Wood Fire Research Paper

The first step to building a fire is gathering the driest wood for the fire. You have to have enough tinder, twigs, and wood. The wood shouldn't be wet or live. Using wet or live materials for fire starting will result in more smoke than fire, so leaves shouldn't be in the fire at all costs. To test whether the wood is good for fire or not; make sure that when you break the wood, it breaks cleanly. If the wood bends, it is not good for burning.

The second step is to clear the ground in a circle where your fire will be. The circle should be at least a 2 meters and a 6ft circle away from trees. Than place the big rocks in a small circle in the center to make the fire ring. They should be big rocks, about 2 to 4 times larger than your fist. This will prevent the fire from spreading. Always when you make an outdoor fire;fist like rocks should be placed around it. Then place a large bed of tinder in the center ready to take an ember. Put a small amount of twigs in order to retain the flame once the tinder is lit.

The third routine for
building a fire is to find a plank shaped piece of wood. Carve a dime sized bowl near the edge of the plank. Cut a V shaped notch from the bowl to the edge of the plank. Find a very long rod shaped branch with an end compatible to fit your bowl and notch on the plank, this will be your spindle. Place your driest tinder under the notch; this is where the ember will form. Place the end of your spindle in the notch. Spin the spindle by using a back and forth motion between both hands. Continue until an ember is seen 30 minutes straight is not uncommon. Once smoke is seen you must continue vigorously until ember is seen in the tinder. This is the around the point of exhaustion; but you must not stop otherwise you might have to tart again.

Optional another way to build a fire without the blisters is to build a bow drill.
The equipment you will need for the drill is A short spindle should be used due to the downward pressure that will be applied; so that it does not break or bend. A top handle that has another bowl carved out of it will be held in your right hand for stability. A bow with the string wrapped around the spindle will be used to do the back and forth motions. A boot's shoelace works very well for this application; due to the standard sizes being very long. The setup should not differ more the than the first way. Wrap the string around the spindle once. Tie the ends of the shoelace to the ends of the bow. Place the spindle on the piece of wood which you will make the ember on, and place a piece of small wood on top of the spindle for stabilization. Move the bow back and forth while pushing downward on the spindle to create friction and make an
ember.

Blow on the ember in the tinder cluster until it catches fire, it may take several minutes till the ember catches fire. It will smoke more and more until it catches fire. Make sure not to blow too hard though, you'll have to make another one. Place the tinder cluster in the fire circle to light the tinder and twigs previously arranged. Continue to add twigs until it burns easily.

Slowly add wood until it burns easily. At this point the fire is ready for cooking and signaling. Before this it was not hot enough to cook, and signaling would put out the fire.

Add wood to the fire every few hours to keep the fire burning through the night.

The final step when you are finished with the fire and ready to move on, smother the fire completely so it is cool to the touch. Disassemble the fire ring and return the area as close as possible to how it was before you arrived.