Thanks for the welcome fellows, I have read your posts so many times you seem like friends to me already.

Blast, I was using a small credit card size fresnel lens. This is the first fesnel lens I have ever had, but it was standard practice as a kid to use a magnifying glass to char your name into your baseball glove. I never thought about dark objects absorbing/concentration the heat, I will test it on the next sunny day.

Ironraven, birch polypore usually grows on standing dead white birch trees, is bright white and has the consistance of foam insulation (very light weight). Taking Blast comments into account, being white in colour would not help it heatup well. Where I live in Northern Ontario is about as far north as yellow birch trees consistantly grow so you usually do not find true Tinder Fungus much north of here.

True Tinder Fugnus is so easy to light and smoulders for so long that you have to be careful when using it. It is easy to assume that the coal is out and I have discarded it only to find it burning later, you really need to extinguish it in water. It is much easier to get a hot coal using the friction bow-drill method using Tinder Fungus than using a wood fireboard.

This is the first time I have used False Tinder Fungus (I think we use to call it Horseshoe Conk?), but it developed a hot coal very quickly.

I appreciate the information,

Mike