What wood for the fire drill? Choose the best wood for your bow drill (+free construction manual)
Find the best wood for the bow drill. Make your entry much easier with the right wood. Never sweat again while fire-making (+building instructions).
From Martin Gebhardt. Check out his “About me” page.
👉 The key facts for the guide
- The selection of the right wood is crucial for successfully igniting a fire with a fire drill. Soft woods such as willow, poplar, lime, larch, and aspen are particularly suitable.
- The wood should be dry to generate effective friction heat. Green, living wood should be avoided.
- Soft and lightweight woods are preferred as they can be easily worn down and generate friction heat more quickly.
- Although hard woods can also work, they require more strength and endurance and are therefore less suitable for beginners.
- If no dead wood is available, green wood can be collected and dried before use.
What if you could create a thick, juicy ember with your bow drill in just 30 seconds?
Actually, that's possible - even for beginners. It all depends on using the right wood. I've been using this type of wood for years, and it allows me to create a fantastic ember in no time at all.
And the best part? You can do it too.
It's not as complicated as some people make it out to be.
In just 5 minutes, I can show you what the best wood for a bow drill is and how to find it.
Finally start your fire without sweat and frustration.
Let's get started.
With the Right Wood, You'll Save Time, Frustration, and Sweat
I remember the early days of my bow drill career.
I gathered wood from the forest, read guides, and watched YouTube videos.
Most of my attempts using the bow drill failed miserably. I sweated, I got nervous, I kept slipping.
At the end of the day, after 7 attempts, I angrily threw the board and spindle into the corner.
They lay there for 2.5 months until I picked them up again.
The whole ordeal repeated itself three more times. Once, I managed to create a steady ember. The next 9 times, it failed again.
I was disappointed, but my bow drill technique was spot on.
And then I read a book by Ray Mears. It said:
"The key to successful bow drilling is choosing the right wood for the board and the spindle."
- Ray Mears
So I searched for recommended wood for the spindle and board.
And suddenly the successes came in jerks. Throwing one big fat ember (DFG) after another. Take a look at the picture here and you'll see what I mean.
Today, I've perfected my technique and with the right wood I can create a fire in just a few seconds.
Here's proof:
One thing should be clear to you: Anyone can create a fire with a bow drill. Just use the experience you find here.
The basics of fire drilling, such as technique and the parts of your set, can be found in my article "What is a fire drill?". This guide will only deal with the wood.
But just to remind you, here's what a bow drill is and how it's constructed.
What's the best wood for fire drilling?
I don't want to keep you waiting, so here are my recommendations for the best wood for spindle and fireboard:
Basically, almost all types of wood are suitable for fire drilling. If you want to quickly, easily, and without much effort create an ember with a fire drill, the best options are softwoods like willow, poplar, lime, larch and aspen.
And the fact is: Exactly these softwoods are also recommended by Ray Mears, Rüdiger Nehberg, and Dave Canterburry (here are good books by them).
There are many other woods that also work for spindle and fireboard.
Here's the list: Alder, Baobab, Birch, Cedar, Cherry Root, Clematis, Cypress, Elderberry, Elm, Balsam Fir, Hazelnut, Hibiscus, Horse Chestnut, Ivy, Juniper, Field Maple, Maple, Marula, Oak, Pine, Wild Rose, Spruce, Mountain Maple or Yucca.
Combinations like hazel and poplar also work well. For the handpiece, it's better to use a hard wood, such as oak or beech.
Below, I'll introduce you to the best woods mentioned above. But first, let's take a look at the basics of wood.
What does "best" wood mean for the fire drill?
The selection of the best wood for your bow drill set is crucial for success.
Even if everything else is PERFECT, choosing the wrong wood will likely lead to failure. This happens regularly, especially with beginners.
In this article, the best trees in Germany will be introduced that can be used for carving the spindle and fireboard of your fire drill.
Before we look at specific species, let's first take a look at some basic wood properties.
Dry
If your wood isn't bone dry, you won't be able to ignite it with your bow drill.
A coal can only be created when there is no moisture present. For this reason, you should never use live green wood for the spindle or the fire board.
It is better not to collect wood from the ground as it is usually more moist than dead wood that is still hanging from a tree. Wind and sun have dried out the wood while it was on the tree.
Pro Tip: Sometimes it can be difficult to tell if a piece of wood is dry enough by touch alone. I've found that using my lips, cheeks and chin are more reliable than my fingertips. This method helps me to feel if the wood is completely dry.
Types of Wood
Although I have successfully used many different types of wood for spindle and fire board when bow drilling, certain species work best.
There are certain types of wood that are ideal for carving excellent spindles and fire boards. However, it is important that you learn to recognize the different types of wood first.
Soft and lightweight woods are preferred over heavy and hard varieties. Soft doesn't mean you should look for punk wood, though. The wood should be solid.
You may already know the rule of thumb: press your fingernail lightly into the wood. If it leaves an impression, it's probably a soft wood.
The best way to go about it is with thin branches and young saplings. Branches and saplings grow faster than a thick trunk. This makes the wood structure lighter and easier to create a quick ember with.
And your wood should be as straight as possible and free of knots or cracks.
So remember: the faster the tree grows, the better it is suited for your fire drill. For example, a one-year-old sapling is a fantastic choice.
Pro tip: I recommend using the same type of wood for both the spindle and the board. This has brought me my greatest successes. Ideally, both parts should be made from the same piece of wood.
Why hardwoods are not ideal - but still work
As I mentioned before, it's much easier to create an ember with softwood.
But why?
It's because hardwoods have a higher density (mass per unit volume, g/cm³) than softwoods. The ratio of cell wall substance to cavity in wood is higher in hard woods.
- Hardwood: lots of cell wall substance, few cavities
- Softwood: little cell wall substance, lots of cavities
Here's a graphic to help you understand:
It's easier to understand with an example:
You have two wooden cubes that are 1 x 1 x 1 cm in length, width, and height (1 cm³) in front of you. One cube is made of spruce and the other is made of oak. The spruce cube weighs 0.46 grams and the oak cube weighs 0.87 grams. The difference lies in the amount of cell wall substance. Oak, being a hardwood, has more cell wall substance and therefore weighs more.
The insight from this?
Wood with a low cell wall structure (light wood) has less mass and the wood's cell structure can be easily removed with a drill, thus creating friction heat more quickly.
Here's an example:
Imagine your best drill board and your best spindle that can create glowing embers with minimal effort. The wood will be feather-light. Now, place your drill board and spindle in a vice and compress the wood to half its original thickness. It will be twice as dense. You can still create a glowing ember with it, but you will have to work twice as hard because you have changed the structure of the wood. You now need twice as much physical strength to create an ember.
This means that individuals with little strength and endurance will have a hard time creating glowing embers with hard wood. More friction and pressure are required.
Additionally, hardwoods seem to be more susceptible to glazing, making it more difficult to create a glowing ember.
Therefore, it is crucial – especially for beginners – to use soft wood.
Drying Green Wood
It may happen that you know the right type of wood, but can't find any dead wood of that kind. In that case, you can use live and green wood.
For the fire drill, find a branch or sapling that is about as thick as your wrist and about 40 to 50 cm long. Then split the branch in half and let it dry for at least a week. Best on the windowsill in the sun or on your heater in the cold season.
Pro tip: If time allows, you should always dry your new fire drill set before using it. That way, you can be sure your wood is bone dry.
I will mention the Brinell hardness of different types of wood. The Brinell hardness indicates how hard a type of wood is. Bear in mind, however, that the Brinell hardness can vary greatly depending on the location where it is measured: axial, tangential, or longitudinal. Depending on the orientation of the wood, the Brinell hardness can vary significantly. If you want to know more, I recommend this database for wood values.
Best Fire Drill Wood: Willow
Most survival and bushcraft experts recommend willow wood for the fire drill, as willow wood is soft (Brinell hardness: 19).
There are hundreds of willow species all over the world, and for many, it's the best wood for the bow drill.
With willow wood, I was almost always successful. I remember my first piece of willow wood well. I collected it from the ground and it was damp. Right after collecting it, I carved a drilling board and spindle and dried it at home. 24 hours later, I created a fantastic ember with it on my first try.
Willows love water and grow in all temperate regions of the world (e.g. Europe, Russia, and North America). You can find them in almost every roadside ditch, along rivers, and at the edges of ponds.
Interestingly, if you cut a living willow twig from the tree and stick it in the ground, it will likely root and grow into its own tree. With this method, you can easily plant willows in your own garden.
Willow leaves are typically long and narrow. They are widest in the middle and taper to a point at both ends. The leaf edges are finely serrated. The top of the leaf is light green and the bottom is often pale green. This gives many willows their silvery appearance from a distance.
Best Fire-Drilling Wood: Poplar
Poplar wood is soft (Brinell hardness 20-21) and light, making it fabulous for generating ember by friction heat. Some experts even claim that it is the only true wood for fire drilling.
Poplar trees have a triangular leaf with serrated edges. The bark of old trees is deeply furrowed. Poplars, like lindens, primarily grow near water.
Poplars grow rapidly - almost too quickly for their own good. The soft wood and fast growth lead to weak branches. Dead and broken branches are almost always found under large poplars. Therefore, you should never set up your bushcraft camp under a poplar tree.
If you are looking for firewood or material for your spindle and your board for your bow drill, you will definitely find it under a poplar tree.
Years ago, I myself created my first thick ember with poplar wood. I still remember the day, because I was practicing again in my study. In the end, I received strange looks from my wife because the whole house smelled like burnt wood.
Best bow drill wood: Lime tree
Except for balsa wood, I know of no softer wood than that of the lime tree (Brinell hardness of 16). Lime wood is therefore very popular among carvers because it is so easy to work with.
That is why it is one of the best woods for the bow drill. With the exception of extreme climatic zones, linden trees grow in most parts of the northern hemisphere.
The lime tree grows well near water. The leaves of the lime tree are heart-shaped and almost always asymmetrical. They have a small, pea-shaped fruit hanging from a tongue-shaped bract. Young, tender lime leaves can be eaten without any concerns. They belong in every good wild salad.
The English call the lime tree "basswood" and the word "bass" comes from "bast", which means "fiber". Bast is the living tissue under the bark of trees.
And these inner bark fibers are an excellent material for making ropes. In extreme emergencies, you can also make your bowstring for your fire drill from the fibers of the lime tree inner bark.
I still remember the first time I had lime wood in my hand. It was light, soft, and wonderfully easy to carve with a knife. Later, I discovered that it was perfect for fire drilling.
You can use lime wood of any age for your drill, although young trees are better. These trees are fresh and green, but it is worth drying them out.
The fibers from these young trees are more airy compared to wood you take from a larger tree. If you find a standing and dead young lime tree, consider yourself lucky. Alternatively, take low-hanging branches from a large lime tree.
Best Fire Drill Wood: Aspen
The aspen or trembling aspen (Populus tremula) is a species of poplar (Populus). Its wood is also soft (Brinell hardness 21) and is popular among fire drill enthusiasts.
Just like other types of poplar, the aspen is one of the fastest growing trees. It has an average lifespan of about 100 years, with the tree being fully grown at 60 years old.
And did you know that the aspen contains compounds of salicylic acid? Salicylic acid has pain-relieving, anti-inflammatory, and fever-reducing properties.
You can use the bark, leaves, and shoot tips of the aspen for this. The active ingredient is also found in willow bark – as the physician and scholar Hippocrates already knew.
Best wood for the bow drill: Carve your first fire drill set
Selecting the right wood is one thing to create a thick ember. But you also need to carve your fire drill set properly. I'm referring to the spindle, the fireboard, and the handhold.
To ensure you're on the right track, I'd like to introduce you to my fire drill set building instructions. You can use the template for free.
Just enter your email address below so I know where to send it.
And I highly recommend my Wildimpuls program. There, in a video module, I show you step by step how to create your first thick ember (it's in German).
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