Samill residue.

[Don P]

Reminds me of a friend that went down with a gov't agency after a hurricane. He said he reimbursed the same fridge about a dozen times, "Hey if those poor folks have what it takes to carry that fridge around through storm damage they deserved something  :D"

[WDH]

I was a hippie in my youth a long time ago.  If once a hippie, always a hippie?  Hmmm, maybe a young hippie could be reformed and not be an old hippie?  So many questions . 

[brianJ]

Put different color seats on it each time you rent it out.   Inspector will never suspect a thing

[doc henderson]

@chep is that the right side as you face it, or as you are seated????  

[Don P]

I was taught front and back, left and right are always from the "operators station" ;D.

[doc henderson]

in medicine it is the same, anatomical sidedness.  it is "your" L hand, and not the one to my left.  

[doc henderson]

cartoon character who says exit stage left - Bing video

[WV Sawmiller]

Reminds me of a friend that went down with a gov't agency after a hurricane. He said he reimbursed the same fridge about a dozen times, "Hey if those poor folks have what it takes to carry that fridge around through storm damage they deserved something  :D"

Don,

   That reminds me of the tale the man my dad bought his home from told. Evidently he was a soldier on guard duty in Korea and stationed up in a tower overlooking the motor pool. He said he watched a local Korean crawl under the fence and sneak over and disconnect a motor - I don't remember if it was in a truck or a jeep - then he attached the motor to an A-frame pack and strapped it on his back, lifted it up and walked off with it. He said "I knew it was my duty to stop him but I figured if he was going to work that hard for it he could have it." :

[mike_belben]

I made a video on how to use it to replace kindling in your woodstove.  Most people could go a whole winter on a 5gallon bucket.  Seasoned wood only needs one scoop. 

DIY firestarter mix from sawdust and oil, for home stove or camp - YouTube

[WV Sawmiller]

Mike,

I had to restart my heart there when I first saw and misread your post. Since we had been talking about composting toilets when I saw a thread that started with "I made a video showing how to ..." I jumped to the wrong conclusion and was thinking "That is the last How-To video I want to watch." Fortunately I was wrong and you posted about fire starter instead. Then you posted most people could go all winter with a 5 gallon bucket and I was thinking cold weather must be causing serious constipation issues. Whew! Talk about a near miss there! :D :D :D

[Old Greenhorn]

Mike,

I had to restart my heart there when I first saw and misread your post. Since we had been talking about composting toilets when I saw a thread that started with "I made a video showing how to ..." I jumped to the wrong conclusion and was thinking "That is the last How-To video I want to watch." Fortunately I was wrong and you posted about fire starter instead. Then you posted most people could go all winter with a 5 gallon bucket and I was thinking cold weather must be causing serious constipation issues. Whew! Talk about a near miss there! :D :D :D

Howard, you really shouldn't read this stuff until you are into your 2nd cup of coffee and have your glasses on. ;D
Mike, nice video, I subscribed. Keep 'em comin'! I will give this a try as soon as I find a source for the veggie oil. We don't use those kinds of quantities.

[doc henderson]

many fast food restaurants change the fryer oil (hopefully) on a regular basis.  so much so they prob. have a big tank out back for it.  a smaller one may just throw it out, or not care where it goes.  next time at breakfast at your favorite dinner, ask if you could have some.  Motor oil would physically work, but may have smell, and not be as socially acceptable.  I make mine with remnants of old candles.  melted down and put in Christmas/winter design cupcake papers, and candy tins.  they smell great, no mess in the living room.  I give them as gifts, but not to everyone.  I put a wick in them to help light them.  they burn for 10 minutes and a 10 inch tall 2 inch wide flame.  Had a child life specialist set one on a mantle and light it.  she got it to the sink.  she thought it was a candle.   :D





I demonstrated one of these at @customsawyer get together a couple years ago.  with spontaneous combustion with potassium permanganate and glycerin as well.

bon_fire

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah Doc, I used to make those with young scouts from time to time years ago. It does take time though. I like the simplicity of Mike's idea (although that would not transpose well to backpacking) and will give it a try just for the heck of it. The shop stove seems to need a kick start every other morning and although the maps torch works well, I kind of like this idea and think it might be faster.

 I have recently discovered another use for sawdust. When we get melt/freeze cycles that cause ice and walking safety problems I used to throw down old stove ash to absorb any sunlight, encourage melting, and add some friction, but I couldn't do it near the doors because I don't want that stuff working its way into the carpets. Last week we had one break in the low temps and some of the snow melted and the next morning it was like glass. I could barely make my way to the shop and almost went down twice. I grabbed a bucket of table saw dust and small planer chips and it worked like a charm, just like sandpaper, zero slipping, the sawdust just bonded to the ice somehow. Now it if does make it in the house, a vacuum does the trick just fine. In addition, when the next thaw cycle hits and makes water, the sawdust floats to the top, then re-freezes on the top surface maintaining 90% of the original effect. It's a winner. SO for next winter I will have a couple of covered buckets prepped and set in strategic places. The stuff will disappear when I do the first mowing. It's safe, and I can throw it anywhere.

[Magicman]

 

 
Here is an instance where sawdust saved the day and allowed us to continue sawing after the rain stopped.


 
We continually scattered sawdust and finally built the walking area up above the standing water.  You can see the sawdust pile in the background where we "stole" a wheelbarrow load of sawdust.  You can also see that the rear outrigger seemingly got shorter. 

[WV Sawmiller]

Doc,

   You are taking scented candles to a whole new level. I can see a young couple sitting down with the lights dimmed, romantic music playing then the guy lights a Doc Henderson candle and all he can think of after that is French fries and Fried chicken. : :D

[farmfromkansas]

Mike, think I am #32.  Can appreciate poor folk wisdom. Computer put my wife's name on it.  I have been filling cardboard boxes with sawdust from my DC barrel, then put a few sticks across the top to help the fire start.  Had not thought of using oil.  The cardboard seems to keep the sawdust from falling into the ash drawer.  Anyway, when it is all burned up there is no sawdust in the ash drawer.

[mike_belben]

Thanks guys.  I recommend changing your thunderbuckets more than once a winter! 



Vegetable oil is pretty easy to get with cheap fuels.  I started when diesel was $4/gal and people would literally steal the grease i was paying for. 


Lots of people fry their turkeys for thanksgiving, and before covid, VFWs having their weekly "fish fry" are two of the easiest sources of small batch i ever got.  Grease is one of those things thats hard to get in the quantity you want.  At one point i found myself obligated to take thousands of gallons/year from a sheraton hotel when i finally got in there.  



I had to come up with creative ways to get rid of the slop that settles out to the bottom and isnt feasible to make fuel out of.  Heated the old house for 2 or 3 years on pure sawdust and oil in a modified wood stove.  A 55g drum of each is probably as much btu as 3 or 4 cords.  Lot less lugging down the stairs too.  One tote per week. Gear reduction drill with a paddle bit for a mixxer. 

[sumpnz]

I made a video on how to use it to replace kindling in your woodstove.  Most people could go a whole winter on a 5gallon bucket.  Seasoned wood only needs one scoop.

DIY firestarter mix from sawdust and oil, for home stove or camp - YouTube

If you have a modern catalytic stove, for the sake of your catalyst, do not make that fire starter.  
For anything else it's probably fine.

[Southside]

Yea, so watching @doc henderson and his demonstration was quite entertaining.  Watching Jake feverishly trying to call his insurance agent and ask if everything was paid up was a whole 'nother level of entertainment.   :D