I recently bought Ray mears's new book bushcraft which lists the king of wood that you can use and has a step by step section on how to build a bow drill.

good book. tells you all you need to know.<br>-james

I succeeded on the first try (and failed on the second?!?), making a fire with a Bow Drill, with the instructions in the book, "Wilderness Living & Survival Skills" by John & Geri McPherson. I found the sequential pictures to be very helpful and the text was written by someone who clearly knows what they are talking about. Imho, this is a classic book, and should be in everyone's personal survival library!<br><br>But if I were someone just starting out on learning the Bow Drill, I would also seriously consider purchasing the video, "Jim Riggs Teaches How to Make Friction Fire". That guy is so mellow and a great mentor in the video. (His Cordage video is also great.) It is available at:<br><br>http://www.hollowtop.com/hopsstore_html/northwest.htm

I found instructions on how to make a bow drill at www.us-rsog.org. They also have info on other things such as trapping, equipment, water etc.