Needin' Simple Project Suggestions...

[Hardpan]

Howdy, All!

 

Needing some simple project suggestions ~ with an emphasis on “simple!”

 

Second weekend of October the local Boy Scouts will be attending a 3-day Camporee, with post-Apocalypse theme (check out the patch below!) focused on getting along in a primitive environment after the demise of civilization.  

 

There will be exercises, demonstrations, and competitions on survival stuff, with an emphasis on creativity and “re-purposing,” or re-using  or re-fabricating  stuff in ways other than intended.

 

Unfortunately, our resident ‘smith has been called away that weekend to ride herd on a bunch of Sea Cadets for San Francisco’s Fleet Week.  And he has asked that most novice of novices – ME - to cover for him… :huh:

 

So my request: Simple project ideas that I can have a bunch of Boy Scouts knock out in short order with minimal work and tools... we’ll have on hand a forge, anvil, hammers, vise, various tongs, wrenches, files and wire brushes, quench bucket…  and of course aprons, gloves, and goggles.

 

Mr McPherson...? :Rolleyes:

 

Thankee kindly!  ^_^

 

[SpankySmith]

Tent stakes, meat/weenie roasting stakes, pot stakes/supports, very SIMPLE knife-like object for skinnin', cuttin', killin, hooks to hang killed varmints from trees and out of reach of bears, fish hooks from "found" wire, get some second-hand screwdrivers and bend into simple garden tool or flatten into shovel-like instrument....   all kinds of things you'll need when the Apolcalypse arrives!   Endless possibilities, lots of them pretty basic.  

 

Sounds like FUN and I LOVE that logo for it!

[ThomasPowers]

First ditch the forge and anvil and forge out of the side of a campfire using charcoal (hot coals) made in the fire and use a hunk of steel for the anvil. (read Frosty's tales of forging in the field before the SOB Birch!) Not much coal available after the alpacalips....

Next: make cooking implements! Tripods that can also be used as two uprights and a crossbar. 3/8" sq stock for light duty 1/2" for "troop duty" Then S hooks and more s hooks, use 1/4" sq stock. Simple marshmallow roasters from twisted election sign wire can work---I worked a cub scout den though everyone making them! If you have a few more talented forgers making toasting forks from 1/8x1/2" strap stock, splitting the tines and doing a rat tail on the hanging end. (I like to forge the middle down to square and twist...)

Nice thing about tripods is they can be done entirely without tongs!

How about "squirrel roasters"

Nice thing about working by a campfire is you can have examples of what they are making *in* *use*

And hopefully they will continue to make use of them in campouts in the future.

[JME1149]

I have some recent, first-hand experience with exactly what you are asking about. A couple weeks ago, I took my gear with me for a week at summer camp with the intention of letting our boys make beginner projects if they wanted to. What I found is that it will take 1 leader to 1 or 2 boys, and the boys can usually complete an S-hook in about 1.5 hours. This includes the safety talk, walk through step-by step showing examples of the steps as you go, through final twist, brush and wax. The older, more mature, tool friendly boys might get done in an hour. I ran the smithy for four days from after breakfast until almost dark to let the boys fit forging time in between merit badge classes, and usually had somebody beating metal all the time. It was a huge hit, and I was already told that I'm bringing my gear back next year.

For a camporee, I don't see how you could possibly push that many boys through a hands-on exhibit in one day (that's assuming 3 days  is arrive and opening ceremony on day 1, activities on day 2, and pack up to leave on day 3). Our camporees generally have small-medium groups of boys rotating through stations every hour or so, depending on how many troops attending, how many stations, etc.

What I think would work well would be for you (see that, I just voluntold you!) to do a simple demo for the groups. To go along with your theme, you could do steel strikers, RR spike zombie choppers, dutch oven cooking tri-pods with S-hooks, lantern hanging J-hooks, and other such goodies. They get to see the magic happen first hand, you get to hone your demonstration skills, little chance of anybody getting injured, and you could pass out the finished goods (all but the knives) to the winners of the events.

I might even have to borrow your theme idea for one of our district camporees, sounds like a lot of possibilities for good times. Good luck, and be sure to let us know how it turns out.

 

John

[ThomasPowers]

If you build a bending jig for tripods then they are very fast to do even with unskilled help: heat the top end, insert in jig, walk around holding the cool end. Dress with hammer. Let end cool while doing the next the fun will be letting them hold and hammering a point on it---SCRAP METAL ANVIL PLEASE! Let them use a larger 1 handed hammer with two hands. Much faster than S hooks.

[SmoothBore]

There are dozens of ways to fashion useful, practical ... "Rocket Stoves", ... from all sorts of cast-off materials.

 

Lots of examples on Youtube.

 

 

 

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[VaughnT]

Here's a great video on how a guy in Haiti is able to cut, punch, shape and rivet.... to end up with a large stove.

 

Very post-apocalyptic.  Of course, Haiti has never been pre-apocalyptic.  Minimal skills/experience needed and the short video amply demonstrates how every movement needs to be done.  With a better smithing shop than they have, you should be able to knock out a similar stove in under a day.

 

[arkie]

The Haitian fellow was a pretty innovative fabricator!  No heat, all cold albeit thin stuff.  I took note of how he curled the sheet metal at the beginning...pretty simple and effective.  Will try that for sure.  Looked like maybe he was hammering in the gap on some C-channel iron.

[Hardpan]

I might even have to borrow your theme idea for one of our district camporees, sounds like a lot of possibilities for good times. Good luck, and be sure to let us know how it turns out.

 

John

 

John, shoot me an email address and I'll send you a PDF of the "Leader's Guide:" [ rocko93638@yahoo.com ]

 

By the way... the most popular Camporee of the last ten decade was about three years ago ~ the theme was "The Zombie Apocalypse." What a hoot!  :lol:

 

And thanks to all for the suggestions. Good stuff here!  :)

[VaughnT]

The Haitian fellow was a pretty innovative fabricator!  No heat, all cold albeit thin stuff.  I took note of how he curled the sheet metal at the beginning...pretty simple and effective.  Will try that for sure.  Looked like maybe he was hammering in the gap on some C-channel iron.

Arkie, he was hammering into the channel on the side of his railroad track anvil.  He used that one bit of track for a marking table, cutting table, anvil, and swage block!