Connor Creates’ most recent project began with a simple challenge from a viewer, or more specifically, from a viewer’s dog Rufus, after he made a big matchstick out of wood and foam in a previous video. Rufus, on the other hand, made a suggestion that caught his attention…create one that truly lights up.
To begin, he made a trip to Home Depot and purchased a basic piece of pine. He only required a 2×2 inch board that was 8 feet long. He chose one with no knots to avoid weak points, and he chopped it down to around 3ft. After that, some sanding was required to ensure that the surface was smooth to the touch and felt clean in his hand. At this time, the wood resembled an oversized match body, similar to the one we’re all familiar with.
Sale
KOACKL Powerful Propane Torch Gun, Kitchen Torch with Adjustable Flame, Flamethrower Blow Torch Gun Gas...
- Note: Due to shipping regulations, the gas canister is not included. Ensure a tight connection before use. Recommended angle: between 80-180 degrees;...
- 【Powerful & Well-Made】The KOACKL cooking propane torch can quickly finish your food, delivering a mouthwatering flame-broiled flavor every time....
- 【Multi-functional Gas Welding Kit】Our kitchen cooking torch is perfect for snow removal, welding, searing a steak, caramelizing the cream, glazing...
Then it got much harder; the head, like regular matches, is luminous because it contains red phosphorous in the tip, which ignites when you apply friction. However, buying pure red phosphorus in quantity is expensive. So Connor decided to take a new approach: he purchased 100 cheap boxes of matches, each with 32 sticks, for a total of 3,200. It cost him $30, which he felt wasn’t too bad until he started trying to remove the red phosphorous off each tip.
He sat for what seemed like an eternity, a knife in hand, carefully scraping away at the red stuff, collecting it all in a small mound, and watched as the hours passed and his hands cramped up severely. Bits of phosphorous flew all over his desk, but he persisted, motivated by the promise he made to Rufus. To make matters worse, the music he had playing in the background didn’t even try to lift his spirits.
It took him days to gather enough of the materials to make it worthwhile, but he persisted. When he had enough, he began creating the head. He wrapped brown paper tightly around the top of the wood pole and secured it with twine. Then he prepared a thick paste of shredded paper and glue and combined it with the scrap phosphorous. I even got a little additional powder on the surface for good measure. He then molded the entire batch into the traditional circular shape and allowed it to dry for a few days.
Then there was the matchbox, which seemed obvious if he was going to try to replicate an actual match. Connor made one out of leftover wood, glued the pieces together, painted it, and added some eye-catching surfaces to the sides. When it was all finished, the matchbox appeared a little huge in comparison to the giant match, but it did the job.
After forty hours of work, it was time to put everything to the test. Connor held the finished match, which was about 3 feet long and had a solid, phosphorus-packed head, and touched it to the side of the matchbox. The friction caught, and a flame gradually appeared. This time, however, it was not the tiny little item you’d expect from a match. This one was a real fire-breather, with larger and more intentional flames than a typical match could produce. He pushed it to the next level by touching it to a small popsicle-stick chair he’d previously created, and the fire moved over flawlessly, burning away with a lovely controlled flame.
