Introduction: Mini Project #10: the Altoids Tin-Derizer Aka the Ultimate Fire Kit
Hi Instructables Community,
to celebrate my 10th Mini Project here on Instructables and my Youtube Channel I decided to show you one of my favorite Altoids modifications. The concept for this Mini Project was inspired by the Gerber Bear Grylls Tinderbox. Although I do like most Gerber products I'm not too fond of its BG series and the price tag that comes with it. That's one reason why I decided to make my own the other was that I'm not convinced that the grater on the Gerber product will hold up well to abuse (Most reviewers seemed to have mixed feelings about it). While strolling through my favorite DIY Superstore I discovered a product made by Stanley in the woodworking section that looked perfect for my plan to modify an Altoids peppermint tin. Add a dual size pencil sharpener to the mix and you have a pocket sized tool get your fire burning when out and about.
Difficulty: | Advanced (Power tools required) |
Time: | 30 Minutes |
Primary Use: | Preparation of tinder and storage of fire making tools |
Check out the video if you want to see the tool in action.
If you like this Instructable please vote, fav, share, subscribe & comment. I have just started my own Blog which you can visit here. You can also check my YouTube, Facebook and Twitter sites for current and upcoming projects.
I would also love to see pictures of the TinDerizers you made and your experience using them.
Take care & stay safe
Cheers Alex
Step 1: Materials and Tools Needed
Materials: |
|
Tools: |
|
Step 2: Preparation
- Remove the lid of the first tin. This will become the dust cover for your fire kit. Keep the lower part for other projects.
- Slide the SurForm shaver blade onto the lower part of the other tin. This should be relatively easy and the blade should be held in place by friction alone.
- Use your marker to trace the outlines of the shaver blade and pencil sharpener onto the tin.
- Use a straight edge to draw your cut marks. These should be approx. 6mm - 1/4" inside of your traced outlines.
Step 3: Cutting & Deburring
Wear appropriate safety gear (Goggles, dust respirator & gloves) for the following steps!
- Use the cut off wheel to cut out the hole for the shaver and pencil sharpener.
- Use the sanding bit and deburring bits to deburr the cut edges. You can also use a metal file for this.
- Check if all openings are large enough for the shaver and sharpener, if not make adjustments accordingly.
Step 4: Gluing
- Use the sandpaper to roughen the surfaces in order for the glue to get a better hold.
- Mix a small quantity of epoxy (or JB weld) to glue the pencil sharpener into the box.
- I use two small clamps to hold the pencil sharpener in place during whilst the glue was curing.
Step 5: Making a Small Dust Cover
- Use the tin snips to cut a small piece of tin into shape which will act as a dust cover for the pencil sharpener.
- This will be held in place by friction from the two lids although you could glue it to one of the lids if you like.
Step 6: Test
- Use a small twig and use with the pencil sharpener to produce thin shavings. If the twig is wet from the outside simply wipe off as much moisture as possible. If the wood is dry inside this method will provide you with mostly dry tinder.
- The SurForm shaver works on the pull stroke and will produce fine curled shavings which are perfect to build your tinder nest or tinder bundle.
I will test this tool on various wood types to be able to make recommendations as to which to use or avoid. Dead, dry woods should work fine as long as they do not contain to much resin that could clog the shaver quickly.
Step 7: Completing the Kit
To complete my fire kit I've added the following items:
- Small ZipLoc bag that contains the blade during transport but can also be used to store dry tinder.
- Small silica gel bag to control humidity in the tin.
- Small ferrocerium rod with a hacksaw blade striker
- Damp proof matches from an MRE
- A small BIC lighter
- Two waterproof packed storm matches
- A small magnifying lens
- Last but not least a small packet of Vaseline - cotton ball mix as emergency tinder if nothing else is available.
I would also love to see pictures of the TinDerizers you made and your experience using them.
You can win a 3-Month Pro Membership for Instructables if you subscribe to my YouTube channel and leave me a comment at this video. I will announce the winner on Sunday the 6th Dec 15 here on my orangeboard as well as my Facebook, Twitter & Blog.