Make your own firelighters. (Quiet news day).

[Graham Orm]

OK so it's not ground breaking science, but it was a light bulb moment for me. I'd just bought 2 boxes of firelighters for my rocket stove. They will probably last this year and next if I'm careful with them. I chopped a few bits of kindling to get things going, sticks a foot or so long and maybe 1/2" square. I looked momentarily at a jug that I use for cleaning brushes with half an inch of white spirit in the bottom, and the light bulb flickered into life.
I stood the kindling in it for 10 minutes and hey presto the sticks sucked up a lot of the white spirit and now light easily with a lighter. No paper or firelighters required.

2 Boxes of firelighters for sale.

 

[Droogs]

Don't you have a spill plane?

 

[Graham Orm]

No......It would appear I need one though for fire lighter shavings. It's on the list for next Christmas!

 

[rafezetter]

you don't need one - use a sharp knife or chisel to make something like this to make a fast firelighter that doesn't require accelerant... As recommended by Ray Mears

http://www.thechristmashausonline.com/wocutr.html

obviously not quite so elaborate!

 

[DiscoStu]

I've wondered if it would be possible to make some fire lighters with saw dust / savings. I have loads of saw dust and shavings and even wondered if I could make "bricks" that would burn. I know you can get things for making bricks out of paper. I think that shavings etc could be compressed but would need something to bind it together?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[rafezetter]

I've wondered if it would be possible to make some fire lighters with saw dust / savings. I have loads of saw dust and shavings and even wondered if I could make "bricks" that would burn. I know you can get things for making bricks out of paper. I think that shavings etc could be compressed but would need something to bind it together?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

In the past I have used handfuls of sawdust and shavings to get rid of old paint in cans, oil or water based. I just mix it up until it becomes a stodgy mess, but is no longer liquid (so it cannot contaminate ground water) let it go off and chuck it away.

However I reckon the stodgy mess could be pressed into balls or something and left to set. I know if you did it with oil based, there's a chemical factor, but I doubt firelighters are "green" either.

 

[blackrodd]

Happy Christmas morning to you! My veg is done, so I am excused with helping the technicalities of Goose and beef roasting!
There are several vids on u tube showing different approaches to compacting sawdust for burning.
But none appear to be very efficient.
When I learnt my trade, we had sawdust burners very much like the one below as the large doors being opened to
bring in, or take out rail trolleys of timber soon made the mill cold in winter.
They were very efficient but we didn't use sand on top(!) and the first 4" when filling was dry shavings to start the fire off.
Not advisable should you have a timber floor, even though you could use patio slabs under the fire.
Occasionally, there would be a blowback and flames and sparks would shoot in from the vent at the lower front,
Quite dangerous should any dust or waste be present especially between any gaps in the workshop floorboards.
As can be seen in the vid, they do throw out some heat and toasting a sarnie, kettle boiling, and the frying pan all work easily, should you have a concrete floor it could be worth a go!
Regards Rodders
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj7X9X8LTe0

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Not firelighters,but all my shavings and sawdust gets packed into any small boxes I keep for the purpose and put in the stove. Free heat.

 

[paulm]

Not very "green" as such but a very reliable way of starting even damp wood fires when out camping, so should be fine indoors too, is cotton wool balls with a smear of vaseline, catches easily and burns long enough to get your fire going well if you've prepared the firewood suitably.

Cheers, Paul

 

[Graham Orm]

Not firelighters,but all my shavings and sawdust gets packed into any small boxes I keep for the purpose and put in the stove. Free heat.

Do you leave it loose and put the whole box in?

 

[DiscoStu]

I did try burning my shavings etc but found them too dense so that there wasn't enough air to get in so I'd be interested to know how putting them in boxes work. My waste is either dust from the machines or shavings from the lathe so all pretty fine not like big long shavings from a plane.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Drawknife shavings are brilliant for this. I stuff them in net bags and hang them up to dry for a bit. They are a good mix of thicknesses to be thin enough to light easily, let air circulate and burn for long enough to get bigger kindling going.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Yes, I just put the packed box in - one at a time, if probably wouldn't burn very well if you loaded successive boxes but one at a time seems to work fine. I use some quite large boxes, cereal boxes, washing powder boxes and the like.

 

[Graham Orm]

Yes, I just put the packed box in - one at a time, if probably wouldn't burn very well if you loaded successive boxes but one at a time seems to work fine. I use some quite large boxes, cereal boxes, washing powder boxes and the like.

Wow you surprise me, I'd have thought they'd just smoulder. Might try it with old kitchen roll tubes and form sticks.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Drawknife shavings are brilliant for this. I stuff them in net bags and hang them up to dry for a bit. They are a good mix of thicknesses to be thin enough to light easily, let air circulate and burn for long enough to get bigger kindling going.

You should get someone to make you a spill plane.

 

[beganasatree]

Hi Disco stu,
If you make bricks with paper just mix in some shavings and dust,some vids on youtube,

Peter.

 

[bugbear]

A double handful of (handplane) shavings, crushed into a ball work very well,
and the price is right.

I think planer/thicknesser shavings have quite a different structure.

BugBear