# Survival > Primitive Skills & Technology >  My first bow drill fire successes: Caught on video.

## PineMartyn

This weekend my wife and I went backpacking on some nearby Crown land to take advantage of the summer-like weather before the black flies start biting. 

It was a memorable trip on a number of fronts, but for me a highlight was finally lighting my first bow drill fires.  I had produced my first coal over the winter thanks to the help and generosity of fellow bushcrafter who gave me a bushcraft care package which included a small block of teflon with a depression drilled into it to use as an ideal bearing block, thus eliminating nearly all friction between the top of the spindle and the bearing block.  This initial success left me determined to use friction fire and percussive techniques (eg: flint and steel) on each of my camping trips this year.  

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The video below chronicles my awkward, embarrassing failures, along with eventual success.  I must say it was painful to watch this later - to witness how dreadful my form was, along with a host of other mistakes I was making - but I must say it was very instructive to have visual feedback on all that I was doing wrong.  For those, like me, who are just beginners with this technique, I would encourage you to record yourself on video for later critical viewing.




It's with a view to getting better at this that I set my own vanity aside, post this video, and invite all who are more advanced in this skill to weigh-in with their criticism and recommendations after viewing the video.  

Hope this helps.
- Martin

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## hunter63

Congrats, I still waiting on a successful attempt........guess it won't start it self.

On my "to do list" this summer........
Need to get the form down....have gotten a coal a couple of times but never got full flame.

Flint and steel w/char cloth......piece of cake, even gotten a glowing char cloth with 2 pieces of pyrite....friction, nada.

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## greatgoogamooga

Absolutely brilliant!  Thanks for this post and the vid.  It's one thing to see videos of people getting it on the first try.  it's much more educational to see the development process.

Goog

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## crashdive123

Congratulations.

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## Ken

Great Job!

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## Stairman

After success it seems to be easier next time, with the right components anyway. Congrats!

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## Batch

Congrats! One of the coolest things I have done was my first friction fire with the help of a couple of the guys at this site.

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## rebel

That was a really nice vid.  Rep sent.

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## PineMartyn

Thank you all for those kind comments.  I really would welcome any tips, strategies or suggestions you might have which have worked for you when you were learning or wish you'd known about when you were learning.  Primitive fire-making is a skill I really want to improve, so feel free to post any suggestions here or in the comments area of my video

To _Hunter63_  and others who are seeking to acquire this primitive skill, please keep at it.  One of the hardest things about it is that there are so many confounding variables involved and so whenever you fail to get a coal, you're never sure which variable to change as a remedy. Is it a problem with the kit? The type of wood? The moisture in the wood? Too much pressure applied? Not enough pressure? Not bowing fast enough? etc, etc.  

My own suggestions would be:
1) Watch the how-to videos I listed in the description box of my own video; all of them helped me significantly. 
2) Use as many cheats as you can when you start out, so as to eliminate as many possible causes of failure as you can.  For instance, make your kit from store-bought, kiln-dried lumber that you've left sitting in your home for a few weeks until you're sure it's bone dry.  Another is to use a low-friction bearing block, such as a heavy shot glass to avoid the problem of too much friction between the top of the spindle and the bearing block.  I found that doing these sorts of things helps me narrow down what I needed to do differently, before abandoning the 'cheats'.  

My thanks again and hope this helps,
- Martin

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## entherder

Congrats!  That is awesome persistence!  With  my limited successes with the bow drill, I have generated the best coals by letting them sit in the notch to solidify so to speak.  Well done Sir!

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## welderguy

I have no Idea how I missed this post, great job!!!

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## BENESSE

I missed it too!!!
Wonderful post, this is what WSF is all about.
Martin, wherever you are, please come back and tell us what you've been busy with!

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## adventurestrong

Great video! It's nice to be able to see all your attempts and the minor adjustments that made a big difference.

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## RoadLessTraveled

Congrats Martin!  I'm happy to see your success!  Great work!

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## zeroed4x

Well done !

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## Nighthawk01

I have seen this done so many times on so many TV shows , looks relatively easy. Yours is best vid I have seen so far . Shows how difficult it is , but with practice , not impossible. Very impressive , no one can teach you a thing . Much respect.

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## PineMartyn

Thanks for the positive comments _entherder, welderguy, BENESSE, adventurestrong, RoadLessTraveled, zeroed4x, and Nighthawk01._

I wish I could boast I was an expert at the bow drill by now, but I haven't gotten in as much practice as I'd intended this summer.  We recently bought a house (a real fixer-upper) and working on it has kept me from practicing my bushcraft skills as much as I would have liked. 

Oh, and _RoadLessTravelled_, I still have those pieces of sotol for hand drill practice which were gifted to me by someone, but which originally came from you.  My elbow injury (I have a bad case of tennis elbow) will, I hope, be well enough so I can finally get down to learning to use make a fire by hand drill using the sotol.

Thanks again for the kind words folks,
- Martin

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## BENESSE

> Thanks again for the kind words folks,
> - Martin


Welcome back!!!! Missed your wonderful posts, please don't stay away so long!

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## Nighthawk01

respect my friend , I will get there :-)

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## crashdive123

Good to see you back PineMartyn.  Hope to see more of you.  The light is always on.

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## RoadLessTraveled

I'm very happy to know that that Texas Sotol is getting spread around.  Good luck with your house repairs.  I will be excited to see your hand drill success!  I'll be praying for your tennis elbow to heal quickly!





> Oh, and _RoadLessTravelled_, I still have those pieces of sotol for hand drill practice which were gifted to me by someone, but which originally came from you.  My elbow injury (I have a bad case of tennis elbow) will, I hope, be well enough so I can finally get down to learning to use make a fire by hand drill using the sotol.

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## dave fuches

congrats on your successful project!!

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## your_comforting_company

That smile is the best part  :Big Grin:  Most excellent!
Good work!
If I were to make one suggestion, it'd be put some grease on that top block. that is burning calories that would be better spent on the other end of the stick.
and practice, practice, practice!!

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## AH64TI

Good Job!  I suppose I will have to continue working on it.  I normally get to annoyed to continue trying.

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## SurvivalGeorge

Congratulations! Very nicely done, such a cool thing to be able to do!

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## DomC

Kudos to you on this milestone!

DomC  :Smile:   :Wink:

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## MrFixIt

Thank you for sharing your experience.

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## Hellraiser

> Thank you all for those kind comments.  ....
> My thanks again and hope this helps,
> - Martin



Thank you, Martin... it is posts like this... that folks have said I need to join this site.  Your patiently tenacious approach to achieving your goal... is certainly worthy of great respect.  Your laid-back attitude... is admirable.

One of the best 14+ minutes that I have spent watching videos... FOR OVER A YEAR!

Thank you,

^..^

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