It finally clicked today, got a wild hair to try a bow drill again, haven't tried it in a couple years after lots of frustration. This time I tied something a little different, and what do ya know, FIRE! Was using erc sapwood for the hearth and an unknown pithy core stalk for the spindle and cedar bark for tinder. Got my first coal glowing but it went out in my first tinder bundle of grass, a bit later the second one was glowing in the cedar bark. A few blows for air and up it went.
I've made fire plenty of ways before, ferro rods, fire pistons, flint and steel, but never could get truly "primitive" fire to work... till today.
Anyway, pretty satisfying to finally have it work!
