How to Make Fire Starters

Though the foundation of a fire ' and the wood used ' is very important, so is your choice of fire starter. And instead of buying the waxy blocks sold in stores, you can make your own. A fire starter assures that you can get a fire going quickly in any type of conditions.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Cotton balls
• Petroleum Jelly
• Plastic film canister
• Old straps
• Scissors
• Wax
• Paper Cups
• Paper cups
• Parifin
• Sawdust
• Dryer lint
• Candle Wax
• Paper cupcake cups
• Cupcake pans
• Pinecones
• Thermometers
• Wicks

1. Use a cotton ball covered in petroleum jelly to make a great fire starter. Simply roll each cotton ball in the jelly until completely covered, then put it in a plastic film canister. Each canister will hold about 30 balls. To start a fire, put two or three cotton balls under your dry kindling and light.

2. Make another excellent fire starter by cutting an old, worn web belt or hiking compression strap into 8 cm strips. Soak them in wax and let dry. Next time you want to start a fire quickly, use one.

3. Make fire starters by filling paper condiment cups with sawdust and pouring paraffin into the cup.

4. Use a ball of dryer lint soaked with candle wax to make a very good fire starter.

5. Go back to basics by using flint and steel. Flint is a stone found in much of the world. If it is struck vigorously with a piece of steel, hot sparks fly off which will ignite dry tinder. The flint and steel method is the most reliable of the direct spark methods.

6. To make a decorative fire starter, use the following steps:

7. Place wax in double boiler and heat until melted. The double boiler should be used only for candlemaking / fire starter making.

8. Put paper cupcake cups into cupcake pan.

9. Let wax cool to 140 degree Fahrenheit. Pour to within 3/8 of the top of cupcake paper.

10. Place a wick into each cup and allow to finish cooling.

11. Press a pine cone into each cup once the wax is firm to the touch.

12. Bond the top of each cup to the pine cone by adding a bit of hot wax. The wicks should be about ½ inch long.

Tips & Warnings

• Use fire starters especially if the wood is wet.

• Use only black-and-white newspaper to start a fire. Colored ink releases chemicals when burned.

• Keep about an inch of ash on the fire bed; it makes starting the next fire easier.

• Keep wood and kindling dry and ready for use.

• Get your chimney cleaned annually by a professional chimney sweep.

• You can buy priming paste and chemical heat tablets as fire-starting products from an outdoor outfitters shop.

• Open the damper. Sounds basic, but it's an easy step to overlook.

• Keep wood and other flammable objects at least three feet from the fireplace.

• Don't use loose paper trash in the fire. The burning pieces can float out of the chimney and start a fire on the roof.

• Never go to bed with a fire burning, unless you have fireproof glass doors to close.