What Kind of Wood Do You Use to Make a Bow Drill Fire?

The Bow-Drill Itself

• The elements that make up a bow-drill are the bow, the string, the spindle — or drill — the board, and the handhold, writer Peter Moc explains on the website Wildwood Survival. Moc's article describes each component and explains the steps required to make them. Robert Munilla of the practicalsurvivor.com and Filip Tkaczyk of the Alderleaf Wilderness College also offer in-depth explanations and instructions.

Some Common Choices

• Moc identifies eastern white cedar, staghorn sumac, willow, balsam fir, aspen, poplar, basswood and spruce as the trees that produce wood that beginning bow-drill fire makers might find easiest to use.

  "Willow and aspen often break off limbs, especially in ice storms," Moc writes. "If no green wood can be found, then use solid dry wood. Cedar can often be found in pretty good condition as standing skeletons. Avoid sections of wood with lots of knots and wood with cracks in it."

Variations

• Tkaczyk names some of the same trees that Moc prefers, but instead of staghorn sumac and balsam fir he includes juniper and buckeye. Neither Moc nor Tkaczyk go so far as to recommend different types of wood for different parts of the bow drill. In general, they point toward softwoods as the best choices.

Underlying Knowledge

• Munilla explains that he has used a range of woods for the spindle, beginning first with hardwoods oak and cherry and then experimenting with softwood species such as poplar, willow and cedar. He notes that a basic knowledge of trees in any given region will prove helpful to anyone wishing to make a bow-drill fire, and recommends learning to distinguish hardwoods from softwoods.