Hand Drill Friction Fire: How-to guide for the UK.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ม.ค. 2025
- By the field guide here: www.amazon.co....
Bushcraft - The Hand Drill Bible. Available as paperback or on Kindle.
Learn to make a hand drill friction fire kit from scratch. This guide shows you how to source and choose materials and the techniques for making fire by hand drill.
Thanks for showing UK woods that we can use. The majority of these videos only seem to talk about US woods
I can't believe you don't just wind up with blistered hands and no fire. Thats amazing.
Fantastic. I've set myself a target to learn the hand drill. Thank you for the video
Although I've never heard anybody pronounce 'hearth' the way you do I enjoyed the demonstration very much. Thank you!
Yes, although spelt hearth, it's pronounced harth, as in rhymes with Bath (if you're a southerner).
Great vid though.
yet another great video Leigh, i personally admire your steadfastness in regards to primitive skills and really enjoy your content.
thank you for sharing,
Josh
Greetings from the USA!
Awesome video and glad to see that you are helping to dispel the myth that the hand drill ember can not be made easily in a humid climate!
I live in a part of the USA that is very humid and i start all of the barbecue fires by the hand drill method.
Best Wishes
Alberto
+elzorrovo5 Glad to see i'm reaching as far as the USA! It's classed as a mystery skill here but in the US far more people can do it. I hope we can make it more popular here. Thanks for watching.
This is a great video. But in a survival situation (example maybe my plane crashed and I need fire tonight) I won't have days and months to wait for wood to season. It's harder in the UK and Irish climate to find suitable wood that can light a fire almost straight away. It'd be good if you can do a video on finding suitable wood and lighting a fire in one day.
I was thinking the same.
Not the UK but Stay Primal and NW Primate both have videos with wet and even green wood being used to make friction fire.
If it was a survival situation and you need to make the fire in one day, it would be better to opt for the bowdrill over the hand drill as its much more reliable
Try finding dry grass
Bloody good work!
Nice one Leigh. You made that look real easy. Cheers Mary
Really great video thanks, I’ve given it a go once with no success but I’m gonna try again.
watching this just might save your life some day
You could use some more dense material such as the dried grass you used but roll it so it becomes more tough
Nicely done Leigh!
Great video Leigh very well presented and very helpful. Atb jam
This is seriously a quality video Leigh it's opens my eyes to a lot of mistakes I've been making so far damm you make it looks so easy
+Lee Collins Thanks. I'd be interested to know any of your mistakes to help my own learning.
+Leigh Robinson small things like checking my the thickness of wood on the spindle and I was going for really small spindles might try a little ticker and I was collecting my hearth board and shaping and trimming it when wet I am off out in the next day or two and will collect some stuff and let it dry and season before I shape it also I was making my spindle really short maybe 30 cm I always enjoy your videos mate there's never any waste just good honest bushcraft keep up the good work
Great video, like your way of presenting too. Nice display of skill, keep,it up.
Thank you so much for showing this awesome way of making the hand drill. I love the way you teach.
Still struggling with the bow drill first before I get on to that one!
Really impressive.
Keep doing what you're doing man.
I'm amazed and bewildered from Australia blessimgs to you.
Thank you for this demonstration. Is there a special reason why you place the tindernest directly under the fire board? Most instructors collect the dust first and transfer it after they get the ember into the tindernest.
Great video Leigh, thanks for sharing
Excellent video a lot of great tips and great form...well done
Great video! Can’t wait to give it a go. Clear information
That was a close one, well done Leigh awesome job mate, hands like leather soon.
just subscribed there
jobs a good one
Great video!
Thank you. Great vid.
just watched again Leigh brilliant mate
Thanks. I wish I had more free time to film and upload!
Leigh Robinson me too work is a must and I work away 7 days a week most months for now and it’s full your bucket when the water is turned on (I am a self employed construction and engineering consultant) and this is repeat business and good clean work.
Hope you get time to pull another video out from under your hat soon mate.
Andy
Superb, thanks for that, a proper skill.
great video , well put together and very informative.Am i right it saying the elder spindle that you harvest you left to dry and used a ready prepared spindle or was this the same one. Thanx for sharing.
+ba survival (basurvival) Hi, Yes I used a ready dried one so I could shoot the whole vid in one day.
What do you recommend for the ideal spindle diameter? My experience indicates 3/8 to 1/2 inch works really well. Less than that and it gets more difficult to grasp the spindle and increases the chance of drilling through the hearth prior to achieving an ember. A larger spindle than 1/2 inch becomes more difficult to achieve the required amount of speed. Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
+rappman3taken I would agree with your sizes and can't really add more to that. What I do use sometimes is that diameter spindle used as a tip and plugged into a thicker spindle. Get the best of both worlds then.
Hi Leigh, great video, thanks very much I will definitely be giving this a try. I have Elder available for the spindle but not Clematis for the hearth. I have seen that Ivy is an alternative, is honeysuckle as well as there is plenty of this around in the local woods? Cheers.
I've not heard of honeysuckle being used. If your new to hand drill and not experienced then a hard hearth board will give you no joy. As long as you can tell the difference between honeysuckle and clematis, it's worth searching a few woodlands to find it.
Great video Leigh thank you for sharing your knowledge and skills Atb jam.👍
Great ember and in no time at all, really impressive. Never thought a hand drill could be this effective! However that tinder bundle was a bit marginal! Would have expected the first flame to engulf the whole thing but it took quite a bit more effort to get a longer lasting and usable flame, obviously a bit damp. Top marks all the same, you made it look very easy!
The smoke and flames were blowing in his face. Thought his hair was gonna go up in flames, lol. Maybe turn your back to the wind next time. Free advice from armchair expert who has lit thousands of cigarettes in the wind, lol
I’m not sure how much pressure I should apply. I really apply pressure, but I can’t seem to get smoke or anything. I usually get glazing on the socket. Does the tip of the spindle need to be shaved in a specific way so that the contacts the board for more friction?
Go a bit faster and/or apply more pressure to burn through the glaze. Good luck! 😊
Great demonstration. Thank You.
There is a method to dry the green wood using the friction? Is it possible to make fire with hand drill using green materials?
It's possible but very difficult. Definitely an expert level challenge. Stay Primal, NW Primate, Far North Bushcraft and Survival, and the David West channel all cover what's known as "drying cycles" to dry wet or green wood enough to get dry dust and eventuality an ember.
Mechanical assistance like a bow drill is definitely helpful for such a task.
Fantastic video
Great share, thanks. Can make the spindle and hearth with any other woods?
Great vid and comprehensive info. Thanks
nice well put together watched it the other day and ive been struggling so i went out got a few more spindles the only thing i can never find is clematis so ive been using ivy is this the nearest one to use or is there something else that you consider better thanks atb matt
+LG4 OUTDOORS Ivy is good too. It cuts green really well. So cut it fresh and shape immediately. It cuts like butter. When dry, it's much more hard work. And when drying it doesn't split at all.
Thanks im gonna go and harvest some
Nice video buddy wish I could learn to spot the right trees
shouldn't matter too much if you dry it out well enough. i'm trying to make a longbow and usually they dry the wood for like a year.
Top video fella, thank you. 🔥👍
Thanks this was a great video 😊
Hi did you season the spindle or use it straight away??
Hi, Good question. The spindle does need to be seasoned. You can't use them green. Having said that, you only need to season the tip and not the whole spindle for it to work.
@@LeighRobinsonBushcraft thanks, good video. 👍
Hi Leigh, thanks for the lesson, have you any info on other wood that can be used. In my woodland there is a fair amount of Coniferous and Deciduous aswell as Hazel, I'd like to try these suppose with anything bushcraft-Woodcrafts its trail error. Trev
Hedgerows can give mullein and burdock for spindles. Cat tails also.
Thank you, I'll keep an eye out.
Just saw in another really good vid that a hazel drill on lime board seems a easily found effective mix.
Are there any other woods that are good for the spindle and hearth? Good channel and good content mate 👍🏼
www.backcountrysurvival.co.uk/2018/06/19/woods-friction-fire/
this link has an entire table on good woods and there success
hi stunning work tried many times but only smoke redo with more info why certain woods matter thanks magic work
Hey Leigh!....great vid...did you use the elder spindle green, immediately after cutting it from that river bank edge?...or did you let it dry?
+Sorin Kosinszki Hi Sorin. They have to dry out. So I brought some ready made ones along with me. That way I could film it all in one go.
Don’t you have cottonwood root there? It’s an excellent hearth board.
No cottonwood in the U.K. sadly. It seems to be exclusive to North America.
Huh. I admittedly need to visit. Well I assume any poplar or fast growing soft tree that you have would yield a great root for a Hearth board.
Leigh Robinson I subbed. You have a great channel. Mine has a few videos on this topic with cotton wood root.
@@TJackSurvival I've just subbed. Thanks. I haven't managed to upload much recently with my son arriving and another child on the way in a few weeks. I've been writing books and they've been taking up my spare time but I plan to get some more vids out.
Leigh Robinson I understand that. All of my current videos I filmed last year.
hi leigh i looked up climaits online and it comes up with all kinds of trees with flowers that correct?
+johnny tidd Yes thats right
johnny tidd
But you want the wild stuff
Not the garden plant
It's often called old man's beard
Thank you Mr Robinson
Good video. Do you prefer this method over bow drilling? and what mat are you using?
Thank you, perfect video
Very good 😊😊😊😊
Great video 👍
hi great vid! but as im french I didnt get what plant did you use for the drill? thanks!
Thank you. It was sambucus nigra - Common Elder.
Leigh Robinson oh ok thats what I thought ! 😉 thanks for the quick answer. 👍
The best hearth board I have made was from a pice of cottonwood that I cut out of a down tree stump that was 2 feet by 5 inches thick by 4 feet long so dont comment on size to start with.
Great video thanks!
A great tutorial, something I plan to add to my bushcraft skills, so thank you very much
Ooh, have subbed ya in gratitude.
Glad you liked it. Everyone should learn. It's great fun. Good luck!
great vid leigh,would you say your spinders ate thumb thick or slightly thin than that?
+Danny Barrett Hi. They need to be little finger thickness or a bit smaller. With longer spindles they can taper out towards the top which is fine. But the working end needs to be about 1.5cm width.
thanks leigh :)
would putting a tiny bit of sand in the socket increase the friction?
Yes. That does work.
Hi! Unfortunately i couldn't find any clematis vitalba around. Do you know what i can use instead in a west coast of Norway? Thanks for advice !
Hi, I am not familiar with the materials available in western Norway. An extensive list of hand drill materials can be found in my book 'Hand Drill Bible'. You will probably be able to match some on the list with what you have available locally.
@@LeighRobinsonBushcraftSir, I start to read your book on a Kindle right now.
Use the bark off any tree
Great video, thanks man.
Hey Leigh, awesome video Does anyone know if you can use any type of clematis? as long as it's dead standing right? Also, it's pretty rare right?
Hi. Any type of Clematis should do. Ivy is usable also. Doesn't have to be dead standing. Can be green and then seasoned.
Thanks Leigh, i'm going to try Mullien on Ivy then as i can't find clematis in Dorset. I've tried a few times, it seems way harder than bow drill!
just made a spindle and socket with two bits of shop bought pine i could be here some time
I'm going to learn this
Informative. Thank you.
Great video Leigh, I haven't long found you on youtube but I am very glad I have. I've seen a fair few of your videos now and really appreciate the effort you've gone to. I had a quick question about the different woods you can use for hand drill. Are there any woods that can be used for both hearth and spindle? All the best bud J
+John R Dove Thanks John. You can do elder on elder. Ivy on Ivy, willow on willow, teasel on teasel for example. Bear in mind that is what I have heard and just haven't got round to trying. The reason being that to get a suitable hearth and spindle from the same material poses a greater challenge than finding a good material for spindle and then a good material for hearth.
I've been eyeing up my thicker burdock and also some other materials with a view to having a go at same material for spindle and hearth. I think they may be suitable for fire plow too.
So many experiments, so little time!
Thanks for that, I'm taking notes! That's one of the things I enjoy most about about bushcraft, the constant learning and progression, we'll always have something new to pick up. I sure I have a few elder where I go, that being said I am still way down on my plant ID skills, It's a subject I find difficult to retain, any tips on that one would be great too! ha Thanks again Leigh
I can't even drill the hole and I don't know why. I put downward pressure but the spindle doesn't drill the board :/
My new book has a problem solving section that should help www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1090706456/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i2
Nice knife mate. …what is it ?
All that smoke blowing in you're face lol Thanks for that pal. I'll be practicing that
Very good. Nice quiet wood, were you near a motorway ?
wonderful way thanks for your vedios
I can't even drill the board no matter how much pressure I apply. The spindle doesn't even create any dust. And the board is not a hardwood. I wonder what I'm doing wrong..
Are you using an elder spindle and clematis hearth like he shows in the vid? If so, are they both completely dry?
Top vid 👍
Great video m8, always thought this would be hard to do, just goes to show, thanks for the info buddy, just sub'd, see you on your next adventure :-) ATB mark
Good vid but a bit confused on terminology. What did you call he flat board. I thought you said 'herth board'. Did you mean 'hearth board' pronounced like 'heart' or like 'hearse'?
phil bray hearth like a fireplace
Very nice.
very good
wow i might be lucky here am pretty sure i have elrder in my back yard and dose its grow them fluffy cotten buds on them all sticky and shit
yh it is as well i see his purpley buds and has that hollow core i thought i had wrong type for min
sod that... simply make a fire pump miles quicker and easier 😊
sod that - simply carry a zippo and a can of unleaded
the top of elder is allways soft as butter since its a new shoot the mid harder better,no expert tho complet noob i am
yoo go on bro did you do it by hand u gangstar
bigger surface area
Flame ignited - sub flew
Well done and thanks, etc but why do it on top of the shiny silver mat and plastic bag laying on the ground. Keep it authentic looking. It would have been nice if you gave more detail on how to identify/find the spindle wood as I believe obtaining the necessary ingredients is 90% of the process. Thanks a lot.
Nobby Norberto what are you in about keep it authentic... he’s not a cave man
mrcwltr Ok I've got a box of matches and a can of petrol he can use instead. Twat.
Nobby Norberto oooh did I touch a nerve. Hahaha
No you just showed that you're a Moron.
Nobby Norberto mate, of course I’m a moron, have you never been to Manchester, UK. But this is a tutorial video. You do realise he’s not actually lost in the woods, you can hear the traffic in the background!
?? Guide for the UK ?? Righty-tighty, lefty-loosy ?
do you want to borrow my lighter
Too many shots at the top of you walking around, get right into the action to make the edit less flabby
mean...
Mean? It’s constructive, I get it a lot on my videos
you know you can use the little triangle to skip,the parts you don't like.
I film "unnecessary"shots,but its to make it interesting or give it a certain atmosphere
SO GROSSLY