Wind and Water Proof Fatwood

video Wind and Water Proof Fatwood

A simple yet (somewhat) time-consuming way to make the best waterproof fatwood you will ever burn! This stuff has some amazing properties, such as being waterproof and retaining its flammability while being submerged for long periods of time, being able to burn ferociously in high speed winds (30-50 mph), and being very cheap and simple to manufacture. Any questions, comments, or suggestions, leave em on the video on on Instructables, and I'd be happy to answer/respond!

GOOD AND BAD WOODS TO USE (spoiler: no wood won't work for this)

1. Look at it: can you see the grain, and/or any tubelike structures running through it?
If so, then it will work perfectly.

2. Is it soft, or does it smell like pine or evergreens?
If so, it's probably a coniferous wood, such as spruce, pine, or cedar. 2x4s are made on spruce.

3. Is it dry?
If so, it will work just fine. The drier, the better.

To sum it up, any type of wood will work just fine for this.

kingsmanname says: Jul 4, 2012. 5:36 PM

I appreciate this video. Definitely a good idea, my only issue with it would be lighting it. I used to make closed egg cartons filled with dryer lint and dipped in wax and it was always really hard to light. Think you could use this on a smaller level and use skewers? Just a thought. Lol But really good video, maybe you could add a list to the description of good and bad hard and soft woods. I'll subscibe to you for this good idea. Please post more on other tricks like this. And if you kayak or anything, feel free to look at my kayak dolly/trailer. (Not trying to advertise or anything)

builderofcoolthings (author) in reply to kingsmannameJul 17, 2012. 2:33 PM

Skewers are made of bamboo, and don't have very open pores, so skewers might not work well. You could just split the wood more, or as EmcySquare suggested, cardboard or rags.

I do enjoy kayaking, so I will check out that trailer.

kingsmanname in reply to builderofcoolthingsJul 19, 2012. 11:27 AM

Oh, I suppose it does need to be pourous. I didn't even think about that. Ha I suppose old shirts cut into rags would work, or cotton balls? Thank you for your reply. I appreciate it.

EmcySquare says: Jul 5, 2012. 3:02 AM

Meltingwax this way could be very very dangerous as the liquid wax might ignite and catch fire.
The "correct" way (as i was taught) is to place the pot with the wax inside another larger pot with water inside it.

I did some using small rolled rags and rolled strips of cardboard instead of the wood. It works great: 8 to 10 minutes of flames out of a 2.5 inch roll of cotton and wax.

builderofcoolthings (author) in reply to EmcySquareJul 17, 2012. 2:32 PM

The only real way to get it to ignite would be to get it to a rolling boil, or to have some water in the mixture. Wax boils at a higher temperature than water, so when there are droplets of water in the liquid wax, those boil first. Because the water is boiling and producing bubbles, it upsets the liquid wax and from those bubbles and steam, the liquid wax is agitated and essentially atomizes the wax, enabling it to be ignited easier than it would normally. You can't ignite liquid wax by holding a flame to it. You can, however, ignite liquid wax by dispersing/atomizing it, such as taking a liquid pot of wax, and throwing it on a fire.

That's interesting about the rolled rags and cardboard; ill have to try that.

Thanks!