Uploaded February 2011 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
A proof of concept a friction fire could be made using an electric power drill.
After multiple attempts I got a success on video. Mighta been more successful with a variable speed drill. The dust was coarse making it harder for the dust to form a coal.
I did use the same spindle (earlier) with a regular bow drill set and it works well. I'm more likely to be successful with the bow drill than the power drill probably because I can feel for what's happening during the process (ie. speed & pressure). Not so much with the power drill, but maybe with more practice I could get the hang of it to increase my success rate.
I used a 3/8" wooden dowel. Not sure what kind of wood it is. Home Depot only had 2 choices, Oak or this supposed hardwood dowel (passes thumbnail test). For the fireboard, I used a piece of wood from a 2x4 stud, likely made of Pine.
The goal was only to get a coal.
A proof of concept a friction fire could be made using an electric power drill.
After multiple attempts I got a success on video. Mighta been more successful with a variable speed drill. The dust was coarse making it harder for the dust to form a coal.
I did use the same spindle (earlier) with a regular bow drill set and it works well. I'm more likely to be successful with the bow drill than the power drill probably because I can feel for what's happening during the process (ie. speed & pressure). Not so much with the power drill, but maybe with more practice I could get the hang of it to increase my success rate.
I used a 3/8" wooden dowel. Not sure what kind of wood it is. Home Depot only had 2 choices, Oak or this supposed hardwood dowel (passes thumbnail test). For the fireboard, I used a piece of wood from a 2x4 stud, likely made of Pine.
The goal was only to get a coal.
