Materials:
* Lint- You can get plenty of lint from the lint trap in a clothes dryer)
* Paper towels- Mountains of paper towels can be found on campus restrooms, kitchens, etc.
* Candles- Several old burnt down stubs can be collected when they are no longer good for candelight use, or larger candles broken down into strawberry-sized pieces
* Coffee can- An empty (#10) Uban can, or another container capable of having wax burnt in it
* Wood shavings (thin) and/or saw dust, or pencil shavings- Plenty to grab from the machines in the scenery/wood/prop/paint shop in the Creative Arts building (Theatre Department) on campus
* Electric pencil sharpeners- usually the best source that you'll get your pencil shavings from, and or regular pencil sharpeners
* Cardboard egg carton, not Styrofoam- Usually a material that can be found in your refrigerator, or a purchased carton of eggs from a grocery store, market, etc.
* Bowl- Any medium to large plastic mixing/cooking bowl, usually found in your own kitchen
* Old newspaper (optional)- For protection for your floor, since wax and shavings can get a bit messy when being mixed and poured.Old, opened up cardboard boxes, recycled paper spread out, etc. can also be used for floor protection
The Procedure:
* Shred lint and paper towels to small sizes
* Mix in bowl with wood shavings/sawdust/pencil shavings
* Tear off top lid to cardboard egg carton
* Stuff fitted, compact balls of lint/towels/shavings into each egg crate
* Melt down candles to hot liquid wax in coffee can
* Place stuffed egg carton over old newspaper and pour liquid wax over entire carton
* Let stand until wax hardens and contents are solidified
* (Optional) Cut up carton by each separate egg crate
Time and Money
· Labor (all depends on how many are being made in one batch at once)
* Depending on how long it takes to collect all the materials (such as the sawdust/shavings, used candle stubs and laundry lint), once you have everything, it takes only an hour or so to go through all the steps, but times may vary due to the number of the fire starters one desires to make in a batch.
* Shredding/mixing lint and paper towels to small pieces takes only a couple of minutes to shred, place in the cooking bowl, and mix.
*Adding the wood chips, sawdust, and/or pencil shavings and mixing that in only takes another couple of minutes.
* Stuffing each egg crate with cookie sized lint balls takes about 10 minutes, depending on a 6, 12, or an 18-egg egg carton. The more ingredients you pack, the tighter and thicker the lint ball stays in its crate, and the longer it takes, but not much longer.
* If you do not have candle stubs, but do have a large candle(s), you may wish to break it down by smashing it with a hammer and throwing small pieces into the coffee can.
* Melting the wax can take the longest, depending on how much wax you are burning, and how you are heating it up. In a Uban coffee can on the stove, it took about 10-15 minutes for the candle pieces to melt down into a liquid.
* Pouring the wax over the egg carton and all its contents takes only a few seconds if done correctly and evenly. (It is also optional to simply dip the egg carton into the coffee can rather than distribute it over the carton on top of old newspaper to catch the drips.
* Depending on how big of a batch you made and how much wax was poured onto the carton, you must wait at least another 10-15 minutes for the wax to cool off and solidify so that all the lints balls are in tact, without any of the other materials falling out.
* After the wax has settled as is cool and hard enough to touch, it takes a couple of minutes to use a pair of scissors to cut and separate each egg crate, creating a fire starter.
Cost
* In theory, this project shouldn't cost any money at all. All the materials needed are purposely used as recycled objects. Some materials are specifically waste products that can't be used for anything else (i.e. the lint from a laundry dryer). An egg carton shouldn't cost anything extra, unless you don't normally buy eggs and have to for this project, which means it would only cost up to an average of $3. The coffee can, or any other metal can that can burn and maintain melted wax inside, might be found around the house or bought for cheap ($3-$5), depending on what's in that can in the first place. As for the wax, if you can't get any used candles, there are some cheap ($5) selections at Walgreens (or places alike) that sell fairly large candles that will provide enough wax for this project. Otherwise, most of the materials can be found at home.
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