quest for fire (not the movie)

[Ryan_Gill_HuntPrimitive]

for those that didnt see it, i did a youtube video about hand drilling. i give a few tips in there that a few people have told me they havnt heard before and it helped them get it done.  feel free to check it out     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uN17_PxnZ1o

[iowabow]

That was great TL thanks for the great video. Going to give it a try with the red oak and willow. I think I will copy you video but do it with Iowa materials.

[BowEd]

Flint and steel is quick and easy.Make char cloth out of 100% cotton pieces sealed in a quart paint can with a small hole or two hit into each end of can and layed onto a bed of coals.Once the fire stops shooting out of the holes in can the char cloth is ready.Making birch oil out of birch bark is done the same way,only the can is set on top of a small open end can to catch the oil coming from the hole in the larger can with the birch bark in it.Sorry maybe too much info here and don't really mean to change the subject here.

[anasazi]

If you have never done it start out with the flint and steel and some good char cloth( i use an altoids can with no holes other than what's already there) saves you wasting the hard work of getting an ember till you know you know you can blow it into a flame. Out hear i use a sage brush spindle and a yucca  or poplar hearth. I hear clamatis also works well for a hearth. I have also used yucca for spindles with the same hearth bords with good results i need to try the willow though it grows all over

[Wylden Freeborne]

Yucca is by far the easiest spindle and hearthboard to harvest, cut down to size and get ember. With a bow of bamboo and a cord of twisted leather, one should grab smoke and ember in under 30 seconds, as yucca has an ignition point of around 200 degrees. It also grows EVERYWHERE now, thanks to "the Joneses" and everyone keeping up with them. They are used as an ornamental  in every region of the country. You can only get about 3 embers per hole, as opposed to the multiple I have gotten from cottonwood (up to 9), and cutting your notch can play harder because of the softness of the wood.

[CedrikG]

I made a tutorial on bow drill fire, I hope it will help you !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r4W2Yqw20U&list=UU9yW33ZesEUd2ZIlNrj8ZQg&index=0&feature=plcp

As for the material, here is what I use ( Quebec, Canada)
Willow ( Black willow, Bebb's Willow, etc)
Tilia
Balsam fir
Cedar ( Thuya)
Pine (white)
Spruce ( A little bit more difficult to get an ember)
Populus ( Unpredictable result)
Any Hard wood drill on Chaga board, may work on fomes too)


As for the hand drill, Mullein works good!
Hand drill video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onPOBc_yfVY&list=UU9yW33ZesEUd2ZIlNrj8ZQg&index=3&feature=plcp

[Wylden Freeborne]

Bearing block is another good side topic. Tell us what you use!

I use a knee bone of a deer or a pig. It has a natural pocket that is perfect for multiple sizes of spindles and has a pretty awesome shape. 
I have also used various wood pieces, rock, and have thought about using an old skateboard wheel with the ball bearing still inside. I figure if the spindle's girth was so that it did not slip through the whole, the ball bearing would provide frictionless spinning for as long as you need! Not primitive, but definitely hunter gatherer, as hunter gatherers tend to use what they can gather!

[CedrikG]

I personally always prefer to use stuff that I find on the field

[anasazi]

Ive used mostly rocks. I have a couple with natural sockets a couple i pecked sockets in and several i drilled with a masonry bit