Flame! Fire! How did I do it? First we gathered our supplies. Dad and I harvested a few Yucca stalks to use as spindles for the hand drill.
The funny thing about Yucca is that Yucca is not native to North Carolina, but we find it everywhere! I made a batch of charred punkwood as a coal extender. and then cut an old vine in half to use as the hearth board. Finally I collected Poplar wood curls, Cedar shavings and dead grass for my tinder bundles.
Making a Coal
I took my knife and made a small cut on the hearth board so I could place the spindle down on the board. I started off hand spinning the drill with just a little pressure. This warms the hearth board up. Once warmed, I then used pressure and speed to burn the spindle hole in. Once burned in I cut a "V" shaped notch in the board. Then I spent a few moments warming the hearth board again. I began to spin with great pressure and tremendous speed and saw a collection black dust building up where I cut my "V" notch.
Hand Drill Team Method
I kept spinning and I could tell that I was slowing down! Dad and I decided to use the team method this time. We took turns spinning back and forth and we saw a red cherry form! That is the coal!
I placed the coal in my tinder bundle and blew easily while holding the bundle like a baby, I surely didn't want to crush my coal!
To help increase my chances of getting a flame I took a piece of the charred punkwood that I made and placed it in my bundle. It kept that coal going!
We're getting closer! Eureka!
Finally my tinder bundle burst into flames!
This is how I chose to make the hand drill fire.