The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: Big Frank on March 01, 2024, 10:51:12 AM
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Skoped Industries, makers of the Phone Skope, also make Pyro Putty fire starter. One of the accessories they make to go along with the Pyro Putty is a pair of candle discs that come in an emergency preparedness kit. You just pul a bit of the putty up through the holes, separate some of the strands, and light it like a candle.
https://skopedindustries.com/
I thought, why should I buy one of those candle discs when I have large diameter washers I can make my own from? These washers are 3 5/8" in diameter and a small stack of them were used as weight in the base of a lamp to keep it stable. I kept them like I keep other pieces of hardware, just in case I need them someday.
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My first attempt at cutting one to size with a cutting/grinding wheel in my angle grinder didn't turn out very well. For the second attempt, I cut the head off a bolt and used it as a mandrel in my 1/2" drill motor. I clamped the big washer between 2 smaller washers and 2 nuts. After I chucked it in the drill, I put the drill in my vise and locked the trigger down with a zip tie. Then I set the angle grinder to the washer at a 90 degree angle and started grinding a groove all the way around it. When the groove was most of the way through, I shut off the drill and turned the washer a bit at a time, and finished cutting the ring off. Then I used the bench grinder to round and smooth it out while I spun it in the drill. Then I spun the edge against 2 different files and a piece of sandpaper to really smooth out the edge. And finally, I sanded both sides and put some paste wax on it to reduce the chance of rust. I intentionally made it small enough to fit in the can, rather than over top the edge of it, so I can keep it in the can. I should have made it a little bit bigger, but I think it will work okay as is.
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Pyro Putty comes in several varieties. They have a summer blend that's a little thicker, and a winter blend that's a little thinner. There's an eco blend I didn't buy, and the ultralight blend I have here is now called the spring/fall blend. They'll all light at any temperature, but with the various blends there's always going to be one that's not frozen stiff, or getting runny from the heat.
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Very cool stuff. Sitting here while this weather front passes through, cold, rainy, gloomy. Overall not a great day in the hundred acre woods.
Might get two starter kits and two tins to put in the overnight emergency bag in each vehicle. Got nothing else to spend my money on.
Oh Wait. There's a S&W 325 Thunder Ranch, only $1,200.
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I think I have summer, winter, and spring/fall blends on the way. At least some summer and winter. You can mold Pyro Putty and stick it places to stop leaks, or charge it with UV light to mark trails at night. Or stick a gob of it on the end of a stick, and you have yourself a torch.
My cheap little ferro rod has a striker that's stamped out of sheet metal, and the edge was so smooth I couldn't scrape any sparks off the rod. So I used one corner of a three-square file to rough it up. It's almost like teeth on a hacksaw blade but smaller, and now it works. It's also supposed to be a bottle opener but I don't know if it will work. I sent away for a much larger ferro rod, 5/16" in diameter instead of 3/16" and I don't know how long, but maybe twice as long.
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I got my Exotac polySTRIKER XL in the mail. I also had an idea on how to improve the striking steel on my other ferro rod. I filed 3 edges of it at about a 40 degree angle with my coarsest file, and left the burr sticking out on the scraping edges. It's better but still sucks, because the steel is too soft.
https://giphy.com/gifs/firestarter-firestarting-exotac-UTNDeTFkHOjD0zMJT4
https://www.exotac.com/
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The handle of the polySTRIKER XL has a length of Live Fire Gear 550 FireCord attached.
https://www.livefiregear.com/shop/550-firecord/
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Exotac also makes quickLIGHT tinder. My Thyrm PyroVault 2.0 Lighter Armor came with a piece of it that fits in the bottom, underneath the Zippo lighter insert.
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I forgot to post this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBuSrEpIDQs