@Typo-MAGAshiv Well the bow drill is a lot easier and I was including it in the more than a dozen woods I have used. But the hand drill does work and I have made it work. Its a lot harder in damp northern climates though.

You need to consider perhaps having a harder drill than the fireboard and certainly a longer and thinner one than the bow drill. A very little pine resin on the hands lets you transmit more pressure to the drill. Also the right bit of fungus in the notch can help (though that is perhaps a cheat too and one should master it without). A good tip for a hand drill fireboard is one with exactly the right amount of decay in it. Decay leaves nitrates and free radicals and they smoulder easier.

The string is the thing that makes the bow drill feel like a cheat. Making it work with self made natural string is much harder. Raw hide softened with fat is not bad but that is not for a survival situation because it requires some sourcing and preparation. Natural fibre strings spun by hand do not last long and you need to be really competent in stick choice for that. The bow drill is quite easy in most conditions but like any tool, it takes practise. The action of the bow drill is the easy bit to learn, the important bit is to be able to walk in the woods and break off (break off not pick up in almost all cases) the right sticks to just knock one up in 5 minutes with your bootlace (which is cheating but you do usually have one).