Here you go. Also found wooden reproduction ones of an earlier pattern, but at near 3 times the cost.
3 pages in and no one has mentioned the magnifying glass? Yeah, it requires the sun to be out so you may have to plan your fire a little ahead of time but it does have the advantage of being reusable.
Here ya’ go:
LOL!
Sounds like he had a rough time of it. And no smoking in bed, Aaron.
Yeah the magnifying glass just isn’t likely to be useful in a survival situation. Even a fire itself is probably over-rated, although as a morale builder it may have some utility. In dry or drought conditions almost no technique is required, the idea is to prevent burning the place down.
Finally got a bow drill to work. For some reason, the wood my spindle is made out of takes a fine polish that reduces friction to virtually nothing. Solved by using a lighter to char the end of the spindle, works great now.
Next step: see if I can make my own bow, spindle and foot piece from found wood (the footpiece I bought is wearing out!) Fortunately basswood trees are common here; a wood so soft you’d mistake it for pine if you didn’t know otherwise. A Janka hardness rating of 410, probably the softest deciduous wood you’ll find in North America. Probably softer than whatever the bow kit I sent off for is made out of.
Got it: Step 1, start a fire. Step 2, char the stick end. Step 3, start a fire.
(I know, I know. A lot of low tech stuff is sped up considerably if you were able to do it before. But it’s that very first time that’s the pain.)
I presume the very first time you “burn in” a brand-new foot piece and spindle, it helps to add some sort of abrasive (fine dust, etc.) to get enough friction to char the spindle end and the foot piece hole.
ETA: In the demo video I watched, the guy said that the purpose of being able to start a fire with a bow drill is so you can make charred tinder so you can use flint and steel the next time. 
I’ve seen a few demonstrations of fire-starting over the years.
At Fort Osage near Kansas City, the guide in the Trading Post demonstrated charred cloth which was sparked with a flint and steel. It took about 30 seconds, but it was indoors under absolutely the best conditions (dry tinder, etc.)
He allowed me to take the big magnifying glass out to the picnic table outside to start a fire using a leaf. Took about 20 seconds in the bright sunlight.
I saw a New Guinea tribesman start one using a bow and spindle. It, too, was indoors, out of the wind. Now, this was a man in his 30s or 40s, and for whom starting a fire like that was a normal way of life for him. He did is so quickly, that I think if I was racing him with a lighter, he would have had the fire started before I could have got the lighter out of my pocket.
I grew up in Alaska, and while subsistence hunting is very important it’s all done with modern methods. Rifles, snow machines, ATVs, motorboats, and so on. There’s no such thing as a village without an airstrip.
So in a place like Barrow you get scenes like this: I got to witness this in Barrow a few years ago. - Imgur
And also scenes like this: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FmzspuET-lo/T_T0FPuE_KI/AAAAAAAAAQM/CtV3NgCmmOY/s1600/CIMG5773.JPG
Yeah, expect to pay shockingly high prices for produce in Barrow.
Hunting and fishing are a big deal in Alaska, even for white people. Some people get a sizable fraction of their meat from hunting. But lots of others just go to the grocery store.
And notice the clothing of the people butchering the whale. All modern clothing. Sure people sometimes make traditional clothing, fur parkas and so on, but that’s considered fancy, not something you’d wear if there was a chance of getting dirty.
I like Cottonwood, it’s light enough to work easily, and is found pretty much anywhere in the US along rivers and streams. Wood selection is of course important.
A teaching resource I have mentions using a bottle of water to start a fire, as in using it like a magnifying glass to set some kindling alight. It seems feasible to me, given all the warnings in places like Australia about dropped rubbish starting bush fires, but could you actually make a fire like that intentionally?
It’d be really, really tough to use a bottle of water to start a fire.
As with the difference between firewood and Christmas trees, the ease of starting a fire is inversely proportional to how much you want one. 