I was milling around some ingenious redneck ideas that me and the huntin' camp guys have come up with over the years....from our backyard still to many many other things, and I remembered my one buddy who died from cancer last summer....I was at camp in the fall of the year when he was sick and he had been tinkering around to keep busy, anyway he showed me an pretty good idea....he had gathered up all of the old unuseable candles that his wife had laying around, melted them in an old saucepan (careful not to get the flame near the wax), got an old muffin pan and put in paper muffin cups.....he then went out to the wood-splitting area of camp, gathered up as many chips and splinters as he could put in a bucket, took them and broke them into little pieces.....put a one inch depth of those broken wood chips in each muffin cup, and then poured the hot wax in each cup just to near the top of the chips (so some of the wood was still sticking out of the wax).....let cool and "voalla".....all the firestarters you will need for a given season....you can break or cut them in half to double the order.....just thought I would share this as I myself will be making a batch here very soon.....
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Egg cartons! instead of muffin.
Here ya go.
I never saw it before, cool idea!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tI5G-KuttU&feature=related
I don't think it's good to use in wood stoves though because of the wax
edit;
I actually like these ones!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9IQHzN3ouU&feature=related
cardboard tube, lint and wax.
you can slice it in to small pieces.
Here ya go.
I never saw it before, cool idea!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tI5G-KuttU&feature=related
I don't think it's good to use in wood stoves though because of the wax
edit;
I actually like these ones!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9IQHzN3ouU&feature=related
cardboard tube, lint and wax.
you can slice it in to small pieces.
Shadow&Flame
Minister of Fire
My Aunt has been doing something similar for years. She uses the paper egg cartons
and fills them with sawdust/dryer lint/ect...then pours wax into each little compartment.
She buys all the candles at garage sales for next to nothing.
and fills them with sawdust/dryer lint/ect...then pours wax into each little compartment.
She buys all the candles at garage sales for next to nothing.
Backwoods Savage
Minister of Fire
If you look around much you can find all sorts of ideas and most do work at least a little bit. Some better than others for sure. Or, you can simply buy some good fire starters like the Super Cedars which really work great and are low cost to boot. Or you can do like we did for many years and just use newspapers and kindling. And of course I've started many fires with nothing but kindling and a match. But now we just use the super cedars and they work great for low cost and are really simple to use. We like them and Thomas, the fellow who makes them is a good sponsor on hearth.com which makes this a sweet deal.
Loco Gringo
Feeling the Heat
Its hard to do better than the super cedars with all expences considered. Nice to learn of other DIY methods tho.
cygnus
Feeling the Heat
Backwoods Savage said:
+1 I find the time isn't worth it when a great, inexpensive solution already exists.
BrowningBAR
Minister of Fire
For now, I'm using my cedar shake roof. They should last me another 2-3 years. After that, back to the Super Cedars.
maxed_out
New Member
maverick06
Minister of Fire
I cut down a birch tree... I have probably 4ft^3 of birch bark left... that should last me....... forever.... especially since when I am burning there are usually enough coals left that I can just re-ignight the fire with it.
sullystull
Feeling the Heat
Village Idiot
Burning Hunk
My woodchucks (kids) make fire starters for me using the wood chips, paper egg cartons, and wax method. They gather the chips into an old pillow case after I am done bucking up wood. The pillow case hangs in the garage and the chips "season" pretty quickly.
After all I have read about Super Cedars, I have to admit that I am intrigued to witness their mystical powers, but the New England Yankee in me just can't bring himself to spend the money. Though part of my reluctance may be that I may find that I like them too much.
After all I have read about Super Cedars, I have to admit that I am intrigued to witness their mystical powers, but the New England Yankee in me just can't bring himself to spend the money. Though part of my reluctance may be that I may find that I like them too much.
Village Idiot said:
I hear ya. I held out for five years even getting the samples from Thomas. And spent last burning season saying "Why? Fool?" They save me a good bit of wood in this goofy climate here. Times when before I would have put a couple of splits in to keep it going for later now I just say "Go out sucker. I can fix that when I need the heat.".
Of course about that time we had the two coldest snowiest winters ever and burned around the clock for months. But I use them to kick start the coals. Impatient sucker that I am.
Took the free sample 3 years ago, used it but never purchased any until this year. Saw shoulder season coming, I looked at that pile of newspaper after making the first dozen or so newspaper knots of the season and said "eff this." Never minded it before, must have been a bad day.
Few days later my box arrived from the other side of the country and the garbage man wound up w/ some extra stuff to recycle.
I've played around with making my own in the egg cartons. They work well and you can control the density (which is nice for backpacking, the supercedars are a bit dry but not too bad for carrying around in my overstuffed pack if I go) but at the end of the day unless you inherited 20 lbs of paraffin from grandma, you still have to buy that at about 4 bux a pound. Not a whole lot of money, but you are still putting out cash.
If you like to play, go for it and make some as it certainly can't hurt a thing.
pen
Few days later my box arrived from the other side of the country and the garbage man wound up w/ some extra stuff to recycle.
I've played around with making my own in the egg cartons. They work well and you can control the density (which is nice for backpacking, the supercedars are a bit dry but not too bad for carrying around in my overstuffed pack if I go) but at the end of the day unless you inherited 20 lbs of paraffin from grandma, you still have to buy that at about 4 bux a pound. Not a whole lot of money, but you are still putting out cash.
If you like to play, go for it and make some as it certainly can't hurt a thing.
pen
I rarely use anything other than some slivers of pine and some old 2x4 cuts, but the starters are nice for the shoulder seasons....once the cold "sets in" (usually around the second week of November here in central PA) I just keep the fires going til spring....but those little firestarters my ol' hunting buddy made are still up there at camp, even though he's gone from cancer.......everytime I see them it reminds me of him, so I think I will be making some regardless......for his memory, if nothing else.....
Flamegrower said:
You'd be remiss not to. If possible, teach a kid around camp how to do it as well. Best tribute to your buddy would be to pass it on.
pen
Flamegrower said:
Lost my best friend in July 2008. His wife three months before that. Anything that keeps those memories alive, do it. For Joe it is me cutting wood. He always said "You are nuts. Just turn up the thermostat."
Never put a split in the stove but what I don't hear him saying that.
BrotherBart said:Flamegrower said:
Lost my best friend in July 2008. His wife three months before that. Anything that keeps those memories alive, do it. For Joe it is me cutting wood. He always said "You are nuts. Just turn up the thermostat."
Never put a split in the stove but what I don't hear him saying that.
Amen to that brother....sorry for your loss, my buddy JD was one of my best friends, not a trip in the woods goes by without mention of him and a smile thinking of the jokes and the good times......we do a lot of bear and deer hunting up at that camp and like I said he made a heap of those starters before he died....everytime you light one up it smells up the place like it smelled when he was making them, with all those used-up scented candles he mixed into one pan.....nothing like a good memory...
davmor
Member
My wife makes fire starters every year for us. She uses old candles, or paraffin wax. We just use dixie cups, and wood shavings from my shop with a little wax to hold the shavings in the cup. They make nice neat little fire starters.
firefighterjake
Minister of Fire
Village Idiot said:
Same here . . . always was a kindling and newspaper sort of guy . . . didn't see the need to buy these high-winder fancy hockey puck fire starters when I have all the kindling and newspaper already at hand . . . and I've made my own fire starters from candles and saw dust . . .
But then Thomas offfered that 15% discount and I had to try them . . . and while I will not say I will never put another piece of newspaper into my woodstove, I will say that it is unbelievable what just a quarter of the Super Cedar will do . . . a lot cleaner and faster start ups this year.
MishMouse
Minister of Fire
When I had my little Drolet and I was using un-seasoned wood I needed a flamethrower to get that thing going.
gpcollen1
Minister of Fire
I don't need to actually start too many fires per year but i do fill some toilet paper cardboard tubes up with dryer lint and save them for this purpose. Not all the time but it does help that I have a small bathroom adjacent to the laundry room.
Danno77
Minister of Fire
I work at a school and there are two things that I have access to a LOT of. That is shredded paper and crayons. The shredder in my office is one of those cross cut deals. Wonder if that could work at all like candle wax (prob not).
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