Does anyone know of a source for a preferabbly metal surface for stiking matches that could be mounted to a small box like a shaker candle box?
It would be nice to find what I am looking for, a brass medalion shaped item that could be mounted via two screws with a surface machined to allow match striking.
I know this is a longshot but I thought knots would be the place to ask.
Webby
Replies
Strike anywhere matches or safety matches???
Google is the place to ask...
http://amos.indiana.edu/library/scripts/matches.html
thanks for the info.Webby
Since a rough surface (like sandpaper) is generally what is needed; how about just roughing up a piece of brass with some coarse sandpaper. Try it on a scrap and see how it works.
Chris
a hobbyist's journey
Thanks for the idea, I might try that.
This is for a design for a project I have been thinking of either a candle storage box or the same type box long and narrow, subdivided to hold fatwood and long fireplace matches.Webby
Webby,
If you do come up with something that looks nice and works good, please post your solution. Some of us may want to do something similar.
Thanks, George
You don't stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing. - Michael Pritchard
Okay, I am just starting to think of it. This project has been sitting on the back burner for a while.
By the way I posted a pic of a small chest in the gallery. Poor picture quality though. One of these days I will get a camera that does a better job.Webby
If you can't find what you're looking for, here's a suggestion. Mount a metal label holder like that used for file drawers on the box and cut the striking surface of the matchbox out to fit it. When it stops working adequately, it's replaceable.
Are strike-anywhere matches still made and sold? I've haven't seen any for a long time, and I've been told that they're illegal now.
That is actually a really good idea, as far as a way to elegantly mount the working surface. That may be the best option.Webby
Strike anywhere matches are stick matches. Any grocery store has them. Safety matches and only be used on a special striker surface...matchbooks, etc. So his only real option is strike anywhere matches for his applications...
Guess no one read the link I posted...
I did ;^)Webby
webby,
My Grandfather used to light his matches with his fingernail or a quick swipe along his upper thigh on the backside. Didn't need a striker surface at all. Of course everyone used to laugh at the streaks on his pants and grandma used to sigh when washing them out.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Hi Bob,
I tried that thumbnail striking trick for a while, back when I took those "barn burner" matches camping. Until a piece of that burning phosphorus chipped off the match and wedged itself under my thumbnail.
A fellow camper who named those things barnburners claimed that farmers would keep a box of them beside the kerosene lantern in the days before rural electification. Many a barn was burnt down when a mouse munching on the minerals in the matchheads lit off the entire box, and, the shelf they were on. Probably a rural legend, but it is a compelling image.
Ray
Thanks everyone for the good ideas!Webby
Ray,
Until a piece of that burning phosphorus chipped off the match and wedged itself under my thumbnail.
Dang, you too!? And ye can't stop it and can't get rid of it before it does it's dirty deed. Grandpa thought it was hilarious. I switched to the swipe it on yer pant leg routine.
They are hard to find but the local hardware store still has them. It's one of those real old fashioned ones, even has a pot bellied woodstove and chairs around it for the, uh old guys to hang around and chew the fat. No spitoon though.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Sorry, Rick, but I disagree. I've got 4 boxes of stick matches here -- the big boxes, not the little (used to be) penny boxes. They are all strike on the box only. Strike anywhere matches disappeared a long time ago. I've looked for strike anywhere matches for years. No go.If you've got a source, let me know. I'll order some.
Here you go. They are available in case lots too.
Link
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Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.~ Denis Diderot
Hey, thanks a bunch! We do a lot of outdoor stuff. I've been really aggravated over the disappearance of those from store shelves.
For "strike anywhere" matches (which, incedently, I've had trouble finding lately -- you might wanna make sure you can easily get them first), you could inlet a small piece of rough stone or tile, a piece of coarse cast iron, a piece of a metal nail file -- pretty much anything with some roughness to it. I like the small flat stone best, myself.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
Perhaps a slender jewelers file?
How about a piece of sandstone, cut to size with a rock saw (or, by your local rock hound)?
W
I would try some different grades of sandpaper(wet/dry-black stuff-aluminum oxide). When I got good ignition, I'd take that grade and put contact cement on a brass plate, some on the paper, mount it to the piece and there you have it. Cheap, simple ignition and mounted in an easy place. If you attach the plate with screws, you can upgrade/change the paper in 20 years if you wear it down. That might be an answer.
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