Report Copyright Infringement View in OSM UK

Description

Use fire steel to light a cotton ball from

https://www.scouts.org.uk/activities/steels-sparks-and-snacks/
https://www.scouts.org.uk/activities/try-using-a-flint-and-steel/

Resources

Fire steel
Cotton wool pads or balls
Fire bucket, filled with water
Jar lids or small foil trays

Instructions

Catch a Spark

1. Everyone should go to their own pile of fire lighting equipment.
2. Everyone should end up in a large circle – they should be two metres from everyone else and able to see the person leading the activity.
3. The person leading the activity should show everyone how to use the fire steel.
4. Everyone should pull their cotton wool apart so that it’s really fluffy and place it into the foil tray.
5. Everyone should kneel down with their back facing the wind and their knees together to eliminate any draughts.
6. The person leading the activity should explain that the fire steel has two parts, the rod and the striker. People can hold them in either hand, depending on whether they’re right or left-handed.
7. Everyone should grip their steel rod with their thumb on top and the side of their index finger below. They should hold the striker the same way and hold it above the rod at a 90 degree angle.
8. Feel the edge of the striker with your finger, the sharper edge should point down to scrape the rod.
9. Everyone should put the tip of their rod onto their cotton wool ball. Get the fire steel as close to the tinder as you can to help guide your sparks to the target.
10. Everyone should hold the striker at a 45 degree angle and scrape down the rod slowly with pressure to create sparks. Always move in a direction away from the body.
11. Everyone should keep trying until the sparks catch the cotton wool on fire – it should burn out in a couple of seconds.
12. Everyone should practise again with another cotton wool ball until everyone has managed to light at least one fire.

Make some fire lighters
1. Choose what type of firelighter the group should make from the following options:

a)Stuffed toilet roll tube: stuff a cardboard toilet roll tube with cotton wool, wood shavings or dried grass. Squeeze or fold over the ends to stop the filling coming out.
b)Jelly cotton wool: smear petroleum jelly on cotton wool balls. Petroleum jelly isn’t flammable until the cotton wool heats it up, so it makes the firelighter last much longer.
c)Stuffed egg box: tear newspaper into thin strips and stuff them inside a cardboard egg box.
d)Crisps: use tortilla chips – they burn well because of the fat in them.
e) Newspaper tubes: roll newspaper into a tube shape, flatten it and tie a knot (or fold it) in the middle.

2. Give everyone the equipment they need to make the chosen firelighter.
3. Explain and demonstrate how to make the firelighters, then everyone can give it a try with adult supervision.

Tags

(none)

Badge Links

• Backwoods Cooking - Light fire
• Camp Craft - Make fire