Morning afternoon or evening depending where you are . Just read the post on burning dry wood been nice to neighbours and what have you. There’s a bit about wax and sawdust Fire starters, is there a link on how to make them properly? We have wax candles in the garden that the sun melted so they are useless . We also have wax burners which lose the smell after a while. Could be a good way of upcycling and not buying Fire starters which I hate using. The three types I use tend to give off smoke when they are lit .
This is how I make mine. Get a egg carton made of cardboard, fill it with whatever burnable you have.. sawdust, wood shavings, pieces of cardboard from the egg carton and I like dryer lint as well. Once you fill the cavity up, fill it with melted wax. You now have a 1st class firestarter. I suppose you could use the foam cartons as well, but the cardboard burns vs melting foam. When I use these I usually do a top down start. ie: some twigs/branchs/logs with the firestarter on top, as the wax burns/melts it drips onto the wood below and adds more fuel in a way. I usually make mine when I have the wood stove going, I set the double boiler on the stove and let it melt. these are quick easy and fairly messproof at least to me. Well it can be messy, because the wax will penetrate thru the cardboard and possibly leave wax on whatever you are doing this on. So I use the top of the egg carton as a base for the bottom that I am pouring into. Whatever spills is caught this way and you have waxy carboard to use on your next batch of firestarters.
Canning wax (parrafin) and saw dust mix in a little McDonald ketchup cup type thing is what I do. I did try it using old candles and they are smokey and under perform compared to the canning wax. But you never know, your candles might be different.
I use any old paraffin, from scented candles to the scentsy stuff the girlfriend uses on a burner. even used up/leftover beeswax The draft takes care of any smoke really.
And many more threads like this Grahamt if you use the “search” bar under where it shows “Alerts” up top (I click on search, then choose the “more” button for a more in depth search).... I used the keywords “Homemade fire starters” and vòila!
I've gotten it from lumber yards, it's usually just sweep up garbage from whatever they've been cutting. You could throw a tarp under your cutting stand, and end up with a bunch of wood chips (which I assume would work).
Some good links there, I’ll give some ago . I’ll be buying candles that cost more than fire lighters . It’s the yorkshire way spend more to make something just so we can say “ I made that”
Grahamt , if you have some cartons made of corrugated cardboard, just cut some long strips about an inch wide, and roll the strips up tight into a nice little puck. You can secure them with a piece of tape. Saturate them with the paraffin and you have firestarters! If you have an old muffin tin, this works to make the job tidier. Just be sure to spray the tins with some non-stick spray, like Pam or silicone spray.
Yep following you Sask!!!! I tried crayons but the wax is quite messier than paraffin and accidents with clothes happened. Wax was thicker...
I wait for the scented wax melts to go on clearance and by them up. Or, I get the giant packs of tea lite candles and melt them in a pot on the wood stove. Instead of gathering saw chips, I bought a big bag of cedar pet bedding. That 1/3 cu yd will last years. <$10.... I use the cupcake tin method, load the chips and then pour melted wax in, set outside in the winter & in 30 minutes or so it’s like popping ice cubes out of a tray.
Dart Solo SCC400 4 oz. White Paper Souffle / Portion Cup - 250/Pack here are cheap paper cups. 250 cups will last a very long time! 2.2 cents each
Grahamt, I use rendered fat from trapping. It is free, and after I'm done skinning, and harvesting glands for lure...toss it in your scrap bucket. I used skunk fat one year, and I'm still regretting it! I see you have some fur on your head, and thought you may be sitting on free material already. Don't know if you trap, but thought I would put it out there. I use a concrete mixer with a weed burner, or rosebud to warm the saw dust a little. Then pour in fat, turn awhile longer, and make balls with my hands. I have enough starters for years now.
