Things You'll Need:
- Spindle
- fire board
- knife
- lighter
- tinder
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Step 1
There are many combination of wood and plant stalks for the hand drill. Some that I like are Yucca as number one, willow and cottonwood come in at the number two spot. I like a yucca spindle with a fire board of yucca, willow or cottonwood. Then a willow spindle and cottonwood fire board. If you can find a suitable cotton wood rood it works well as a spindle. Otherwise I would suggest using a cottonwood spindle once you have good technique
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Step 2
Fire board
The fire board is the piece of of material that your spindle will twirl in to make your ember. The board should be about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch thick, at a minimum 6 inches long, and for beginners twice as wide as your spindle. You can use harder materials for your fire board. Experiment and be creative. -
Step 3
Spindle
The spindle is a stick, that should be about 5/8 to 3/4 of an inch round and should be about a foot or longer. The type of materials most reliable are often a soft pithy wood or plant stalk. Try to use the same materials for the spindle as you use for the Fire board or use a softer spindle with a harder fire board. Yucca and willow are abundant sources. you will want this stick to be straight it does not have to taper but if it does that,s OK. -
Step 4
Tinder Bundle
Common materials used for a tinder bundles are barks and grasses. Be creative! Others may include leaves, prepared fibers of the yucca and coconut husks. Take your materials and shape them to resemble a birds nest that will fit in to your hands. Take finer bits of tinder and put them in the middle of your tinder nest. This will help the fire start more easily when the ember is inserted into the nest.
For the sake of practice I use paper towels and the like when I'm at home.
