Dweste,

I was actually using a porcelain insulator cap from an electric fence for my upper bearing block. The teacher had assorted bearing blocks made from wood, antler, shells, and even teflon blocks. I found the insulator worked best for me.

Both the spindle and the fireboard were made from the well-dried flower stalk of yucca. The fireboard part of the stalk split in half, it just looks round in the picture.

The fireboard was notched, you just can't see it well in the picture.

The fireboard develop a very large coal which remained attached to the board rather than falling into the tinder. When the frayed jute we were using as tinder ignited it lit the fireboard on fire, too. There were better shots of the tinder smoking and glowing, but the picture I posted was more dramatic.

Choosing the right wood is very, very important. What I didn't realize is how important it was to get just the right amount of tension, friction, and spin. My wife commented that it was a lot like learning how to drive a stickshift. My biggest problem was keeping the hand/arm holding the bearing block locked against my leg. That's my weak arm due to shattering the elbow years ago. Anyway, the spindle kept hoping off the fireboard. A friend eventually clamped down on the arm to hold it in place. Once he did that I had fire in less than two minutes. Time to do more pushups, I think.

-Blast