Campfire Tripod - Help

[Comptona]

I want to make a pot hanger and have seen a metal tripod on various web sites that retails around the £90 mark. I have access to an abundance of road pins that I am sure can be adapted but I am not the most adept handy man. Any body made one?:campfire:

[Martin]

Never made one, it really can't be that difficult and if you were to take your road pins along to a blacksmith he'd be sure to make it work for you. However, don't forget that they will weigh a ton!! Well, in fact as much as three road pins and that's a lot to carry on top of all your other kit. In my experience, we rarely get to camp as close to the car as we'd like to so bear in mind the weight of them before you spend time and money. :)

Martin

[Comptona]

Cheers Martin, I have considered the weight but I was going tonuse it mainly on scout Camps. We like to keep water on the boil and if we keep it on the fire direct it gets knocked over by the scouts who suddenly realise its hot and puts the fire out..lol.

[GaryBeaner]

My missus made a lovely tripod with the aid of Tristan Kessl at the last RV http://www.footstepsofdiscovery.co.uk/index.html
The cost including the help and materials came to £15. It has an adjustable length of chain and a nice hook on the end. Perfect.
He's there this year too.

[Martin]

Cheers Martin, I have considered the weight but I was going tonuse it mainly on scout Camps. We like to keep water on the boil and if we keep it on the fire direct it gets knocked over by the scouts who suddenly realise its hot and puts the fire out..lol.

Would be perfect for that. ;) Try out the local blacksmith then, he's sure to be able to help. It's pretty horsey up your way I guess so shouldn't be hard to find.

Martin

[Comptona]

Was just chatting to my neighbour whos a real handy man, he hasnt worked for years just fixes things for people and makes a living that way, he said it would be easy and he will teach me to weld at the same time, great result thanks guys.

[Comptona]

Would be perfect for that. ;) Try out the local blacksmith then, he's sure to be able to help. It's pretty horsey up your way I guess so shouldn't be hard to find.

Martin

Very horsey, never short of a bit of meat for the camp fire!!!!!

[Paul Webster]

What about something like the gypsy cooker shown on this site, it wouldn't weigh as much.
http://www.a-finlay-primitive-crafts.co.uk/gypsy_cooker.html

[Comptona]

What about something like the gypsy cooker shown on this site, it wouldn't weigh as much.
http://www.a-finlay-primitive-crafts.co.uk/gypsy_cooker.html

That pot hanger looks good! I would love to see a close up of how it stays together, unless of course you know allready.

[Paul Webster]

Looks like the weight of the rod, and then the pot you hang from it keeps it together.

[Comptona]

thats what i was thinking, having had a closer look at whats in the kit. Thats a cracking web site though I have been looking for leather bags for ages and those ones are quite resonable, allthough not sure of the quality.

[JEEP]

Just stumpled over this one; http://www.raymears.com/Bushcraft_Product/778-Ray-Mears-Folding-Trivet/ It looks really good - it has to be, at £50!

[Comptona]

That looks a handy little tool, might show that to my handy man neighbour, it looks quite simple to make as well. Any idea what grade steel that would be or would i just ask for mild steel?

[Comptona]

at £50 it would be a toss up between that and a kuska!!!!

[JEEP]

Then I would definitely go for the kuksa, it is a must have :)

[Comptona]

you know i knew thats how you spelt it but went to a web site that sells them and they spelt it wrong!!!!!

[Paul Webster]

You could just get one of these that Paul found in Wilkinsons for £2.50!
http://www.naturalbushcraft.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?357-Camp-Fire-Grill-Stand-Deal-of-the-Day...!

[JEEP]

you know i knew thats how you spelt it but went to a web site that sells them and they spelt it wrong!!!!!

It is a common misspelling. Kuksa is the Finnish word, In Norway and Sweden the traditional wooden cup is kalled a kåsa. In the Sami language the word is guksi.
A special Danish version, made in with no handle and often a silver rim, is called a bolle or masur bolle, if made in (imported) curly birch.

Personally I find the Sami term guksi the most charming :)

[Comptona]

You could just get one of these that Paul found in Wilkinsons for £2.50!
http://www.naturalbushcraft.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?357-Camp-Fire-Grill-Stand-Deal-of-the-Day...!

Just googled this and cant find one anywhere!!!!!! All I can find is a cake cooling tray for £1.47 that might work

[Paul Webster]

I can't see them on their website either, but they had them in my local store. I bought four seeing as they are so cheap

[Tony1948]

Comptona. Road pins, do you mean the things that hold the orange or red plastic fence up. if they are thats wot i use,i just put three together rap a lenthe of chane round the top and let it hang to butchers hooks. one on the bottom then backup the chane then another at the bottom of that to hang your pot on.The lenth of chane gos down up with hook at the bottom

[Comptona]

those are the kiddies. So it holds well without any sort of welding etc? How do you find transporting them?

[Tony1948]

Compona. You can get the chain out of B&Q what I do is rap the chain round the top then round just below the bits that stick out at the top then over 1OR2 of them and let the chain hang down. For transporting I put them together rap the chain round thr spikes then rap some gaffer tap round top, middale and bottom cuvering the spikes...............Bobs your mate.. dune....Happey new year and all the best..................TONY.

[Comptona]

seems that these diy stores need a better investigation appears that they are unaware of the treasures they hold..thx for the advice Tony will have a go. Back at work tomorrow so might have to fill my car with bits and bobs.

[scorpian]

Try checking out this http://handmadematt.blogspot.com/search/label/Outdoor%20Cooking for how to use your road pins, the simple ways are usually the best, btw a set of three pins can also be set up 'spit' style.

regards-Steve

[Comptona]

that has just made my weekend a whole lot easier thanks Scorpian

[Fletching]

I've seen something similar to the 'gypsy cooker' arrangement used years ago in South Africa in the army to hang 'potjie pots' from (cast iron dutch oven types pots). brilliant idea and can be stowed (sticking out) in a pack. Personally, I still prefer the old green boughs and withies approach, but if you're doing this often with scouts, 'gypsies' might be the way to go.

Steve

[Celt_Ginger]

A tripod is simple to make.
Go to B&Q and get 3 mild steel rods.
Clamp each one in a vice and drill a hole in the end of each rod.
Get a wire coat hanger and cut about 8" off it.
Thread it through the holes in the rods and then bend it until it forms a circle.
Twist the ends of the coat hanger together with pliers.

[Mang]

I made this tripod with three temporary fence posts from Jewsons (in the garden section for holding up that orange plastic net fencing) )I slipped them onto a metal ring I ponced off a broken webbing strap from a delivery lorry, cut two of the three hooked bits off, and closed them up round the ring by using a gas BBQ as a sort of forge…

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e121/Mang1967/escouts/DSC01550-1.jpg

I’ve got a 4 litre Dutch oven hanging here

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e121/Mang1967/escouts/DSC02515.jpg

It works!

[Comptona]

Finally got my pins from work yesterday, the others were a twisted metal and were quite heavy. I like the idea of the webbing hooks would like to see a close up of how you use them. One of our fitters is knocking me up a ring and chain attachement that also binds the poles for travelling, I will see how that works and if it does i will post it on here. Thaks for the pics Mang it helps to see it in use. Having used it how heavey a pot would you risk on it?

[Mang]

This is a pre Hammerite touchup!

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e121/Mang1967/escouts/DSC01552.jpg

I've left one hook on the pole in the 5 o'clock position and cut the other two off. All the poles were forced onto the ring and then hammered. They are a little stiff to bend out but that's perhaps no bad thing.

I've had a full 4 litre Dutch oven on it but I don't have a bigger one so can't help on that score. Suffice to say, there's no sign of the legs bowing, even though they are long...they also have good spikes on the end to push into the ground too.

[Iamnoone]

I built a tripod a few months ago, completely spontaneously and out of junk I already had. I was clearing out the garage and uncovered my old arc welder that hasn't been used in a good 15 years. I thought I'd have a play with that and ended up welding three exhaust u-bolts onto three lengths of square bar with all the u-bolts interlinked so they would form a folding tripod. I then welded on a small bent bolt to form a hook to hang the chain from and made a heavy wire pot hook (S-hook) out of a broken bucket handle.

It's not very pretty but it'll probably work just fine,,,,,,. I say probably cos I haven't used it yet.

I then went on to make a kind of heavy duty grill "thing" out of horsesoes, with folding angle iron legs that you can stand in a fire and put your pots/skillets etc on. Guess what, I haven't used that yet either! And I wouldn't want to carry it very far! But I did enjoy making it.

[Realbark]

Some excellent ideas here. Im going to have a go myself. Cheers

[mark]

549550
551552

a rough fire tripod made from road pins

[Big T]

If you have the road pins with the hook on the end why dont you just hammer it into the ground at an angle over your fire and have a chain coming off the hook and hang your kettle off that?

[Mang]

If you have the road pins with the hook on the end why dont you just hammer it into the ground at an angle over your fire and have a chain coming off the hook and hang your kettle off that?

Just one would probably support a small kettle but what happens if you've got a heavy meal on the go and the weight slowly pulls it forward and into your lap? Wasted dinner and *ahem* two veg ;)

[Ben Casey]

I have used the tripod form that Mark has put on here and the other way I have to be honest I prefer the way Mark does it :) But if I was going to have a permenant sort of site I would try and make a fire spit sort of form you can get more on and move it around the flames for differing heats.

I have a couple of road pins I use for the first idea and iff anyone else is out with me and has them then it can be upgraded to the fire spit idea.

[Big T]

Fair point, it all depends on how much weight you want to put on it and how much weight you wanna lug around with you!

[Adam Savage]

Check out silverfox bushcraft on youtube. He uses an S hook to hold the pins together, but you can use keyrings and carabiners too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZiooZ0Fysk