instructables

Fire Starter - Waterproof

by lonesoulsurfer

Over the years I’ve made a few different emergency - then check this 'ible out to get started
fire starters. You can check these out in the links
below. There is no right or wrong way to make a fire Lastly, the evolution of the design changed a couple
starter; I mean the best solution is still a flint and steel of times so there might be a couple discrepancies in
in my humble opinion. Each version has its own pros the images
and cons which I won’t go into detail here. Suffice to
say, as long as it can make a fire when you don’t Other emergency fire starters I've made
have matches or a lighter, you’re onto a winner.
Simple Fire Piston
This version is also waterproof (pretty important when
trying to light fires!) and uses char cloth in order to get Fire Starter and Tinder Case
the fire started. Char cloth is simply cotton cloth
which has been charred but not set alight. It has a Flint and Sparkwheel Fire Starter
very low burning temp which is easy to light with a
spark. Also included is a sparkwheel from a lighter. Simple Fire Piston

You could also add a few other survival parts to this Steel Wool Emergency Fire Starter
kit such as needles, floss, small hook etc. I tried to
make it as small as possible but there is no reason Mini Emergency Survival Kit
why you couldn’t make it larger and add more survival
gear inside. Wax and Lint Tinder

If you know nothing about soldering brass and copper

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fM5ZEA1AWa8&t=25s

Fire Starter - Waterproof: Page 1

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Step 1: Parts and Tools

Parts sparkwheel and flint is replaceable in these lighters

and can be easily removed as you can see from the
1. 3/4” Copper Tube images. You only need this

2. 2 X 3/4” Cap Tools:

3. 10mm brass nut 1. Solder - Make sure it's silver solder as it bonds
better and won't bet brittle through age.
4. 10mm male plug
2. Flux
5. Small brass bolt
3. Blow torch
6. Small copper tube (this need to hold the
sparkwheel from the lighter) 4. Files

7. Clipper Lighter – eBay or a newsagent. The 5. Drill

6. Sander 8. Wet and dry sandpaper 600 grit and 1200 grit

7. Grinder

Fire Starter - Waterproof: Page 3

Step 2: Soldering the Nut to the Copper Pipe
Adding the nut to the copper tube allows you to screw
on a lid – in this case the 10mm male plug
Steps:
1. The piece of tube that I used was initially about
80mm long. After a few false starts I cut this down to
about 55mm. It’s up to you however to decide on how
long you want the container to be.
2. Add some flux to the bottom of the tube and secure
Fire Starter - Waterproof: Page 4
the nut and tube into a vice lengthwise
3. Heat-up with the blow torch and add some solder.
You will notice that the solder will pool towards the
bottom. Don’t worry as you will be re-heating.
4. With a pair of pliers, remove the copper tube and
stand it up with the nut on the bottom. Re-heat with
the torch and add some more solder if necessary. It’s
better to add to much then not enough.
Step 3: Round Off the Nut
If you wanted to you could just leave the nut as a hex
shape and move into the next step. I wanted to round
mine off and blend it into the copper as much as I
could.
Steps:
1. First grind off the points on the nut and make as
round as possible. If you have a belt sander, use this
to further smooth it out.
Fire Starter - Waterproof: Page 5
2. Next I use my home-made lathe and attached the
tube to it. If you can, make one of these as it makes
the job a lot quicker. Use files to smooth out the nut
even further and also remove any excess solder.
3. Lastly, with some 600 grit wet and dry sandpaper,
remove any fine scratches on the nut and body of the
container.
Step 4: Adding the Sparkwheel to the Lid of the Container

Steps: and it it doesn’t go any further then the protrusion,

1. First remove the flint and sparkwheel from the
lighter.
2. Next, cut a piece of the small copper tube. I can’t
remember what size this was but if you go to a hobby
store they will have all types of lengths for you to try
and fit the sparkwheel into. The sparkwheel as a
small protrusion near the top. Place it into the tube
then that’s the right size.
3. The plugs usually have some black paint on them.
Use a sander to remove and smooth off with finer
sandpaper.
4. Drill a hole into the top just big enough to fit the
tube into

Fire Starter - Waterproof: Page 6

Step 5: Soldering the Tube Into the Plug

Apologies for not having many photos of how I added are only left with the top section of the cap. You can
the top section to the plug. I will go through in detail to do this with an angle grinder, sander and patience.
explain how I did it
2. Add some flux and solder to the top of the plug and
Steps: place the top section of the cap onto it

1. Push the tube into place. Leave a little pocking out
the top.
2. Solder into place
3. Grind of the excess tube from the top of the plug
using either as grinder or sander.
To block the hole in the top of the plug I tried a few
different things in the end I did the following:
3. Place it so the cap and plug are on the bottom
4. Heat up with the blow torch until the solder melts.
Place some pressure onto the copper tube so the 2
pieces stick firm
5. Once it has cooled, sand of file the edges so they
form one piece with the plug.
6. Polish with some fine grit sandpaper

1. Grab a ¾” cap and remove all of the sides until you

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Step 6: Adding a Cap to the Bottom of the Container

Steps:

1. Add some flux in the inside of a ¾” cap

2. Place the ¾ tube with the soldered nut into the cap

3. Sit it somewhere that won’t get damaged from heat, hit it with the blow torch and add some solder

Fire Starter - Waterproof: Page 9

Step 7: Making a Loop Tand Polishing

Steps: 5. If you do have any solder leakage which I did, use

1. Grab the small brass bolt and with a file or a
sander remove 4 corners and round it off
2. Place in a vice and cut it in half, keeping the
rounded section
a small, fine file and remove the solder where it has
leaked.
6. Smooth out any scratches you may have made
with the files with some 600 grit wet and dry
sandpaper.

3. Smooth off the cut ends again with a file or sander 7. Lastly, polish the whole thing with a metal polish.

4. Place on top of the bottom of the lighter, add some

flux and solder it to the bottom cap.

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