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

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[AllFYB]

on 2/9/2009 Great Fire Starter Ideas. We use corn cobs being country bumpkins!!

[someonegetmygun]

on 2/9/2009 Petroleum jelly and cotton balls, excellent idea.

[23JIM23]

on 12/29/2006 If your not by any cedar trees, but get lost in te woods on a camping trip with no source of fire, you could polish the bottom of a soda can with a medium size peice of chocolate(if you have thes object). When is the can polished enough? It will be polished enough when you can see a clear, but distorted figure of a reflection off the can. After you complete the polishing step, reflect the sun off the bottom of the can onto some dry timber or leaves until it starts to smoke, then wait untill it cathes fire. VOILA! You have fire.

on 11/22/2005 to help start a fire, cedar bark lights very well. to start, make sure the bark is from a cedar tree. grab a peice of bark. the bark usually peels of in narrow, long strips (1-4ft long). it's okay if the tree is still alive. the bark you take will grow back easily as long as you take bark in reasonable poportions. then take the bark and fold it untill it's about 6 or 8 in. long. then put it in between your hands and rub you hands together vigorously. (splinters are no concern in this step) the longer you rub, the better. the bark will become fiberous. the longer you rub the better. after you reach a certin point, you can stop. next use a flame of any kind to light the bark. it should catch fire and burn easily. the bark burns at a hot temperature and relatively slow which gives you time to add twigs and other things and give them time to catch fire. you can then build your fire from there.

on 11/22/2005 Get a cherry tree branch about the diameter of a baby's arm, cut off the bark about 15 cm long and 5 cm wide. Let the branch dry for about hours in the sun. The branch will burn for about 5 minutes.