In message , David
writes

Respectfully, all the trees that I have cut up in the past, and all the
offcuts, have already gone through the stove.

I don't have access to free wood at the moment nor the inclination to go
and cut, split, and season wood for 2 years.

For the first time in a long while I've just bought a load of split and
dried wood from a reputable local supplier.
Lovely stuff it is too.

It is burning quite happily.

I am trying to light the fire without using a fire lighter, and the
experimenting suggests that a small amount of kindling would make the fire
light a lot more easily.

I also intend to see what happens if I start the fire with a lot of
kindling and get the chimney up to temperature before adding the big logs.

Many years ago at a farm auction I was persuaded to bid on a 40' x 20'
chicken shed. Needless to say, nobody else wanted the bother of
dismantling, carting a re-erecting the thing.
Well we got it home but the impetus had gone. The aluminium roofing got
used for other jobs, the extractor fan motors are on my pile to be sold
for scrap, the timber walls have been very useful!

Creosoted tongue and groove pine burn and split very well and have
started innumerable log fires. Small pile of sticks on the log burner
grate. Few seconds with the boss's creme brule torch and then some logs
laid in carefully....

I therefore refer you to the thread title:
"Chopping kindling on hard standing - axe protector?"
which states exactly what I am looking for.

Bit of plywood on the workbench, a hatchet or hand chopper and some
straight grain pallet wood....

--
Tim Lamb