I use a vacuum seal container to infuse the oil into the wood pieces. Drawing out the air I think helps with infusion as well as shortening the soak time and then wax seal them. Saves me time. Nice job on the video for those developing an interest in making fatwood for themselves.
I was checking for this comment before I said the same thing minus the wax. (nice tip, thanks) I use this method when marinating meat for proper coverage.
If you have the proper vacuum sealer, you can get a lid vacuum attachment that comes with 2 size lids and just use a mason jar of your choice. I had a brand new 5 gal stainless vacuum pump, but it was stolen before I even could use it. Can't afford to replace it now.
What you have just shown me is EXACTLY what I was going to try this weekend. Seeing you do it proves that I'm not crazy...or maybe it proves that you are. Either way, right on, buddy!
I was thinking why are you using a plastic fork, that’s a lousy tool, then I realized when I make some at home, if my wife catches me using the tongs(proper) I’m a dead man! Great video, and soon I will have firestarter “fat wood” forever. Thx, bro
This is actually one of the best DIY fire starters that I've seen so far. Well done, sir, well done! This might come in handy for me next summer, when I'll have a bunch of left over (dry) cedar laying around after a major clean up of the woodpiles. Will make some awesome fire starters from it to use in my wood stove next winter. Cheers. Ps: subbed
Nice. I use a similar process. I use all nature ceder wood shavings for small animals. I use a mixture of equal parts beeswax and turpentine to about a third part boiled linseed oil. CAREFULLY heat on an electric hotplate (outdoors) until the beeswax is melted. Throw a handful of shavings in and let them soak for a couple of minutes. I have a brass wire strainer I use to remove the saturated chips. It's also great to hold them submerged in the mixture. After I remove them I scatter them over aluminum foil and allow them to cool and set up. I usually store them in a small ziplock bag in an Altoids tin or similar container. It makes a great (nearly waterproof) tinder that is easily lot with a strike or two of a ferro rod. I've gotten them to light in rain with no problem. The larger chunks you use burn much longer and would be better for getting damp/wet would to catch. I think I'll be incorporating some of your fatwood into my kit for just such a contingency. Thanks for sharing your process. Very clear details and easy to follow.
Thank you for the tutorial! I appreciate the info on the oil you choose and your reasons the most. I don't often think ahead about the "right" amount of flammability for the base oil I use. Keep up the helpful ideas!
if you put the wood in the freezer before the wax, you can dip it quick, turn it around and dip it again, the wax will harden almost immediately if the wood is cold.
What a amazing idea that I've never thought of. We set records for rain here in the north east this year. It may be a good idea to do this & pack it away for the day you really need it
I think if you put them in a vacuum seal bag it will draw the oil all of the way through the wood and do it a lot faster. Might want to use a mason jar and vacuum lid attachment to prevent the oil from getting everywhere especially to the sealing heater.
100% correct, wax is petroleum based, when you melt it it gives off very flammable fumes, and can and will go POOF then your pot will light on fire etc. So don't use a gas stove etc.
I thought you were going to have lunch.. paper plate, napkins and forks..... Ahh well.... anyway, thanks for sharing this good idea. quite a scientific way to do it.
I don't have the proper pines around me either. I do however have a Walmart and they sell fatwood in the grilling section. This is a good idea as a substitute im definitely going to be trying it out just because its something to do related to bushcrafter and Fire and i love fire 😂
I buy a 5 quart container of Canola Oil for about $6.00 and use 3 parts of oil with 1 part of 91% rubbing alcohol and put it in a small bottle. I use some wadded up toilet paper as a wick and use a stainless steel dog food bowl I got at the dollar store. i pour some of the solution on the paper and add some in the bottom of the bowl. Works great and is safe. I use it for lighting my Solo Stove Bonfire.
More people need to check out your video. This is good project. I was thinking if I did this, I would screw an eye bolt into one end of a thick strip and then it can be attacked to a striker and ferrocerium rod or even a lighter just like keys on a key ring.
BRAVO, great method, time consuming but worth it in the long run, thank you Sir. Ohh from that I made match slivers if I just wanted to get the dry stuff started and not waste a whole stick. I have limited space in my bag.
that is really a great idea. up here in Michigan's U.P. we don't have a great supply of fatwood in the area. I have found quite a bit but never really dark resin. I will have to give this a try. subbed ya
A very interesting technique. I've seen a lot of people use various oils and I've seen a lot of people use wax alone but soaking up the oil and sealing with the wax is the best of both. I'll have to try this with my self-striking fire starters. I don't do video uploading and don't even currently have a working digital camera but here's a brief run down on my little trick. 1. Get some matches of whatever size you want. One could go with "strike anywhere matches" but they have gotten expensive and hard to find locally. Including a striker or three isn't a big deal to me anyway. You could use "weatherproof" matches but they get expensive. I'm cheap so I just use basic kitchen matches from the dollar store. 2. Dip the matchsticks in wax. A little on the head isn't a problem but they can get hard to light if one gets too much wax on the head. 3. Wrap the match stick with cheese cloth until it's @3/16" in diameter. I usually leave about 1/32" between the cheese cloth and the match head. 4. Dip the match/cheesecloth in wax again. 5. After the wax has hardened, roll the match between your fingers until it will fit into a piece of a drinking straw. 5. Cut your drinking straws into pieces about an inch longer than the matches and seal one end by squeezing it with a pliers and melting the end. I use a little Butane torch that has a "heat gun" tip. BTW. It's a Bernzomatic "cordless soldering iron". I have not used my electric soldering irons since I got it. www.bernzomatic.com/product/st200-3-in-1-micro-torch-and-soldering-iron/ 6. Stick the match in the straw, with the head towards the sealed end, then pinch off the straw at the other end, as close to the end of the match as possible, and seal that end. You now have a teeny, tiny, waterproof, self contained, fire starter that will remain waterproof for years. To light a fire? Simply cut off the straw just below the match head, leave the rest of the match in the straw, strike the match, and stick the other end of the straw in the ground so it burns like a candle. It will burn for about 2 minutes; plenty of time to ignite any decent tinder. I always keep a few and a striker in any of my outdoor kits, tackle boxes, ammo boxes, first aid kit, etc. I don't know if soaking the match sticks in oil first would increase the burn time but I bet they will burn a little hotter than with wax alone. I'll give it a try and get back to you. Cheers!
Love it! I will try this one day...... If it works as well as it sounds like I will do a video. All the credit will of course be given to you. Thanks for watching and the comment!
It's not about credit. Just spreading the word. All I did was combine a few tips from others. One can buy waxed, thread-wrapped, matches that cost a fortune and are "guaranteed to burn for 20 seconds" and lots of people have used sealed straws to keep all sorts of things, including cotton tinder, dry. I also use sealed straws to keep a supply of emergency medication, Benadryl and Nitro and beta-blockers, in my first aid kit for a year at a time. Cheers!
I like your new opening picture Darby.. I Had no clue you could make fat wood.. I think there's a big Lots in the town next to me.. I will be trying this. Except part 2 of the process I'll do outside. Because the last time I tried a bushcraft experiment in the kitchen ..I caught the kitchen on fire lol its a long story but I will tell you next time we meet up.. Thanks so much for sharing this information with us.
Bob808Knight Thanks Bob! Yeah I often get in trouble for the stuff that I do in the house and the garage....lol If you look you will see that the pot handle is moved when the scene cuts back to the wax being melted.....there was a minor accident and cleanup (including smoke removal) that happened in that gap. Let's just say that if I had not of been using a flat top stove the video would have ended differently.......yeah.....lol
True fatwood harvested from pine trees has a thick, black smoke (makes me wonder, is it real fatwood?)...that's the result of the resin burning...smells like Pine Sol too.
Your homemade fat wood looks great and looks like it works well when lit with a lighter. Have you tried lighting it with flint & steel or ferrous rod? seems to me, it wouldn't do well with all the wax on it. Even if the wax was scraped off (defeats the whole purpose of putting it on) it still would be hard to light for a quick fire. Like you, I like making my own stuff and I'm not being critical of your method. I'm just thinking down the road; if I would want it in my "first up" bug out pack. It is a great idea and great for the folks who don't have age-old Pine Tree fat wood in their area. I liked the video - Great Job!
First,I would personally boil the wood in the wax to get the wax to fully soak into the wood.second,as I'm very sure you are well aware,flint and steel is a very very cold spark.so no,I absolutely would not expect that to light shavings of this.ferro might,depending on the wood.i don't have data on pine resin compared to parifin handy so not sure how ignition points compare.but I make a fire cord with a cotton core,braided jute shell,and the whole thing is soaked in wax and allowed to dry,then I burn in one end.after that,it lights off Ferro rod pretty easy.the charred tip is what helps so I'm not sure if making the wood charred before wax treating it will be useful or even practical.back to flint and steel,what you do is light charred material as normal,get that in a char tin,then blow the fatwood into flame.having flint and steel,and or fire piston can light just as much as Ferro but you just have to go about it different.its not instant flame,that's for sure,but it also beats rubbing two sticks together lol.a char tin and some sort of metal tube is very handy for lighting a variety of materials once you got the ember.and good char should get going very easily with flint and steel so it isn't really any more complicated or inconvenient than a ferro.only thing here I question is the lamp oil,that seems a bit hazardous.try that at your own risk,use maximum safety,and do it outdoors lol.
I like this project and I have a job lots close to where I live but I am wondering 2 things 1 does it matter on the type of wood can you use like pallet wood for instance and 2 is the oil reusable and really 3 what kind of wax are you using to seal them with?
I have a bunch of bone dry cedar. Would it still work if i skipped the wax part? I realize the wax seals it up but i dont have the facilities to the whole melting etc.great vid thank you for sharing such good info
I wonder if you used some kind of temperature controlled warmer and have those in a suitable container if the heat would make the oil penetrate further.
Madison C Iowa Thanks! I am sure that any dry wood would work. But it needs to be really dry so that the fibers will soak in the oil. Thanks for watching!
Flint and steel is to cold of a spark.it would need ferro.its important not to confuse Ferro rods with flint and steel,they are two totally different systems.this said,it can be done with flint and steel in a roundabout way,light the char cloth,put it in a tin filled with charred material,and blow the homemade fatwood here into flame.but as far as direct ignition from spark,nope lol.not gonna happen.
Thanks for the just be careful when doing this part .... my 1st attempt at making smoke bombs in our kitchen ended up with whole house filled the the smoke when i left it on too long , lol
Late to the game when I was a lot younger my grandparents used to have sealed paint cans of sticks soaking in kerosene for starting wet wood (rain) fires in the fireplace and wood stove.
coyote238 Thanks! I have been doing this for about 10 years now. Has not let me down yet. It is harder to get started with a rod than the real stuff......but it does work.
Tina Giles That is the safest way, no doubt. The key is "low and slow", and an open flame is to be avoided. Since we moved completely off-grid over a year and a half ago I have started doing it dutch oven style and that has worked great. Just 2-3 coals under an elevated pan. Takes longer, but gets it done.
Thanks! We just got back from a week of camping with a youth group, and they all used these to start multiple fires..... Hope that it works out for you too.
@@duaneholcomb8408 Correction: Resin is a mixture of turpentine and rosin. But yeah, turpentine is the volatile part of resin that lets it catch a spark well.
i put pencil to finger size dry sticks in a coffee jar with kerosene or turpentine, put lid on good and tite & let the stick's soak it up,, when i need to start a fire PDQ i use 1 or 2 & put the lid back on
Thanks! I think the that soaking them longer could only help...... If you soak them longer and get different results let us know...... Thanks for watching and commenting!
