RedShirtGuy
26th June 2013, 03:46 PM
Thought I'd share these impressive little doodads...firelighters made from sawdust and candle wax in egg cartons.
274418
One 3/4 depth capsule gave me an effective burn of 9-10 minutes and went out at 13 minutes on the dot.
HOWTO
- Melt the wax in a simmering double boiler. This will take a while, and don't let the wax boil. Make sure to keep a decent water level in the boiler by adding more if needed. Don't let it dry out.
*** Preferably electric heat source ***
Flames and wax/vapours don't go well together. Keep a quantity of flour handy in case of fire.
DO NOT USE WATER ON A WAX FIRE!!
Never leave the melting wax unattended.
- Pack the sawdust into the egg cartons. Not too tight...a medium density so the wax can get through...experiment with what works best for you.
- Pour the melted wax over the top of the sawdust. This is very hot and messy so wear mits and line your work area with grease proof paper. You might need to do it a couple of times if the wax gets completely absorbed.
- Let the wax cool to the point that it's still soft on top and gently press in more sawdust (long tails are great for this bit) to act as a wick to light. Careful, you might break the skin and get a squirt of much hotter liquid wax.
- Let everything cool completely and cut them up. I bashed the edge of a strip of steel between each capsule. A brick chisel would work. The wax gunks up a handsaw blade pretty quickly making it useless. Try to keep the cardboard intact as there could be unwaxed sawdust at the bottom...it's handy to keep in, but not absolutely necessary.
The cardboard or wicks can be lit, but lighting the surface sawdust works pretty well too.
I want to experiment with mixing the sawdust in while the wax is still in the double boiler and scooping out warm dessert spoon nuggets or rolling balls in my hands - I don't go through many eggs to get many cartons.
274418
One 3/4 depth capsule gave me an effective burn of 9-10 minutes and went out at 13 minutes on the dot.
HOWTO
- Melt the wax in a simmering double boiler. This will take a while, and don't let the wax boil. Make sure to keep a decent water level in the boiler by adding more if needed. Don't let it dry out.
*** Preferably electric heat source ***
Flames and wax/vapours don't go well together. Keep a quantity of flour handy in case of fire.
DO NOT USE WATER ON A WAX FIRE!!
Never leave the melting wax unattended.
- Pack the sawdust into the egg cartons. Not too tight...a medium density so the wax can get through...experiment with what works best for you.
- Pour the melted wax over the top of the sawdust. This is very hot and messy so wear mits and line your work area with grease proof paper. You might need to do it a couple of times if the wax gets completely absorbed.
- Let the wax cool to the point that it's still soft on top and gently press in more sawdust (long tails are great for this bit) to act as a wick to light. Careful, you might break the skin and get a squirt of much hotter liquid wax.
- Let everything cool completely and cut them up. I bashed the edge of a strip of steel between each capsule. A brick chisel would work. The wax gunks up a handsaw blade pretty quickly making it useless. Try to keep the cardboard intact as there could be unwaxed sawdust at the bottom...it's handy to keep in, but not absolutely necessary.
The cardboard or wicks can be lit, but lighting the surface sawdust works pretty well too.
I want to experiment with mixing the sawdust in while the wax is still in the double boiler and scooping out warm dessert spoon nuggets or rolling balls in my hands - I don't go through many eggs to get many cartons.