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Firelighting With A Bow

From: John Kennaugh 
Subject: Re: Firelighting without matches
Date: 09 August 1999 22:23

Anthony Anson writes

> Making fire with a bow - this is theory - I have never tried
> it, but I remember this description.
I got loads of smoke as a lad.

> You need a piece of wood which is anchored - or big enough 
> not to move when bowing fractically.
>
> Cut a small pit in the wood - it doesn't have to be smooth -
> indeed it is better if there are some grooves in it.
>
> Cut a bendy but not too springy stick and make a bow using a 
> fairly tough line.
I found a leather boot lace grips the stick well.
>
> Find a straight dry stick of about images/8" diameter - no more 
> than that, as the thicker the stick the slower it will spin.
>(A stand of hazel is a good place to look. Ash is good, too)
>
> Sharpen the stick to a point, then round the point off so 
> that it makes good all-round contact with the contours of the 
> pit you have made.
The main thing is to keep the point from skidding off, it will
rapidly form its own shape. You forgot to mention that you need
something to support the top of the stick and to press down with.
As a lad I think I had a glass 'something'. If you want to stick
to natural materials a limpet shell is the ideal shape but I 
have not tried it. Some lubrication on that end might be a help.
>
> Now find some tinder. (Tinder is that powdery rotten wood you 
> find lying in damp places) This must be very dry. Our ancestors
> used to dry it and carry it around in tinder-boxes - figures!
>
> Have your tinder box handy while you are bowing - no need to
> tell you how to reap the cord once round the stick? Place a 
> little tinder in the pit. It may be necessary to top this up 
> from time to time.
>
> Sooner or later - usually later - a wisp of smoke will be 
> evident. this is a cue for more tinder and frenzied bowing.
It stiffens up just before the smoking stage. Charcoal rubbing 
against charcoal has higher friction than wood against wood.
>
> When the smoke is more evident, the stick is removed and a
> gentle blowing and adding of more tinder should produce a 
> flame, from which a taper, bunch of dry grass, etc. can be lit.

  The problem is that by the time you get to the smoking stage
your stick is down a hole. It won't burst into flames because 
it has no air and the tinder is not where the high temperature 
is. I have seen two suggestions. One requires drilling right 
though the piece of wood and have the tinder underneath waiting 
to catch the hot dust as it emerges. The other is to drill the 
hole at the point of a V-shaped cut in the wood so that one side 
of the 'drill' is just exposed. The V is packed with tinder. I 
am not sure whether cutting a grove down one side of the 'drill 
bit' might get air to the point.

  You want high temperature. In theory if you keep putting energy
in and none escapes the temperature will rise to infinity. What 
happens in practice is that the temperature will rise until the 
heat lost equals the energy you are putting in. If that 
temperature is not high enough you can bow harder to get it 
higher but if you can insulate the whole thing to reduce heat 
loss you will reach a higher temperature with the same effort. 
In simple terms if you are not warm enough you can either jump
up and down to generate more energy or you can climb into a 
sleeping bag.

  I would try wood that has been dead a while and has reached 
the brittle stage as this does not conduct heat as well as a more
solid piece. I would set it up and surround the whole thing with 
a ball of hay (or sheep's wool). A two man job with one keeping
the hay in place. This will keep the heat in and draughts out.

        Good luck Andrew ! Let us know how you get on. 
-- 
John Kennaugh 

Unless shown otherwise Copyright Scout Notebook - 2001 http://www.ukonline.net/scoutnotes/