Camping gear ideas

[RBrown]

im going to be making some camping gear for my self soon i know the the basic type of grill im gona make and some lantern hooks but im looking for some other ideas of what i can make that would be handy at a camp site.

[Glenn]

BP0071 Poker 01
BP0085 Heart Bell

BP0118 Horse Shoe Trivet BP0137 Fire Starter BP0136 Beam Hook

BP0084 Poker 02

BP0153 Shepherds Hook BP0135 "S" Hook BP0155 Nut Cracker and Pick BP0196 Garden Tool Holder BP0280 Tripod BP0296 Pot Hook BP0295 Nail in Hook BP0299 Toaster I am sure there are more ideas on the site.

BP0154 BBQ Fork

[Mr Smith]

I would suggest a tripod...

There was one posted on here probably six months or so back, that could be assembled as a traditional three-legged contraption, or broken down into its components, then assembled as two uprights with a horizontal bar.
Apologies to the original poster - it was a neat idea, and it's still in my "things to make pile", but I can't remember who you are

Throw in a trammel, some pot hooks and a meat fork or two, and who could ask for more??
I think a google search for colonial cookware could turn up some more ideas.... :)

[HWooldridge]

A buddy of mine makes a really neat rig. He takes about 20 pcs of 1/4" square (you can use anything similar in size) with each piece starting about 18" long. One end is pointed and the other end is formed into a closed eye around a 3/4" pin jig. This is done on all pieces.

In use, four of the rods are driven into the ground with the eyes lined up. Another piece is run thru two eyes so it becomes horizontal piece #1 - horz. #2 is slipped thru the eyes of the remaining loose rods and also run thru the other two already in the ground. The loose ones are then flipped over to rest on horizontal #1.

What you get is a cute little grate that can be varied in height (by how much it's driven into the ground) and the loose pieces can be scooted back and forth to space evenly over the fire. The nice thing about this rig is that it all collapses into a fairly small bundle. My buddy makes these sets with a canvas bag to hold them and sells a bunch to period re-enactors and primitive camplers. The size I described will hold a frying pan or a coffee pot.

I like to cook with a Mexican "comal" which is nothing more than a big flat, square piece of sheet iron (10-12 ga about 12" square) with a short handle. The edges are turned up slightly but only about 1/8" to 1/4" so drippings won't run off quickly. You can grille vegetables, meat, eggs and fish, warm tortillas and bread, etc. It is flatter and more compact than a cast iron frying pan but you can't load it up with a bunch of stuff or it will fall off the edge.

[Strine]

As an aside, we'd often go bush for the weekend and all we'd take camping wise was a plate about 1 foot square and maybe an 1/8 thick and an "esky full" (Esky /n. an insulated box to hold things cold). The box would always be relieved of four number of its contents immediately upon arrival at the destination, and the contents of each item consumed soon after. These would form the pillars upon which the plate could be elevated above a fire constructed in a shallow trench. It worked a treat. Naturally these support pillars would eventually succome to the heat of the fire and would require urgent replacement.

BAH...then the mongrels put beer in aluminium cans.

[mike-hr]

Tent pegs made from railroad spikes. These are good practice in punching and drifting hammer eyes, you could also weld a ring inside the eye for hitching mules, hammock tying, etc.

[ThomasPowers]

I like making camp cook pots by finding old revereware pots at the fleamarket or thrift store and remove the "plastic" handles leaving the mounting stub that is spot welded to the pot.

Then you take 4 pieces of election sign frame wire and forge weld the ends and make a basket about a foot or so long (or longer) Foge one end into a hook and the other to a flat section that you can rivit to the handle stub.

You now have a nice pot with a handle that won't burn.

I made up a bunch of these and then a pancake flipper and toasting fork and made a stand that holds an old steel wheel up to hang them all on.

(bought two more revere ware pots today, $2 apiece with the lids!)

Thomas

[Walking Dog]

Here's a handy piece of gear which I get asked to make every year by a re-enactor: A hook which goes on a vertical 2x2 or 2x4. The hook wraps around the vertical post, is adjustable in height, and locks into position when you put a bit of load on it. It works if it's accurately sized for the lumber in question. I've made one of these to hang out my own sign when "frontier blacksmithing."