How Do You Make Fire Starters Out Of Wood Shavings?

Fire starters are combustible materials used to help ignite a fire. They make starting a fire quick and easy by catching a spark and flaming up rapidly. Wood shavings make an inexpensive yet highly effective fire starter. The thin shavings have a large surface area and high airflow, allowing them to ignite easily. Wood shavings also burn slowly, providing sustained heat to help kindle the rest of the fire.

Fire starters are invaluable for activities like camping, grilling, or emergencies when you need to start a fire but kindling is damp. They ensure you can quickly light a fire without endless effort striking matches on wet wood. This guide will cover how to easily make homemade fire starters using wood shavings and wax.

The process involves just a few key steps: melting wax, adding wood shavings, allowing them to cool in a mold, then removing and storing the completed fire starters. With some basic materials and a little time, you can make a supply of fire starters that will make igniting fires quick, reliable, and affordable.

Gather Materials

To make homemade fire starters, you’ll need just a few simple supplies:

• Wax – Look for wax such as paraffin, soy, or beeswax. You can even reuse old candle stubs.
• Wood shavings – Good options are cedar, pine, or other softwood shavings. Avoid hardwoods.
• Double boiler or crockpot – This is to melt the wax safely.
• Muffin tin – Use this to shape the fire starters into discs.
• Parchment paper – Line the muffin tin with parchment to easily remove the cooled fire starters.

Gathering these materials is the first step before prepping your workspace and getting started. Most can be found affordably at a craft or hardware store.

Prepare Workspace

Before starting to make the fire starters, it’s important to prepare your workspace properly. This will help keep things organized and minimize mess. Choose a well-ventilated area like a patio, garage or kitchen to work in. Melting wax can produce fumes, so good airflow is key. Cover your work surface with parchment paper to protect it and make cleanup easier. The parchment paper will catch any drips or spills of wax while you’re working.

Melt Wax

The first step is to melt the wax. This can be done using a double boiler or crockpot set on low heat. Place wax pieces, chunks or old candle stubs into the double boiler or crockpot insert. The wax mixture can be 100% new wax or a combination of new and old wax. Paraffin wax melts between 46-68°C (115-154°F), with most paraffin melting around 60°C (140°F) https://blendedwaxes.com/blog/wax-melting-point-factors/. Heat the wax slowly, stirring occasionally, until completely melted.

Add Wood Shavings

Once the wax is fully melted, it’s time to add the wood shavings. The ideal ratio when making wood shavings fire starters is to use 2 parts wax to 1 part wood shavings (Source: Rebooted Mom). Carefully fold the shavings into the melted wax, stirring continuously to ensure all the shavings get thoroughly coated.

Keep adding and stirring in more shavings until you’ve reached the 2:1 ratio of wax to wood. The wax should still be liquid enough to fully saturate all the shavings. If it starts to thicken up, reheat it slightly before adding more. When you can no longer coat any additional wood shavings, you’ve reached the maximum capacity.

Scoop into Muffin Tin

Line a standard size muffin tin with parchment paper cups. This prevents the fire starters from sticking to the tin. Be sure the parchment paper cups are pressed into the bottom and sides of each muffin cup.

Use a spoon to scoop the wax-soaked wood shavings into each muffin cup. Pack the shavings in tightly, mounding them up above the top of the cup. Packing them tightly helps the fire starters hold their shape when cooled.

Continue until all the wax and shavings mixture has been evenly distributed among the cups in the muffin tin.

Allow to Cool

After the wax and wood shavings mixture is poured into the muffin tins, set them aside to allow the fire starters to fully harden and cool completely before attempting to remove them. It’s important not to rush this process. The wax needs sufficient time to fully set so that the fire starters hold their shape when removed from the tin.

Depending on the type of wax used, the fire starters may need anywhere from 2-6 hours to completely harden. Paraffin wax generally takes 2-3 hours. Beeswax and soy wax will take longer, around 4-6 hours due to their higher melting points.

You’ll know the fire starters are ready when the wax has become opaque and is completely firm to the touch. At this point, they are ready to be popped out of the muffin tins and used. Rushing the cooling process may cause the fire starters to crack or crumble when removed from the tins before the wax has fully hardened.

Patience is key for this step, so allow plenty of cool-down time for the best results. The longer you can wait before handling, the more durable your finished homemade fire starters will be.

Remove from Tin

After the fire starters have cooled completely, you can remove them from the muffin tin. Carefully lift each hardened fire starter out of its cup in the tin. If you lined the tin with parchment paper, gently peel away the paper from each fire starter. The parchment paper should release easily from the cooled wax.

Be cautious when handling the fire starters immediately after removing them from the fridge, as the wax may still be slightly pliable if not completely set. Allow the starters to finish hardening at room temperature before attempting to peel off any remaining parchment paper pieces. Removing the fire starters too early can cause them to bend or lose their shape.

According to DIY Fire Starter from Lisa’s Simple Life, if using a flexible metal or silicone mold, the homemade fire starters should pop out easily after chilling in the refrigerator for around 30 minutes. Taking a bit more time to allow the wax to fully harden makes for cleanly removing the fire starters intact.

Store Properly

Proper storage of the homemade fire starters is important to maintain their effectiveness. Store the fire starters in an airtight container, like a mason jar or plastic storage bags. This prevents moisture from getting in and causing the wax to melt or making the wood shavings soggy.

A cool, dry location is best for storage. Avoid storing the fire starters in areas with high humidity or heat, as this can impact their burn time. A pantry, closet, or basement are ideal storage spots. With proper storage in an airtight container in a cool, dry place, the homemade fire starters can last for many months or even years.

Use and Enjoy

Place the fire starter under tinder and kindling in your campfire or fireplace to help get the fire going. Light a corner of the fire starter and it will slowly burn to ignite the larger logs and sticks. These homemade, eco-friendly fire helpers make starting a fire quick and easy.

The natural wax lets the fire starter burn slow, giving you plenty of time to build up the fire before the starter burns out. And using wood shavings means you don’t have any artificial chemicals or ingredients that could impact your health or the environment.

Enjoy your homemade fire starters knowing they were easy to make and safe to use for family and friends while camping or cozying up next to the fireplace.