Bow Drill Tip: Tilting The Spindle Can Make a Big Difference

Generally speaking, drilling straight down into your hearth is a solid strategy, but some subtle adjustments to the angle at which you position the spindle can go a long way toward avoiding frustration and convincing difficult sets to produce embers.

When you first start drilling into a new divot, the dent that the spindle tip rides in is usually pretty shallow, and this can make it prone to jumping out at the notch. Tilting the top of the spindle toward your body angles the tip away from the notch and can help prevent this common problem.

Once the spindle is well seated, adjusting your spindle so that it sits approximately vertical and perpendicular to the hearth will make it easier to drill while you build the dust pile, as the friction will be concentrated on the tip of the spindle, making it easier to turn, and easier for you to work the bow.

You can often just add speed and pressure at this angle to ignite your dust pile, but you can get an extra advantage by tilting the top spindle slightly away from your body. This helps to better direct the hot dust into the notch, and also points the hot tip of the spindle directly into the dust pile.

Years ago a friend suggested to me that it is contact with the spindle tip that actually ignites the flammable dust, and this has proven to be a very valuable insight. I don’t know if this is always true, but looking at it this way has helped my success rate immensely.

You can picture it lighting through contact like an old car cigarette lighter.

I exaggerated the angles a bit to make them clear for demonstrations purposes, but this isn’t watch making, so close enough will often get you there.

One word of caution is that tilting the tip into the pile at the end does put extra stress on material at the edges of the notch, so a blowout of the hearth is possible. Knowing your materials and managing the forces you put into the set can usually mitigate this enough to make it a non-issue, but knowing this ahead of time may help.

There are other reasons you may want to tilt your spindle that I didn’t cover here. I find it very useful for methods like the two-hole/keyhole hearth, no-notch hearth, utility drilling with a spindle, and managing issues with a set to direct forces away from weak points in the hearth when working with poor materials.

Keeping your spindle perfectly vertical is simple and easy, but keep in mind that adjusting your angle can be very helpful in some circumstances.

This is just as useful (if not more so) for the hand drill, where the margins for error are slimmer, and small adjustments are more likely to make the difference.

Please pardon the amateur graphics. I know they’re cheesy but I think it is worth including them in videos like this in the interest of clarity.

Materials Used

Bow Drill Set: Western Red Cedar Driftwood Hearth & Spindle; Fatwood Bearing Block; #36 Tarred Bank Line Cordage.

Music:

[m.p.]

Somehow, I lost your channel and couldn't for the life of me remember the name. I feel like I just walked in the front door of church. Glad you are still at it.

[auroraborealisknives]

I hereby declare you king of the bowdrill. Thanks for the tips

[joseislanio]

It's really nice to see how you mastered bow drill fire, and how you know every little detail to get it to be a very reliable way to make a fire. Thank you for all this information!

[chopstickw]

I like the experimental and analytical approach to friction-fire making that you take.

[davidf]

You really are doing a fine job on all your videos of sharing your understanding with others and learning from their feedback as well. We do not see such thorough investigation very often. Thank you for the refreshing approach

[aktrapper]

I often tilt the spindle in the beginning to avoid the spindle wearing through the pillars on either side of the notch. After things are established and going good I'll straighten out. Tilting the spindle away from you to increase the heat to the char pile is a new one on me. Brilliant NW.

[eliot]

Mate....your vids just keep getting better. Thanks so much once again.

[bushcraftsurvivalslovenia]

this is Awesome. I am naturally tilting the spindle when I use the bow drill so the spindle would not fly out, but I never thought about the fact that the manner of tilt can be better for creating a dust pile or for the final heat point to ignite it. Awesome point.

[ericmolitor]

I just did this and was able to use a hole that previously my spindle would slip out of. Also, I got an ember easier and faster. And it was HUGE!!! Thank you for this awesome video!

[davidharvey]

I bet there's not many videos showing this useful information. Thanks

[usernick]

Just when I thought you couldn't possibly have any more info to add to the subject... This makes total sense, and I'm definitely starting to see just how important material choice is in the matter

[TheScoundrel]

Like shifting a transmission! Thank you for such a clear demonstration. 👍👍

[madrasmark]

Brian, Thank you for a few more tips to make bow drill fire making easier. I'm going apply the repeated themes I see in your videos -- & practice/practice/practice -- to my primitive/bushcraft fire making. Best regards to you & Lupo, MadrasMark /aka/ Mid-Oregon Mark

[DavidWestBgoodppl]

Good advice. I'm confident it works just like you stated and demonstrated. Many times with hand and bow drill over the years I've missed getting the ember when it should have been a very easy one. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that my divot had drifted away from the notch and that there was no tip to dust pile contact. I always just lengthened the notch back into the center of the divot and then got the easy ember that I was expecting... So these types of fails TOO, are more proof that your advice here is spot on. Thanks!

[johnearhart]

Excellent advice!!!. Never considered pointing toward notch. Thanks so much

[zoltanvonsomogyi]

On a side note, when I do hand drill fires, the point of the spindle never seems to get hot enough to char. After the burn-in, I always cut the point off to keep it from hitting the bottom of the hearth board. After that, Only the outer edges of the spindle make contact. It's made a huge difference in my success rate!

[fire_x_friction]

Yes sir been watching your videos anylizing what you do and have seen you tilt your spindle before. Great instruction as always.

[HalfQ]

I was so focused on that I almost dropped my beer..!!
Good instructional bro.

[Far-North-Bushcraft-Survival]

Interesting concept of tilting so the hot tip can increase the dust temperature. I personally tilt the spindle at times when using natural cordage so as to minimize abrasion of the cordage and increase the cordage longevity. It is quite effective for that.

[seanthomasdowd]

There seems to be a trend here for using different angles, the slightly sideways method of striking flint and steel and ferro rods, now this, i'm now looking at many other things to see if simply looking at the problem from a different angle could have benefits, thank you