# Making kindling



## daveswoodhauler (Oct 29, 2008)

Anyone have a good "gadget" idea for holding small kindling in place when splitting?
Basically, was wondering if anyone had made a "holder" type "thingy"...excuse the verbiage....basically, something that will hold a small log in place, and one can just shear off small bits for kindling....was thinking a holder of some sort...perhaps a hollowed out log, and place the log in the middle so when you start to split it, it will stay in place?


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## CTBurner (Oct 29, 2008)

thumb


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## Bigg_Redd (Oct 29, 2008)

I can't imagine the universe in which such a device would be necessary.


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## Bubbavh (Oct 29, 2008)

Why waste good logs on kindling?  I love the fall when our town sends the chipper around to pick up bundles of kindling.  It's like Christmas they are all tied up with bows like little gifts left out just for me!


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## smokinj (Oct 29, 2008)

Bubbavh said:
			
		

> Why waste good logs on kindling?  I love the fall when our town sends the chipper around to pick up bundles of kindling.  It's like Christmas they are all tied up with bows like little gifts left out just for me!


Now that Rich!lol


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## deadon (Oct 29, 2008)

I have several resources for kindling. Ask around your community for someone who has a hobby or craft woodshop. Several people I know are into making crafts and I collect their scrap cut offs. This makes great kindling and I always have plenty. logs are to valuable to cut up into kindling.


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## daveswoodhauler (Oct 30, 2008)

CTBurner said:
			
		

> thumb



Guess I was asking for that one......was asking as last year I lost a portion of a finger  due to splitting some small pieces to make kindling....would prefer not to lose my thumb too as I am dexterity challenged.


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## Girl (Oct 30, 2008)

Ouchie!
If there is a local tech type school that has a carpentry program, you could get scrap kindling type pieces for free.
My friend sometimes gets bundles of broken shingles for 5 bucks a bundle at the either the home depot or lowes, thats what she uses for kindling.
They also sell bags of kindling.

I can get a bunch of pallets, pile them up in the driveway & my neighbor will run them over with his tank, fun for the whole family!
Yes, I said a tank.


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## sly22guy (Oct 30, 2008)

We need some pics or even better a video of that
I agree i nearly lost a finger trying to split smaller pieces, just look for a local wood working shop, around here we have a lot of cabinet making shops and they always put out big bins of scrap.


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## myzamboni (Oct 30, 2008)

Take a piece of wood dowel and put a rubber tip on one end and use it as a 'holder' to hold the split upright?


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## gyrfalcon (Oct 30, 2008)

ilikewood said:
			
		

> Anyone have a good "gadget" idea for holding small kindling in place when splitting?
> Basically, was wondering if anyone had made a "holder" type "thingy"...excuse the verbiage....basically, something that will hold a small log in place, and one can just shear off small bits for kindling....was thinking a holder of some sort...perhaps a hollowed out log, and place the log in the middle so when you start to split it, it will stay in place?



Easy.  Use a hatchet and a small sledge.  The hatchet edge holds even a tiny spit upright.  Set the hatchet exactly where you want to split down, whang the sledge on it and it splits.  Of course, then the pieces fly a few yards away, but can't have everything!  I find it generally works best with a larger piece to keep splitting in halves until you get the size you want, rather than trying to split small piece off a larger one bit by bit.

I've had no luck finding local places to scrounge scraps of the sort other people mention here, so it's either split down good firewood or buy bags of lumber trimmings from the Aubuchon.  I do some of both.


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## branchburner (Oct 30, 2008)

The great thing about a tree is that it contains every size of wood you could possibly need without doing any splitting. If you can't find lumber scraps, look for nature scraps. Dead branchwood is everywhere - it is literally a windfall!
If you don't own land, find a friend who does, or even ask your wood guy if you can wander his. Some guys will chip the stuff, some pile it, but there never seems to be a shortage of twigs and branches that most people consider trash.
Take a few minutes, get a few boxes, get a few kids (optional, but use 'em if you got 'em) and you're in business. I can find enough dry, dead crap in my yard and hedgerows I barely ever make it back into the woods. And if I needed to, I'd find enough branch trimmings and downed trees from the past ten years to keep me in kindling for the next twenty!


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## guest5234 (Oct 30, 2008)

Hold them between your feet.


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## countrybois (Oct 30, 2008)

Find an old lawn mower tire, or any other tire that has an inside diameter just larger than the logs you generally want to make kindling out of. You can whack it as many times as you'd like and the tire keeps them all standing up. Use multiple tires stacked on one another if you need extra height, and attach them together with a couple of bolts.


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## CowboyAndy (Oct 30, 2008)

countrybois said:
			
		

> Find an old lawn mower tire, or any other tire that has an inside diameter just larger than the logs you generally want to make kindling out of. You can whack it as many times as you'd like and the tire keeps them all standing up. Use multiple tires stacked on one another if you need extra height, and attach them together with a couple of bolts.



Damn, you took my idea about the lawn mower tire...


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## burntime (Oct 30, 2008)

I have a small axe/maul that I use to split some of the bigger pieces.  Most of the time there are hot coals in the stove in the morning so no need for kindling.


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## gyrfalcon (Oct 30, 2008)

burntime said:
			
		

> I have a small axe/maul that I use to split some of the bigger pieces.  Most of the time there are hot coals in the stove in the morning so no need for kindling.



Lucky you.  I rarely manage that with my tiny stove, so my my need for kindling is massive, way more than it makes any sense to spend the time and effort required to satisfy by scrounging in the woods, breaking/cutting down, lugging home and storing.  As a one-person household, just managing the firewood supply is a major effort.  I do scrounge some, but when that runs out, I resort to less pure methods.


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## burntime (Oct 30, 2008)

With the maul you can split a normal split into like 8 pieces in little or no time.  I end up doing a little each night when I take our lab out.  Otherwise go to a contruction site, the guys will usually give you all the cutoffs.  You can cut them up with a chop saw if you have one.  Last is the firestarters.  The are pricey but do a great job.  I use them sparingly.  Once the cold hits its burn baby burn


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## Bill (Oct 30, 2008)

I was splitting up some slab wood, I found a cut off trunk that was hollow in the middle. Put the slab wood piece in the hole and whack it with the ax. Use less force or it flies around the yard denting stuff. When I split tiny kindling, I wear a leather glove, and hold the piece by the bottom and split. I use a real sharp hatchet, while sitting on a small stool. Throw the kindling in paper bags and store for winter. For my cabin I start lots of fires from a cold start, so my kindling needs are quite large. I believe I have about 20 bags of kindling split. I actually enjoy doing it, after lunch I fill one bag per day until I feel I have 10 times as much as I need, I guess I like doing it, or is that OCD.


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## gpcollen1 (Oct 30, 2008)

A short piece of hollow red maple is sitting in my garage for just that purpose.  It works wonders.  You also need more than on around b/c mine is seasoned and I beat it up sometimes.


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## Cluttermagnet (Oct 31, 2008)

Sorry to hear about your injury. My safe technique involves holding my axe or hatchet in one hand and the piece to be split with the other. I move the two in unison down against the chopping block until the blade is started and wedged into the wood so it will support the entire weight of the piece. Then I strike the axe and piece as a unit against the block until I get a full split. I rarely swing the hatchet while holding the wood- if I do so I am quite careful indeed. You can't cut yourself if the blade rests against the work piece at all times.



I have gotten copious amounts of great tinder and kindling, simply in the course of normal splitting of rounds and larger splits. All kinds of thin stuff splits off and falls all around. I gather it. Red Oak and Cherry like that is the greatest!

Since I have become a wood burner, I now view all the fallen deadwood in my yard through new eyes. I'm gathering bundles of still sound wood in small piles for later cutting/ chopping into shorter lengths. We have lots of mature trees, so fallen branches are routine here. All I have to do is to exclude the occasional rotten deadwood.


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## Adios Pantalones (Oct 31, 2008)

Get a splitting froe.  They work great.


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## Danno77 (Oct 31, 2008)

Cluttermagnet said:
			
		

> My safe technique involves holding my axe or hatchet in one hand and the piece to be split with the other. I move the two in unison down against the chopping block until the blade is started and wedged into the wood so it will support the entire weight of the piece. Then I strike the axe and piece as a unit against the block until I get a full split. I rarely swing the hatchet while holding the wood- if I do so I am quite careful indeed. You can't cut yourself if the blade rests against the work piece at all times.


This is exactly what I do as well. It doesn't even usually require a two handed swing, I find a good piece of wood with perfect straight grain and hold the axe near the blade (not too close though) just a one handed swing should do it, Maybe not that first split of the log, but the third or so, depending on what you are splitting. Just a tap to set the blade and another swing to split it. Sometimes I get going so good I can let go of a little piece and hit it just before it falls over. I start making piles of kindling when I'm in that mode. Nothing looks nicer next to my fireplace than that rack with big 1/4 splits on top and the little kindling splits in the bottom.


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## ISeeDeadBTUs (Oct 31, 2008)

Don't let the fire go out


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## Jags (Oct 31, 2008)

I take my trusty boy scout whittling knife, grab a log and whittle it down to the perfect size for kindling.  It takes a while, and I only get 1 piece of kindling per log, but it works.


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## Adios Pantalones (Oct 31, 2008)

There's a toothpick in this log somewhere...


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## bayshorecs (Oct 31, 2008)

Like the old Chip and Dale cartoons.  Logging company takes a large tree, feeds it into a pencil sharpener like machine and grinds it down to produce 1 toothpick per tree.


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## Bubbavh (Oct 31, 2008)

Jags said:
			
		

> I take my trusty boy scout whittling knife, grab a log and whittle it down to the perfect size for kindling.  It takes a while, and I only get 1 piece of kindling per log, but it works.


Another good use for my wood carvings... Heat!
Now if I could only figure out a way to get my wife's pottery to burn!


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## Girl (Nov 1, 2008)

sly22guy said:
			
		

> We need some pics or even better a video of that
> I agree i nearly lost a finger trying to split smaller pieces, just look for a local wood working shop, around here we have a lot of cabinet making shops and they always put out big bins of scrap.


When I get some pallets together, will do.


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## jabush (Nov 1, 2008)

My wife bought me one of these a couple years ago  http://www.firewood-splitter.com/

One of the better maual designs (imo), but not great for processing knotty or gnarly stuff.  What it IS good for is making kindling!  You can place the wedge right where you want it and keep your hands out of the way.  I have a need for a lot of small stuff during the season so this thing comes in handy.


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## CowboyAndy (Nov 7, 2008)

I have a 40 gal trash can filled with scraps from splitting, plus there is a massive downed pine behind where i work that i cut a few rounds off and split then pretty small with the hydraulic splitter for kindling...


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## smokinj (Nov 7, 2008)

Here what i use its Sweeet!http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=274937-302-1215300&lpage=none


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## andybaker (Nov 7, 2008)

I found a guy (customer) that has a pallet repair business.  I go over there and he has a dumpster about 40' long and 8' tall filled with pieces of broken pallets.  I take a trailer, climb up and throw a ton in and at home store stacked up in the garage.  Since I have a bakery I just trade some donuts, believe me, donuts talk.


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## smokinj (Nov 7, 2008)

andybaker said:
			
		

> I found a guy (customer) that has a pallet repair business.  I go over there and he has a dumpster about 40' long and 8' tall filled with pieces of broken pallets.  I take a trailer, climb up and throw a ton in and at home store stacked up in the garage.  Since I have a bakery I just trade some donuts, believe me, donuts talk.


Wish you lived closer


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## donatello (Nov 8, 2008)

I don't NEED kindling. I think it's a hassle to deal with. The only time I use kindling is when it builds up and I want to get rid of it. Then I just throw a bunch of it in the stove to get some quick heat. I use SUPER CEDARS. One puck can be cut into 8 pieces bringing the cost to approx. 8 cents/each fire. Lay the piece of SUPER CEDAR on a split on the bottom of the stove and light it. Then load the stove with all your wood (regular sized,no kindling necessary),open throttle full. Set it and forget it (check it in 10-15 minutes to drop the throttle down). I used kindling when I first got my stove. I had to baby-sit and make sure it didn't go out. Not any more . . . .


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## Cazimere (Nov 8, 2008)

I use a pair of bbq tongs to hold the small stuff and split with hatchet : )


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## andybaker (Nov 8, 2008)

Great idea donatello, where do you get these cedar blocks?  That would be cheaper and easier, less time, than what I do.  I've got to check that out.


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## fossil (Nov 8, 2008)

andybaker said:
			
		

> Great idea donatello, where do you get these cedar blocks?  That would be cheaper and easier, less time, than what I do.  I've got to check that out.



http://www.supercedar.com/

Send them an e-mail, and they'll give you a couple of free samples to try out.  I use 'em and I love 'em.  Rick


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## fattyfat1 (Nov 9, 2008)

me and my neighbor went in on a truckload of reject cedar fence boards. 4' long by 6" wide by 3/4" thick. warped and cracked, but only 8$ to fill a fullsize truck. we used my chop saw to cut them to length, then i used my band saw to cut them with the grain into strips. we both spent a saturday making kindling, but i have enough to last 10 years!


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## LLigetfa (Nov 10, 2008)

fattyfat1 said:
			
		

> we used my chop saw to cut them to length, then i used my band saw to cut them with the grain into strips.


Damn, that's just plain outright cheating.

I select straight grain knot-free pieces of Black Ash and split it into ever smaller "halves" sometimes along the rings, sometimes perpendicular to them.  I use a 2 1/2 pound axe.  Once the pieces are too small to stand on their own, rather than swing the axe to the wood, I choke the axe handle at the head and holding the wood to the edge, I tap it against the chopping block.  The inertia of the axe head does the work.  If the split starts going to one side, I flip the piece over and try from the other end.  I average pieces 1/2 to 3/4 inches thick.

When working out in the bush and I need kindling, I just find some standing dead wood and cut a piece lengthwise with the chainsaw.  It makes long curly straw-like material that will ignite from the heat of the exhaust.


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## fattyfat1 (Nov 10, 2008)

LLigetfa said:
			
		

> fattyfat1 said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I was on MTF tonight and thought of you because of your avatar and sig. "I wonder if he knows about Hearth.com" .apparently you do! I'm starting to run into tractor forum people all over the internet. It's warm here, Ilike it...................


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## LLigetfa (Nov 10, 2008)

> I was on MTF tonight and thought of you because of your avatar and sig. "I wonder if he knows about Hearth.com" .apparently you do! I'm starting to run into tractor forum people all over the internet...


LOL Small World.
Someone over at MTF thought I was BrotherBart of this place.  I had to come over here to see.

Now, I've been known to take lumber scraps and buck them to length on my chop saw but I resort to using the axe to split them down to kin'lin size.  Of course I'll also have machine cut strips but those are just trimmings from other woodworking projects.


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## prtp3warrior (Jan 13, 2009)

Show me the Tank!


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## syd3006 (Jan 17, 2009)

I go through a pile of kindling as well, usually have to light in the morning then again when I get home from work. Up until now I have been holding the split with one hand and wielding the axe with the other. Reading this post and seeing the different ideas people have got me to thinking, I wonder how one of those filter wrench type tools would work to hold the split, the ones with the adjustable rubber strap. You could adjust the rubber to tighten snugly around just about any sized split keeping your hand clear of the axe blade. Think I will try it this afternoon.


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## LLigetfa (Jan 17, 2009)

I really don't see much risk to the hands with the way I split kin'lin.  First off, I don't use a super sharp axe.  Choke the axe at the head with one hand.  Hold the small split to the cutting edge of the axe with the other hand.  Move axe, wood and hand in unison toward the chopping block, tapping the wood gently on the block.  Since your hand and the axe are both travelling in the same direction, Newton's third law has no bearing.  Newton's first law will ensure the inertia of the axe head causes the cutting edge to penetrate the wood slightly at which point it is no longer necessary to hold the wood.  Follow through with progressively harder blows and you've got your kin'lin.

I select straight grained healthy wood, no knots, and start by splitting it into quarters as you would any wood.  I then split each piece in half again until they are too small to stand on their own.  Then I revert to using Newton but continue splitting each piece in half again until they are the size I want.  If you try to split thin "shakes" off of a larger piece, they tend to produce tapered wedges and you have to keep flipping the wood over to even them out.

When selecting a chopping block, it should have a surface that is not quite level.  This way if the piece you're splitting is not cut perfectly square, you can rotate it until it stands on its own.


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## Stevebass4 (Jan 17, 2009)

since i got a new splitter i now use this to make kinding  - works just fine


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## Backwoods Savage (Jan 17, 2009)

The neatest and easy way to make kindling is with a log splitter!

I burn a fair amount of soft maple, so as I am splitting, when I come across a nice looking piece, I simply split it into about 1" square pieces with the splitter. It is amazingly fast doing it this way and the only thing you have to be careful about is, depending upon the wood you are splitting, some could snap off and want to go flying. I've had that happen a few times but only a little sting. 

My method is to sit while splitting wood (a necessary thing with my body). Using an old milk crate with a hot seat on top, I just put my left hand on the log and right hand on the lever. It takes very little movement of the wedge to make the split. Raise the wedge to just over the log and bring it back down again. 

Then as I am stacking wood I will put kindling in the ends of the stack. We also go around after all the splitting and rake up the wood chips and those also can be used.


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## LLigetfa (Jan 17, 2009)

Backwoods Savage said:
			
		

> We also go around after all the splitting and rake up the wood chips and those also can be used.


I couldn't be bothered myself, but I've seen those small paper bags from the wine store used to hold the wood bits.  Just toss one in and light the paper.

The wedge on my splitter is too blunt to split kin'lin and it would bother my frugal mind to run the splitter for such trivial work.  My splitter uses so much gas that I'm tempted to reserve it only for the tough stuff.

...Maybe not.


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## JustWood (Jan 17, 2009)

How bout one of these welding clamps for holding onto a split. Should keep your hand far enough away so you don't lose a digit.

http://images.toolspot.co.uk/Welding/Claw Welding Clamp_t.jpg


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## ken999 (Jan 18, 2009)

ilikewood said:
			
		

> Anyone have a good "gadget" idea for holding small kindling in place when splitting?
> Basically, was wondering if anyone had made a "holder" type "thingy"...excuse the verbiage....basically, something that will hold a small log in place, and one can just shear off small bits for kindling....was thinking a holder of some sort...perhaps a hollowed out log, and place the log in the middle so when you start to split it, it will stay in place?



Don't hold the piece you are trying to split enar the top. Hold it 1/3 up from the bottom.

Your fingers will thank you.


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## Kilted (Jan 22, 2010)

ilikewood said:
			
		

> Anyone have a good "gadget" idea for holding small kindling in place when splitting?
> Basically, was wondering if anyone had made a "holder" type "thingy"...excuse the verbiage....basically, something that will hold a small log in place, and one can just shear off small bits for kindling....was thinking a holder of some sort...perhaps a hollowed out log, and place the log in the middle so when you start to split it, it will stay in place?



Use an inner tube and a froe.  Watch the video; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZPvLpexXFw about 2 minutes in.

--  Brandy


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## CrawfordCentury (Jan 22, 2010)

myzamboni said:
			
		

> Take a piece of wood dowel and put a rubber tip on one end and use it as a 'holder' to hold the split upright?



This post made me think of a story. Don't know if it's true or a myth, but here goes...

Some Peace Corps-type volunteers were trying to educate a tribal people in the tropics about the dangers of overpopulation and the role that condoms could play.

Not knowing the language, they demonstrated how they work by putting them on blunt sticks.

Imagine their surprise when they later returned to the village to find blunt sticks stuck in the ground in front of every hut in the village with rubbers unrolled on many of them.


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## jaybird396 (Jan 22, 2010)

When I am splitting real small stuff that wont stay up on its own, like 2x4s for kindling, I just lay it down on its side.  You dont have to split straight grained wood from the top down.  It splits just fine hitting it on its side. You just have to hit a little harder and have good aim.


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## LLigetfa (Jan 23, 2010)

LLigetfa said:
			
		

> I really don't see much risk to the hands with the way I split kin'lin...


LOL  I guess I spoke of the Devil.

A few months after posting that, I was making kin'lin and don't know why I wasn't wearing my leather gloves, but put a nasty cut on my index finger.


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## Gark (Jan 23, 2010)

Small fast kindling starters - visit construction sites where homes are being 'stick built'.
There are usually piles of dimension lumber ends 4-6 inches long laying around that they
pay to dispose of. Ask first, though. Once I asked and they said the homeowner needed
to approve if I could have the ends. Next day, they were burning them up in a pile to
be rid of 'em. 
Split 'em with a hatchet - holding them with a channel locks pliers: save your fingers.
Get tiny dry match-stick pieces that way. They burn like nuclear fission. Start anything.


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## rphurley (Jan 23, 2010)

Bigg_Redd said:
			
		

> I can't imagine the universe in which such a device would be necessary.


+1


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## mxjamie540 (Jan 23, 2010)

I usually try to score scrap dimensional lumber. Making kindling has fell onto the shoulders of my 8 year old boy (by his choice). 

So since I am the loving a compassionate father I am and don't want him to lose a finger......................... and he must not falter in his production neery the least, lest he be severely punished 

I have rigged him a holding device. I used a scrap piece of plywood and screwed scrap 2x4's to it that are laying on thier sides. This forms a small rectangle that is 2 inches wide, by about 14 inches long.

This way he can put 3 or so scrap 2x4's in the jig and wack the heck out of them with the hatchet, all the while keeping both hands (and all ten fingers) on the handle.



HE LOVES IT!

I would provide rudimentary pictures, but have none at the moment.


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## DavidV (Jan 23, 2010)

This is my kindling.
http://www.amazon.com/Bernzomatic-19425-JT850-Self-Igniting-Outdoor/dp/B00008ZA0F

I can almost always find a piece of wood small enough to put near the front of the stove to get it lit.  Inch or 2 thick and you are good to go in 2 minutes or less.  In the morning I usually don't have to mess with it cause I have some red coals left from the night before but if not, I use the poker to pull black charcoal to the front in a pile, and then put a small split or to right on that charcoal, then load the stove above and behind those small splits.  Then fire up the torch and in a minuted or two I have enough glowing charcoal or a small flame that I can go make my coffee. By the time my coffee is done I have a good fire going.

In the evening if I come home to a cold stove my procedure is something like this.  

pull charcoal to front
load stove
put coaster on mantle
Set my beer down on the coaster
light the torch
drink beer 

I have timed it and I can often get the fire going in 1 minute but 2 is more common.  When I'm standing there with a beer I don't really care.  The secret is to keep the torch on the same spot and not try to spread it all around....same spot gets things not only burning but heats up the wood enough that it catches.    This procedure also heats up the inside of the stove enough that I never have a draft problem when starting the stove so I almost never get smoke in the house.  Small propane cylinders are available from walmart in the sporting good section in 2paks for less than 6 bucks.  I might go thru 2 2paks a year.    I also use it to burn off weeds that poke up thru my sidewalk.


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## bogydave (Jan 24, 2010)

I put some straight grained spruce splits, in the tire & use the maul.


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## LLigetfa (Jan 24, 2010)

The big stuff that some folk call kindling I just call splits.

Now this is what I call kin'lin.  About as thick as my thumb on average.


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## Scotty0844 (Jan 24, 2010)

I work as a surveyor so I'm always on construction sites and pick up quite a bit of scrap lumber. I normally hold the wood in place with the axe and tap the back of the axe with a little 2lb sledge. I like my fingers too much to take a chance on losing one making kindling.


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## mxjamie540 (Jan 24, 2010)

mxjamie540 said:
			
		

> I usually try to score scrap dimensional lumber. Making kindling has fell onto the shoulders of my 8 year old boy (by his choice).
> 
> So since I am the loving a compassionate father I am and don't want him to lose a finger......................... and he must not falter in his production neery the least, lest he be severely punished
> 
> ...






Here is the pic I earlier mentioned


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