Readers’ letters: Send us an email; include pics. (You might win a great prize.)

AFTER READING the letter in last year’s March edition, I thought of the projects that I enjoy doing with my children, and the value of the time spent together as a family. I remember how

I, as a child, would spend hours in my grandfather’s workshop, and the love it kindled in me for creating and innovation. I hope I’ll be able to convey some of this to my children, which can be a challenge, considering the instant-information world we now live in.

This letter might be useful to other readers looking for an easy family project. My kids thoroughly enjoyed the whole process, and in the end it was wonderful to see the satisfaction on their faces – that expression of ‘We made this ourselves, and it works!’

When it’s cold, we warm our home with a vintage wood stove, and so make almost daily use of firelighters. I’ve tried several DIY firelighters (such as teabags and chipboard pieces in paraffin), but they were usually quite messy. Another disadvantage was that the burn time was quite limited. This could be due to the particles in the teabags or chipboard being relatively large and not very absorbent.

During the winter months of 2019, I decided to design my own ‘pellet press’ to make firelighters. I had no idea if it would work, but since I had all the parts lying around in my workshop it was worth a try. These are the materials we used: egg boxes or other paper pulp containers; 20 cm piece of 50 mm PVC pipe; hacksaw; heat gun or blowtorch; bench vice; 40–50 cm piece of 40 mm PVC pipe; PVC glue; 6 mm and 10 mm drill bits and drill; 30 cm × 10 mm threaded rod; 2 × 10 mm nuts; paraffin.

If you’re keen to make these yourself, I suggest following these instructions:

1. Preparing the paper pulp:

• Tear the egg boxes into smaller pieces and place them in a bucket of hot water. The amount of egg boxes will be determined by the number of firelighters you want to make. Leave the bucket for a few hours (overnight is best).

2. Making the plunger:

• Cut the 50 mm piece of PVC pipe into two 10 cm pieces. One piece will become the pellet ‘die’ and the other will be the plug at the end of the 40 mm plunger.

• Cut the one 10 cm piece of 50 mm pipe lengthwise with the hacksaw.

• Gently warm the cut piece with the heat gun or blowtorch to soften the plastic.

Use gloves or pliers to hold the plastic as it heats up. • Once the plastic is pliable, open it up and clamp it flat in the bench vice. If your vice does not have flat jaws, the plastic can be sandwiched between two pieces of wood and then clamped. If you don’t have a bench vice, most other clamping methods should work (such as hand clamps). • Once the flat piece has cooled, remove it from clamping and cut it into a disc that fits on to the end of the 40 mm pipe. • Glue the disc in place with PVC glue and apply pressure until the glue has set.

• Drill a 10 mm hole close to the opposite end of the 40 mm pipe and insert the 10 mm threaded rod. (Refer to the photos.)

• Thread a nut on each side to keep the rod in place.

• Wind insulation tape around the two handles to cover the sharp threads.

3. Making the ‘die’:

• Drill several 6 mm holes through the second piece of 50 mm PVC pipe.

4. Making the pellets:

• Place the die on a level surface (concrete pavement or a paving brick works well).

• Fill the die with paper pulp from the bucket.

• Place the plunger into the die and press down to squeeze out the excess water.

• While keeping the plunger in position, slide the die up to release the pellet.

• Let the pellets dry in the sun.

• Once all of the pellets are thoroughly dry, stack them in a container and add the paraffin. Allow the paraffin to soak in for about 10 minutes. Add more paraffin as necessary. • Drain any excess paraffin and pack the pellets in an airtight container for storage.

The pellets burn for up to five minutes, which is more than enough for lighting a wood stove or braai fire. JAKOBUS DE WET

What a fantastic project to do with your kids, Jakobus. Thanks for supplying us with the detailed recipe. I’m confident that many other readers will take advantage of your invention.

For sending in your ideas, you’ve won this month’s prize. Hope you enjoy it, and use it for many future family DIY projects. – Mark, Editor