tinder bundle

[mazeman]

It is confirmed - I have fire-by-friction fever!
Hearth, drill (with a dab of nose greease), bearing block and bow all from hazel and I've had superb coals; whoopee!!!!
BUT.... can't seem to get the tinder bundle end of things right. I've used teased-out jute string, a thistle down and birch bark nest but no flame yet. Any ideas anyone?

 

[JonnyP]

Try putting the ember on an ember extender like dried crampball fungus. Also make sure your tinder bundle is not too tightly scrunched up because you need air to get in. Most of all, practice practice practice....Well done on getting an ember, most see that as the hard part...

 

[mazeman]

I'd not thought of crampballs.... thanks, Jon. Trouble is I've not seen one yet! I'm quite new to this game and I'm not sure they're around up here in my corner of North West Wales.Anyone know?

 

[gregorach]

Yeah, the tinder bundle bit is the bit everyone assumes is easy... It seems to be a question of getting the bundle tight enough, but not too tight, and squeezing hard enough, but not too hard.

About the only concrete tip I can give is to make your bundle 2 or 3 times bigger than you think it needs to be, at least until you get the hang of it.

 

[Toadflax]

I started trying to do everything in one go, and quickly realised that there are a lot of processes involved to produce a viable fire. Given the time and effort involved in producing a coal with friction, I stepped back and did a fair bit of work on turning an ember produced by a modern firesteel into fire. That way I knew that once I had produced a decent ember from friction, I had a good chance of turning it into fire.

HTH


Geoff

 

[Ogri the trog]

Congratulations on attaining an ember, the hard part is over.
Thistle down should help, but the flames are very short lived. Birchbark is better at taking sparks rather than embers, so maybe a nest of very dry hay/grass and maybe a little shredded cedar bark - cut into strips and buffed between your hands till it resembles hair.
Cramp ball fungus grows on dead or dying ash trees and looks like an animal dropping! It should be relatively firm to the touch and show the concentric growth-rings when broken open. Use the fungus whole initially and reduce the size as your experience grows.

Most importantly, tell us when you get it all to work and pass on your knowledge to someone else

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[JonnyP]

I'd not thought of crampballs.... thanks, Jon. Trouble is I've not seen one yet! I'm quite new to this game and I'm not sure they're around up here in my corner of North West Wales.Anyone know?

Cramp balls (King Alfred cakes) seem to grow best on dead ash trees, but will grow on oak and I think I even saw some on some birch once. Only pick the black ones, not the purple ones, as they have not yet spored and will make a right mess when they do spore.
If you have birch in your area, look out for birch polypores growing on the trees, they work as an extender too. Also if you have managed pine woodland, look for the old stumps fron the cut down trees. Pull up some of the punk, dead wood from the stumps and dry it....This will burn well... You should be able to have success with birch bark peelings though, make sure you have plenty and they are the really thin peelings..As Gregorach says, make your bundle bigger....

 

[mazeman]

Thanks, chaps; what a wonderful place this is! I'll get a' hunting for the crampballs, and the punk too. Got to say "oh, bbbbbb....!" though, as I as down in Somerset last week and burned a ton of cedar but didn't think of barking! Next time.
Seems this game is about gathering knowledge and spotting possibles, and thoroughly enjoying the deepening relationship with the Earth. What fun!

 

[rich59]

My recipe for a tinder bundle is:-

2 flatish pieces of wood or bark, the bigger one 6 inches or more square.
A few handfuls of dry leaves (a few twigs can help)

Put down the bigger flat bit "the bottom layer". Take a handful of leaves and rub them between your hands to crumble them onto any flat surface. Repeat this with the rest of the leaves. Now lift off the fibrous and lumpy bits and pile them into a heap on your "bottom layer". Finally you will have a small pile of fine, powdery stuff - perhaps an egg in size. Take this and push it into the side of your pile of fibous stuff. Keep this bit carefully compact and try not to scatter it. Then put the other bit of wood "the top layer" on top.

Now put your coal into the fine powdery bit and carefully and gently blow and blow and blow, keeping the growing coal surrounded by more material. Should get to flame with the heat trapped between the bottom and top layers.

With practice it will even work in damp conditions.

 

[mazeman]

Thanks, Richard, I'll try this - are there any leaves that work better than others? Are there any to avoid? Leaves to me means smoke signals on Autumn days, smells wonderful.

 

[bushtank]

the best tinder bundle i have used is dry fern it is the best for me

 

[mazeman]

just fern, Thomas, or does bracken work as well?

 

[Greg]

This tinder bundle was my first success, it consisted of dry grass and a bit of dry moss.
It wasn't to tight or loose.
Any way good luck on your next attempt.

 

[rich59]

Thanks, Richard, I'll try this - are there any leaves that work better than others? Are there any to avoid? Leaves to me means smoke signals on Autumn days, smells wonderful.

Anything that crumbles. So waxy leaves could be a problem.

 

[michiel]

It has to be fluffed up and dry. If it meets those criteria, you can make a tinder bundle out of it.
Try some sisal rope that's been fluffed up. Really easy tinder.

Good luck!

Michiel

 

[rich59]

It has to be fluffed up and dry. If it meets those criteria, you can make a tinder bundle out of it.
Try some sisal rope that's been fluffed up. Really easy tinder.

Good luck!

Michiel

The fluffy tinders work well and quickly when dry. My crumbly leaf sandwich is a different principle - oven cooking a more dense tinder. I think mine is also lower risk of glowing bits floating off and setting fire to your hair, beard, clothes or eyebrows as you can put it down on a low surface.

 

[falling rain]

severely buffed clematis is my favourite tinder. Keep it as a flat platform about an inch thick and fairly compact. Like a round flat birds nest. Don't put a dent/dimple in the surface to take the ember, as you need contact with the ember when you fold the tinder around it. Blow fairly gently to start with, steadily increasing the strength of the blowing as the glowing grows, until you're really giving it quite large and furious smoke starts billowing, when you get this far the flame will be only a second or 2 away. Just keep blowing hard.

 

[mazeman]

"Whoopee." I have made my first flame. And oh, the feeling.
I used jute string from a garden centre and teased out a three foot length of it into a lovely nest.
Of the numerous lessons I have learned in this process the most crucial one has got to be breath control. Bowing like billy-o is all well and good but if you haven't got the breath to sweeten the coal it's all to no avail.
Thanks, one and all for the really great advice.
Ny next try will be with your tinder sandwich, Rich59, can't wait.