's about as abundant as the Pine in this wooded area I was in; Was just trying to keep it simple.
I used Yellow Pine for the fireboard, bearing-block, bow, and even the punk wood. Pine bark was the platform to catch the coal/ ember. The spindle was Sabal Palm (aka Cabbage Palm). The natural cordage bowstring and tinder bundle fibers (Palmetto Hair/ Monkey Fur) are from Saw Palmetto.
Overall, it took me about 2.5 hours from foraging to flame (at a leisure pace).
Weather conditions were:
Tampa Bay area, Florida
Sun 21 Oct 2012 between about 1:40pm to 4:10pm
Temp: 79F (26C)
Humidity: 40%
Pressure: 30.03in (101.69kPa or 1016.93mb)
Dew Point: 52F (11C)
Wind: 7mph (11kph)
How'd you make the bowstring?
Here's a previous vid I did showing the process of preparing the natural cordage to make the bowstring:
Bow Drill Fire - All Natural (includes Saw Palmetto Prep)
youtube.com/watch?v=nLWTWCdeZVU
Friction fire bow drill using all natural materials (found on-the-spot).
The video's a bit long, but includes overcoming problems. I could have easily edited it to make it look like I did it perfectly in 2 minutes or so, ha ha, but opted to show pretty much how it happened instead.
I originally thought to use only Yellow Pine for everything, but it didn't work out that way. Ended up using Sabal Palm for the spindle. Which is OK, it's about as abundant as the Pine in this wooded area I was in; Was just trying to keep it simple.
I used Yellow Pine for the fireboard, bearing-block, bow, and even the punk wood. Pine bark was the platform to catch the coal/ ember. The spindle was Sabal Palm (aka Cabbage Palm). The natural cordage bowstring and tinder bundle fibers (Palmetto Hair/ Monkey Fur) are from Saw Palmetto.
Overall, it took me about 2.5 hours from foraging to flame (at a leisure pace).
Weather conditions were:
Tampa Bay area, Florida
Sun 21 Oct 2012 between about 1:40pm to 4:10pm
Temp: 79F (26C)
Humidity: 40%
Pressure: 30.03in (101.69kPa or 1016.93mb)
Dew Point: 52F (11C)
Wind: 7mph (11kph)
How'd you make the bowstring?
Here's a previous vid I did showing the process of preparing the natural cordage to make the bowstring:
Bow Drill Fire - All Natural (includes Saw Palmetto Prep)
youtube.com/watch?v=nLWTWCdeZVU
