Tried and True Fire-starting Technique - The Herringbone
Are you a Teepee builder? A log cabin builder? A random assorter? There are dozens of ways to start a fire and everybody believes fully in their method. But have you ever had a dud start? One that smokes and smolders and is then lackluster. Maybe after the tinder has burned all that you are left with is a few chared pieces. We have all been there and the feeling is the same. Defeat, embarrassment, baffled. Why!? "This has never happened to me..." Well a few seasons ago we developed a stacking technique that has yet to fail us!
Behild the Herringbone!
There is optimal air flow, good spacing for evenly distributed heat and a cradle that allows your first piece of wood to be fully engulfed in flames as the tinder fires off.
Here is the process:
Start by laying 2 parallel pieces on the bed of your stove.
Crumple up your newspaper and place it between the two pieces of wood. Then take your tinder (many people mistakenly refer to it as kindling) and crisscross it from left to right. Stick one end underneath the quarter that is laying down and then rest it ontop of the parallel piece. If you do this with each piece of tinder it will raise the quarter piece off of the bed to allow better air flow.
Once all of the "herringbones" have been placed, lay another quarter in the cradle.
And then fire it off! Once you master this technique you will never go back.
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Works like a charm!! Woohoooo!
Thank you for sharing!
Awesome!!!! The only way I build fires!
Nice! Never seen this technique before. Looks like I must try it for my next fire build!
Let me know how it works for you! Happy burning!
That looks great! The first thing I thought was, "So...much...air...flow!" Next time I get caught having to start the fire I'm going to try it!
Thank you! Airflow is key! Let me know how it works you you!
Absolutely!
woah, i still have so much to learn about this!!!! LOL
I am happy to teach you all I know!
ditto, my friend - and thank you! =D
Sounds like it would work very well. Upvoted!
Thank you @fernowl13!!!
You are quite welcome!
And I meant to reply to you about the heating/cooling design. I think it is great! I don't think the distance between our locations makes it practical for me to attempt anything for you though. I recommend looking online at some DIY videos of window mounted solar ovens! The concept is very similar to what you are talking about and you might get some good ideas to improve on the design with.
Oh, I wasn't attempting to get someone to do it for me. I was hoping someone could make use of it, get the bugs worked out and put it out in a format anyone could use to make it for themselves. I am vision impaired and since my husband passed, I just cannot use power tools anymore. It is an idea needing someone to make it into a full plan.
Oh haha sorry for the misunderstanding! I got you now. It really is a brilliant idea! Let's see what I can do :)
I am a teepee builder when it comes to fires.
lol- I had to chuckle when I read the first few sentences of this post- never knew were categorized!
Consider yourself categorized and put in a box 😂 I first had the thought of how people gravitate towards different fire building techniques when I was quite a bit younger. Building a camp fire out at Grandpa's property -doing the teepee method none the less - he comes up and says "oh no Jonathan, you need to build a log cabin. Much better air flow - So from that point on I was a log cabin builder until this technique was developed. I wish I could show grandpa now :)
Maybe that's why Lincoln Logs were invented.. to help homesteaders in the future with building structures and for knowing the basics of fire starting/building... geez, I miss playing with those logs!
See... he handed down knowledge and information that may have been lost over generations. Love when I see those little tricks of the trade passed down.
Nice! Now that you mention it - I don't know what kind of builder I am. Mostly unsuccessful though, I would say. Thanks for the tip.
You are welcome! Good luck!
We've got to go to the woods to get more wood, but after that I'll definitely give this a shot! We usually just pile a helluva lot of dried pine needles on/under the logs and pray/hope lol.
I think you just added a new category of fire-starters: The Stack and Pray - Haha I hope this makes your life easier and warmer!
It is easy to forget that fire need air. Piling wood up does not a fire make!
My husband told me a story about going to camp when he was a kid. His father went as a chaperone to a bunch of the boys. They started a fire in the cabin's fireplace and the room started to fill with smoke. Doug's dad quickly threw a piece of newspaper into the fire and instantly the smoke started going up the chimney. Without that quick heat to direct the hot air to rise, a cold chimney can sometimes not draw the smokey air up. Important lesson for me!
Very true! This happens from time to time with me, even with a good staring fire, if the house has been cold for a while. I have been trying to figure out a way to easily and efficiently pre-warm the chimney for these times. Some sort of heat coil would be neat but what 🤔🤔🤔
It seems to work well for me to light a nice piece of paper or cardboard right under the chimney. The cardboard seems to work the best and we get enough boxes from Amazon especially at this time of year! Shopping online has made life so much easier now we're living so far outside a good-sized town!
I love it, will try it!
Let me know how it works out for you!
Yeah will do Jon if you want to follow me I will follow you too. : ) Harj
Sounds like a plan! Will head over and follow now :)