Ever since I was about ten years old I wanted to be able to start a fire using a fire drill. That's two pieces of wood rubbed together until they're hot enough to catch fire. Well now I have encountered a WONDERFUL eleven year old great nephew who is interested in doing that too. So now I have justification.
I started with a Google search of "how to" videos, then started corresponding with my youthful co-conspirator. We both looked at the videos and saw what we had to build: A hand board, a hearth board, a wooden drill, and a bow.
He was successful before I was, by getting the wood hot enough to smoke. He sent me a photo and to my alarm I saw he was doing this on his hardwood bedroom floor. Yikes! Fortunately I found out that his mother was watching and she stopped him before he burned a hole in the floor.
So I found some appropriately sized pieces of scrap wood and made an attempt myself. In this photo you can see the lubricated hand board, the friction burned drill tip and hearth board, and the little pile of dark brown, burned wood shavings.
In this third photo you can see how I held everything together, on top of a five gallon paint bucket. I'm too old to get down on one knee. Hey, but I got smoke on my first attempt!
