Here's an inexpensive project for Scouts to do at a meeting. If you set it up right, you can show them a little "out of the box" thinking - turning junk into something useful. I'll leave that up to the reader...<br><br>For each Scout, you'll need an EMPTY disposable butane lighter (non-piezeo) and about a dozen cotton balls. Optionally, include about 12 inches or so of dental floss.<br><br>Additionally, have enough petroleum jelly (Vasoline) to coat all the cotton balls, a portable vise (a clamp and a table top will also do), a hacksaw or two, and a file. I did this with a WAVE, and that also works...<br><br>BIC lighters seem to be ideal - they have fairly large flints compared to several others. If you want the MOST spark, I suppose you could buy new lighters and exhaust the butane, but that's not really the point of the exercise...<br><br>The short version is: Cut off the butt end of the lighter with a saw. Breakout whatever internal web you see fit (or leave it alone). Use the file to open up the forward part of the metal shield as I did or simply prise it off. Tie a bit of dental floss around a petroleum-jelly saturated cotton ball and pack it tightly into the body of the defunct lighter. Repeat if there are multiple chambers. Pack remaining cotton balls in the lighter and trim excess cord (the string helps get the cotton balls out - is not essential). Presto! You make a poor-mans Spark Lite, complete with waterproof tinder tabs, for the cost of a few cotton balls and petroleum jelly. Make sure each Scout has an extra soaked cotton ball and show them how to fluff up the cotton ball and ignite it with the spark from the old lighter (it works well and it's one-handed). You could go farther, using a heated nail to bore a lanyard hole, taping up the butt, etc - this is just the basic idea. Following are some pics to show the "device":<br><br>The raw materials (I used can to melt jelly in a pan of water on the stove and soaked/squeezed the cotton balls):<br><br><br><br>Modified lighter ready to go (I zapped off the gas port with a Dremel tool, but it's not that important):<br><br><br><br>I didn't know the post would amputate the rest of the pics; I think I hit the wrong button. I'm trying to piece this back together... I had text with the pics, but am too lazy to type it all in again, so here are just the pics:<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>A suggestion is to set this up in advance (secretly) for a campout. Prep (saw and file) enough lighters for all the Scouts, but leave one unmodified for you to "demonstrate with. Toss the prepped lighters, cotton balls, and vasoline, and a small zip lock bag for each lighter in a sack.<br><br>As you're walking around the campsite, "discover" the un-modified lighter as a piece of litter. Wonder out loud about what use it could be - flick it a few times to show the spark. "Hmmm, this looks like it could be useful..." - ask the lads what they think (you may be surprised at the answeres you get - I learn new things all the time).<br><br>Gather them around - a patrol is about the right size group - and whip out your Leatherman. Modify the lighter as shown (file, or file and saw), make a dozen vasoline-impregnated cotton balls, and stuff them into the lighter body.<br><br>Quickly gather up the fixings for a small fire lay, pull out a cotton ball, fluff it up, spark, and poof! Make a fire!<br><br>Circle the lads up and hand out the materials; coach them thru making the cotton balls. You may use a stove and tin-can double boiler to speed things up if you wish, but first show them how to simply work the vasoline into the cotton balls.<br><br>Show them again how to fluff up a cotton ball and coach each one through igniting a cotton ball with the defunct lighters. Pass out zip lock bags and instruct the lads to put the device in the bag and then into their "Be Prepared" kit.<br><br>Discuss other ideas or dismiss, as the circumstance and the boy's mood dictates - they have many distractions in the outdoors.<br><br>Comments, suggestions? I'll be doing this again with a group of Scouts next month - few of whom know me - as part of a District level Winter Survival program I got volunteered to head up.<br><br>Teaching kids stuff like this is even more fun than doing it for myself. Looking for more ideas like this - share yours, please!<br><br>Regards,<br><br>Tom