Friction Fire - Bow Drill

I have been reading a lot about bushcraft and wood lore.  I like it a lot, but it did not take long for me to start fiddling with some of the designs.  I looked at the spindle for the bow drill method and I really thought that it could be improved.  Okay, so maybe make it more complicated and turn it into a gadget type item.  Here is my example of the spindle.

FIRE BOW DRILL SPINDLE DESIGN

The bow drill spindle is composed of the spindle insert, spindle body and the spindle end.

Spindle Body -  The spindle body is made from hard wood to allow it to last.  The body is faceted to allow the bow string to grab the spindle to spin it.  The spindle can be prepared at home to make it easier to make.  The holes for the spindle insert and spindle end can be of any shape.  I used square to make it easier to draw. There are small relief holes at both end to make it easier to extract the spindle insert and end using a metal pick or an awl.  You can add more relief holes to make for an easier extraction of the spindle end or the spindle insert.

Spindle End - You can use a metal insert to to prevent the end from wearing out.  The small contact point should be able to rotate freely from the bearing block.  The spindle end can be made from aluminum, titanium or steel.  A simple spindle end is to make it from a bolt.  Just shape the head of a bolt to make it easier to make and tap it into the wood.  Another fix is to use a smooth head thumbtack to make it rotate freely.

Spindle Insert - The spindle insert is made from willow, cottonwood or other light wood used to make a traditional fire drill spindle.  Cut the wood into smaller pieces that will allow the spindle to work without making the spindle to be ungainly and wobbly to use.  The insert can be replaced as it gets worn out.  You can save the worn out spindle insert for use with a hand fire drill or cut it up for kindling.

A.Sibal