Wild Stoves

Made from any log, these remarkable flares can burn for many hours, giving a sculpture-like centrepoint of flames and glowing embers radiating delicious heat to all around. Less smokey than a bonfire, and very light on your woodpile!

Cross-cut log what?

Bonfires are great, but we at Wild Stoves are all about finding ways of using wood as efficiently as possible. This is a brilliantly simple way of creating an intense but slow-burning fire which is easy to light and provides a pillar of light as well as plenty of heat. You can even cook on the glowing embers.

We first saw this at a festival years ago, and it's become a regular feature at any party. We find people much prefer us turning up with a couple of these than a bottle of wine.

How to...

Take a log and make two saw cuts at right angles down its length, leaving about 6" at the bottom uncut. The last bit is important, or the log just falls to pieces and you have to make do with a bonfire! I usually use logs about 4' high, 6-8" diameter.

Lift a square foot of turf and bury the uncut end of the log, deep enough to make sure it's not going to topple.

Light a small fire on top exactly as you would if you were lighting a bonfire: kindling and a handful of twigs. Then - despite what everyone will be saying - it will catch!

The log burns steadily down from the top, drawing air up through the cuts to feed an intense blaze. More and more ignites, until eventually just four glowing 'pillars' remain, radiating considerable heat. This is the perfect time for roasting marshmallows.

You can also use the embers - or a whole glowing pillar - to roast or BBQ a feast on. Our latest involved Dorset's finest crayfish, caught in our local river earlier in the day. (Yes, they were the American invasive species: they've eaten all our natives!).

The flare pictured kept us warm until 1am in October: most of it had burnt down after about 2 hours but embers kept going for another two. There was a bit of wind which made it burn fiercely, though also slightly unevenly.

Maker's tips

Cutting green (unseasoned) wood is often a bit easier than cutting well-seasoned logs, but either is possible. As with burning any wood, these are going to light and burn better if they're seasoned. The good news is that cross-cut logs season faster than an uncut log.

Chainsaws, of course, make quick work of making these. Chainsaw blades are designed to cut across - not with the grain, and supporting a log for cutting in this way can be tricky. Take care!

I've always made my flares from pine. It would be great to hear how other woods perform: some may spit a little; others like oak (as well as being tough to saw) would take some lighting but may work. I expect ash would be fine, and great for last minute flares as it should burn fine even if freshly cut.

Let us know how you get on!

Please take care

Anything involving cutting wood and fire carries risk to people & property. Take care when making and burning cross-cut log flares. This Blog entry is for information only and Wild Stoves takes no responsibility for injuries or accidents resulting from making and burning cross-cut log flares. None should occur with careful and supervised use.