Firestarters from Old Candle Wax and Sawdust

I am sorry that I haven't been posting as much as I would like. I have been substituting for the school Secretary while she is on maternity leave and I just haven't had the time. I will try harder to be more consistant. Hope everyone had a great holiday and are looking forward to a great new year.

My husband and I were looking to make some fire starters. I found a site at Firestarters from Old Candle Wax and Sawdusthttp://lumberjocks.com/projects/3793 and I just loved the whole project so I am including it in my blog. We have tried this and they work perfectly. Thanks Tim.

SUPPLIES LIST:

• Wax (old candles work great)
• Sawdust
• Something to melt wax in (double-boiler method is best and safest)
• Something to mold them in (paper cups, paper egg carton, cupcake cups)
• Craft paper and string if you want to wrap them.

1) Here are the materials I used. Since my wife makes candles we’ve got plenty of wax around the house – I’m using a few melting tarts, an old jar candle and some various scraps. I also have a melting/pouring pot and some votive cup molds.

2) Next, it’s time to melt the wax. NOTE: Wax is flammable (duh…) so it’s best to use a double-boiler if possible. Otherwise use low heat and keep a close watch on the wax until it’s melted.

3) After the wax is fully melted it’s time to add the sawdust, mix enough in to make a heavy sludge. It should pretty thick when mixed together.

NOTE: Pouring these can be very messy, it’s probably best to let the mixture cool down some and thicken. Then when pouring you can use a spoon or stick to make the process a little neater. I prefer to have a lot of sawdust and enough wax to bind everything together.

4) Now it’s time to mold the starters, simply pour or scoop them into whatever your molding into.

5) After a couple of hours these will setup, if you’ve used a metal mold you can pop them out now – if they stick a little you can put them in the fridge for a few minutes and they should come right out.

6) Now you can finish these if you want to. I like wrapping them in brown paper and tying the ends. You can stack these by the fire and they look nice.

7) Now when you’re ready to get a fire going just drop one of these below the wood pile. Light both ends and the center and it should burn for 15 minutes or more – plenty of time to get the fire going!

-- Tim D. - Woodstock, GA

Fun New Blog

I found this fun new site I wanted to share with everyone. Its called www.funwithfoodstorage.net It has all kinds of fun ideas from how to get your food storage, how to use coupons to get it cheep and how to cook with your food storage. Check it out.

Happy New Years 2009

Happy New Years. This year I hope that you will include food storage and preparedness in your goals for the year. With the economy so uncertain it is always better to prepare. I know that each year I make my goal for food storage and each year I obtain it and each year I deplete it back down. It is once again time to replenish the yearly supply. Good Luck.