fire building techniques?

I tend to start with small pieces bunched together vertically long way leaning on the back wall of the firebox. Place smaller kindling around the base and as it grows I add larger pieces until a vertical log can be placed on some coals. Then you should be golden.
Good luck

everyone has their own method, but after spending the last 10 years warming my house with heat from a wood stove, here’s mine. I always have scrap softwood like pine or fir, or just old pieces of redwood fencing…any old scraps are good. Outside and sometimes inside as well, I will split it into thin kindling. An aditional step I take is, and i don’t reccomned this
unless you are handy with very sharp tools (I never had an accident). I use a sharp tool like a utility knife and pushing away from my body, create a pile of long shavings…I scatter these over just a few crumpled newspapers, and also add a few slightly thicker split pieces on top of that and simply light the paper( the crumpled paper has air pockets that lite up and burn fairly hot, so the wood splinters light right up, as they do, add bigger and bigger pieces of kindling until you have a nice fire going. Don’t add too much, too fast. This method works fast and sure everytime for me. If you want you can shave enough for future fires..it only take a little!