How do you build YOUR campfire?

[techres]

Tinder, what I collect on my way. I am a tee-pee fire guy for the style of fire.

^This.

Otherwise my old scoutmaster would find me and...

 

[muncie1]

I use some newpaper with dry bark. One other small wood that is good for me is broken up pallets

 

[JetGirl]

Oh yeah...we usually have a few chunks of charcoal stashed here and there, too. Just in case. It helps keep things going.

 

[joe138]

I have used flares. I know its cheating, but its fast and works when things are damp.

 

[kboom524]

When starting a campfire I usually use the lean to method. I grab a decent sized log throw some tinder down next to it and start leaning kindling up on the log. I am a woodworker and a woodcarver so I always have scap wood and shavings to use as kindling and tinder. I'm a old Boy Scout and have lit fires with everything from flint and steel to a bow and drill. I used to use cotton balls when using a flint and steel, never tried it with vasoline. I will have to try that sometime.

 

[JetGirl]

have lit fires with everything from flint and steel to a bow and drill.

First time I ever tried my little flint key chain thing, a couple little shavings of magnesium were stuck on my finger. When I struck the flint, they ignited super hot, super fast. Talk about a "super hurt". Instant white blisters. Not big, but they sure HURT big!

 

[johnb62]

As a scout leader I have seen or used
Bug Spray
Fatwood
Charcoal Lighter
Kerosene
Leaf blowers (for air)
Propane torch
Dryer lint
Used motor oil

Never with the boys though....

and don't try any of this at home

 

[indytechnerd]

Dryer lint is a staple of my firebuilding. And, since I'm impatient, I use some cedar door shims (purchase a bundle cheap at home depot or whatever) broken and split in half for kindling. They're super dry and catch quick.

A fist sized (loose) ball of lint, teepee the split kindling, bigger kindling around that in a loose teepee. Small logs or split logs added slowly after that, leading up to big logs.

If I've got damp wood, it gets laid on the rocks making up the firepit and rotated so all sides get some heat to dry it out.

 

[Jack Ryan]

We spent the weekend camping and building fires with varying wood quality and dampness. As I was grilling my steaks, I started to think about all the different ways and methods of building a campfire. One thing that I've started doing is packing a propane torch. It feels like cheating, but man does that wood catch FAST!

I started using a propane torch to start the fireplace a couple years ago. It's awesome. Hit the trigger and whoosh. Very cool.

A little bellows is on a par with it though. Must have been the 1800's equivelant of a torch. I keep both handy near the fire place.

 

[Deadly Z Driver]

I prefer the "log cabin" method for fire building and anything that burns good for kindling... I like birch tree bark and fibrous plants or trees.

 

[sadclownwp]

I am the assistant scoutmaster for a scout troop, i have seen fires made every way, well nearly. I do my best to instill within my scouts the abilities to craft fire from multiple ways. The vasoline soaked cotton balls have been a godsend for some of them, when all else fails, cottonballs prevail.

 

[Andre46996]

I save empty toilet paper tubes.

I have sawdust falling out of my ..........Bet you thought I was gonna say a bad word didn't you? Ears.

I combine paraffin and sawdust about 50/50 and fill the old TP tubes, I normally cheat and even use part of an old cotton T-shirt to make a wick.

Even wet wood will succumb to my fire abilities using these.

As far as stacking I do the Tee-pee thing, lay my homemade firestarter in the center and once I light that I place small kindling in the center. Also if it is a large firepit I will cross-stack it works great because it allows so much air in between the wood.

 

[Indy317]

I use fatwood now. I heat my home with wood about 10-15% of the time in the cold weather months. The way I make is outdoor fires is:

You crumble up some newspaper, twigs, leafs, very small thin, but wide pieces of _dry_ wood, and some pieces of fatwood. You then find there medium pieces of split, and very dry firewood and shape it like a teepee/pyramid with the kindling mix at the base. For me, this works every time.

I think it would be hard to get damp firewood burning. You will need to really get it as dry as possible. I would have enough dry firewood to get a very hot fire going. Place the damp pieces as close as possible, but not close enough to where they start to burn. The heat from the fire should help evaporate some of the surface moisture. The instructions for my wood stove say that once you get a hot fire going, non-seasoned wood is fine. Any residual water in the wood will flash boil anyway.

By the way, buy your fatwood in the plastic bags at Mernards. Walmart used to be cheaper, but the brand they carry now is much more costly than what you can get from Mernards. If you make a lot of wood fires, think about checking the bulk pricing on-line.

 

[antiwheeze]

propane torch isnt a bad idea.
taking care of a few burn patients has cured me of the temptation to use gas!

 

[Tactical Dave]

 

[lawrra]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the 9 volt battery and steel wool trick. You could keep it in your car and you don't have to worry about it being too windy.

 

[451_Detonics]

I still have a bunch of Trioxane heat tabs from the military...half of one of those will start just about anything burning in the wet. Otherwise I normally carry some fatwood with me into the woods.

 

[miguel]

Newspaper and WD-40. And matches.

Hey, give me a break, I'm just getting into camping...

 

[JBob77]

Teepee/ log cabin hybrid. Bag of Fritos or other corn chips in the middle, Match or lighter thre you have it. Just have to keep peope from eating the chips!

 

[clickclickboom]

The blower for your air mattress works great for getting a fire going. 21st century bellows.