INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Before purchasing check local codes to ensure that you can use a portable fire pit.  Every city is different and yours may have certain codes which only allow a certain type of fire pit. Get in contact with the planning offices in your area to see if any restrictions apply. Your deck or porch may not be the best place for a fire bowl. Drifting embers can ignite surrounding wood, cause heat damage, and ventilation issues.  The best place to put a fire bowl or portable fire pit is on a flat, stable, non-combustible natural surface. Bricks, gravel, granite, paving stones and concrete are great options. Put the fire bowl a safe distance away from your home, deck, overhangs, trees, etc. Don’t put your fire bowl near heat sensitive plants, dry grass, bales of hay, open firewood, and other materials that could ignite. Clear the area around the bowl of any sticks, twigs, leaves, or other flammable substances. Keep a bucket of water nearby. The easiest way to get a fire going in your portable fire pit or fire bowl is to sort your wood, kindling, and tinder.  To help you build the best fire, sort your materials by size. Place all of your large logs together, followed by your smaller logs, kindling, and tinder. If you plan to cook any food over your fire, don’t use any starter logs or gels. These items contain chemicals which get into the smoke and can get on your food. Make sure that you use dry wood. If there’s any moisture in the wood, especially the larger logs, it will be harder to start your fire. You can easily find tinder in your own yard from dry grass and leaves that you rake up. Otherwise, newspaper works well. It’s also a great idea to have water or a bucket of damp sand on hand for putting your fire out. Everyone likes to build a fire a certain way. With a fire bowl or portable fire pit, the teepee method or upside down fire method tend to work best depending on how deep the bowl is.  To make a teepee, start by placing your tinder in the bottom of your bowl. Keep your tinder in a ball and lay your kindling around it. Stack the larger sticks around your tinder in the shape of a teepee. You can then place your larger logs around your kindling. Keep a little open area so you can easily reach in and light your tinder.   For an upside down fire, place the largest logs in the bottom of your pit, and spread the logs out to cover the base. Stack your smaller logs in a criss-cross pattern over your largest logs to allow for airflow. Place a small pile of tinder on top and then stack your kindling around the tinder in a teepee fashion. Never use pressure treated wood. Avoid using sappy wood like pine and cedar as these woods tend to pop more and create more floating embers. Be sure not to overload the fire pit with wood, don’t stack it much higher than the rim of your fire bowl. When lighting your fire, the safest way is to use a long match or lighter. Light your tinder and watch the fire grow.  You may want to light your tinder in a couple places to help the fire get going. Shove some newspaper between your logs to create more heat and build up the flames. Softwoods such as pines and firs are easier to light and are good for getting your fire started. As your fire begins to burn it will create coals and embers. When the flames begin to die down, add larger logs to keep your fire burning. If your fire bowl has a grate cover, place this over your fire once it's going. This will help prevent embers from flying out. After the initial ten or twenty minutes, most of your kindling will have burned up along with your tinder. These bits of material will start to form natural coals and embers which still provide plenty of heat.  Use a poker or large stick to move your coals and embers together. Add some oxygen by blowing on the coals to add more heat. You can now start to place larger logs on top of these coals to keep your fire going. Hardwoods like oak, ash, cherry, maple, and poplar are great for adding to a hot fire. Once you’re done enjoying your fire pit, properly put out the fire.  If possible, allow the fire to burn down completely to ash. Pour water over the fire and make sure you drown all of the embers. Keep pouring until you don’t hear any more hissing. Stir the ashes and embers. A shovel works well here. Once everything in the pit is wet and cold, you can use the shovel to scrape the materials out of the pit. In most areas you can dispose of your ash in your regular garbage. Check with your local municipality for any specific laws or codes in your area.

SUMMARY: Check with your local municipality to make sure you can legally use a portable fire pit or fire bowl in your home. Place your fire bowl in a safe place. Gather your materials for a fire. Place your materials in your fire pit. Light the fire. Maintain your fire. Put out your fire.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Glue based dent pullers use traditional glue guns to heat the glue before applying it to the vehicle.  You will need to plug the gun in a few minutes before you start in order to heat the gun up enough to melt the glue.  Be sure to use an extension cord that can reach the vehicle for the glue gun. You will need to re-wax the vehicle after using this method. Using a glue based dent remover kit purchased from an auto parts store, choose the tab that best fits the dent you are trying to pull.  Usually, you want to use a tab that fits entirely within the dent so it pulls directly from the center point. Follow the directions in your dent pulling kit so help you determine which tab is right for your application. Apply a dab of hot glue to the tab of your choice, then quickly place the tab, glue side down, in the center of the dent.  Hold the tab in place for a moment to allow the glue to set.  It’s okay if some of the glue squeezes out the sides of the tab when you apply it. Hold the tab in place until the glue dries enough to hold itself up. Slide the pulling mechanism bracket over the tab with the two posts on either side of the dent.  If the kit came with multiple brackets, ensure you use one that is longer than the diameter of the dent so the posts are at least a half inch from the start of the dent on either side.  The posts need to be outside the dent in order to pull the dent out. If the bracket is not wider than the dent, this method will not work for you. Place the knob on the end of the tab that’s glued to the center of the dent.  Turn the knob clockwise to tighten it, drawing the glued tab toward the bracket and pulling the metal with it.  Continue to turn the knob until the dent pops out.  The glue may give way as you turn the knob.  If this occurs, remove the old glue and begin the process again. You may need to repeat this method on more than one spot to remove the entire dent. Peel any loose glue off with your fingers, then use rubbing alcohol to help remove any glue or residue remaining.  This will likely remove the wax, and possibly even the clear coat from your paint, so be sure to apply a fresh coat of wax as soon as possible. The glue and the alcohol are both harsh on paint, so be sure to wash and wax the vehicle after using them.

SUMMARY:
Plug the glue gun in. Choose the pulling tab best suited for the dent. Apply glue to the tab, then place the tab in the center of the dent. Attach the pulling mechanism to the tab. Turn the knob until the dent pops out. Remove the glue with isopropyl alcohol.