Hephaestus Smith Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 Hi all, ive just taken 20 orders for Squirrel cookers, for the first time since I started up nearly a year ago It actually looks like I might make some money. My question is what do you think is the most practical finish, bearing in mind that these will be subject to heat and damp. Thanks in advance. While we're on the subject of squirrels, I get why Americans would eat them, but why would you put them in a cage and blow on them. I've seen lots of references to Squirrel cage blowers. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Cochran Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 Is this a serious question or an attempt at humor? I chuckled either way. Here's a good selection of pictures for "squirrel cage blowers." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hephaestus Smith Posted June 3, 2017 Author Share Posted June 3, 2017 I wasn't sure what it was but it always made me smile to imagine a little Squirrel hanging on to the side of a cage with his body in the air horizontal and his little cheeks flapping in the wind. Have you any ideas on the best finish.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Cochran Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 I could suggest seasoning the cookers as you would cast iron. I believe that's what I've seen suggested for several cooking tools. I haven't tried it myself so I can't attest to how long it would last before needing to be done again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hephaestus Smith Posted June 3, 2017 Author Share Posted June 3, 2017 Thanks il Google seasoning cast iron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 Seasoning iron and steel is just a matter of applying a food grade oil or fat to the iron at just under smoking hot. The problem is sanitation though. Advise folk buying them to get them smoking hot BEFORE cooking on them to kill bacteria and such. Many bugs will survive boiling water and soap and eat the seasoning fat. You do realize you've planted the image of somebody blowing on a cage full of squirrels in my mind's eye. That's going to be there for a while curse you! Good one. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 If it's not going to be in contact with food then a food safe finish is not as important. With that set up it looks as if only the fork tines need to be food safe, though a high heat finish is needed too; so seasoning will work for both. You are in such a different climate to me it's hard to suggest things (as of May 7th we have had 1.32 inches of precipitation or 95% of our regularly expected amount) The other finish I use a lot of for cooking items is paraffin wax as it's a food safe, easy to apply and reapply and inexpensive. Applied hot and wiped down the film does not chip or scratch much either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WNC Goater Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 I've finished a BBQ spoons and a steak flippers by running a wire wheel on an angle grinder after forging to remove scale, then wiping down with a liberal coating of canola oil and heating the object until smoking. Then let cool and wipe down with a clean cotton cloth. Of course, that is basically seasoning it. Seems to work okay and like a cast iron pot, after use and cleaning, a light wipe with vegetable oil or my personal preference, olive oil, will keep it in good shape. Some people will wipe it with bees wax while hot. That would be food safe but I havent personally tried beeswax. 3 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: (as of May 7th we have had 1.32 inches of precipitation or 95% of our regularly expected amount) Dusty huh? We had that amount about three days last week, and the week before! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 yes we have little sand dunes on the windowsills where the high winds drive the dust through the closed window gaskets. Average at both my locations is supposed to be 9" total precipitation a year----which is the cut off for true desert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 I wouldn't finish them any different than any other ironwork you produce. I use paste floor wax because it's convenient and gets the job done. Long-term protection is up to the customers. You're pounding the stake into the soil any finish will be worn off quick. Then leaving it out in the weather.... or putting it near a fire.... again, lots of damage to any finish so any finish will need to be reapplied and such. If you put a cast iron skillet through those conditions, nobody in their right mind would expect the store-bought finish to withstand it. As long as you give it a decent finish to start with, leave the rest up to the end-user. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkie Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 3 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: yes we have little sand dunes on the windowsills where the high winds drive the dust through the closed window gaskets. Average at both my locations is supposed to be 9" total precipitation a year----which is the cut off for true desert. Thomas, you brought back memories of when I lived in W. Texas as a child many years ago. We had those horrific dust/sand storms and yes.....the little sand dunes on the window sills!! Mom would get out the vacuum and suck up the little dickens. Hated those sand storms. I had a VW bug sandblasted by one once...fenders, glass, license plate, chrome....Ugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hephaestus Smith Posted June 4, 2017 Author Share Posted June 4, 2017 Hi all, thanks for the feedback, to be honest I would be lost without the help I've had over the last year from you all. It really is Massively appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmoothBore Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 This is yet another case where precise interpretation is essential. The question, is in regard to "Squirrel Cage Blowers". Therefore, I'd suggest copying a Hamster, Rabbit, Ferret or Rat cage device. ( We're not blowing rodents here, ..... just their cages. ) . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockstar.esq Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 Durable and food-safe metal work generally gets done in stainless steel. I would steer away from finishes with beeswax as bee allergies are fairly common, same thing with peanut oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WNC Goater Posted June 8, 2017 Share Posted June 8, 2017 17 hours ago, rockstar.esq said: Durable and food-safe metal work generally gets done in stainless steel. I would steer away from finishes with beeswax as bee allergies are fairly common, same thing with peanut oil. Not in agreement with the SS comment Pots and utensils and various cooking implements have been made from copper, aluminum, tin, steel, cast iron and who knows what all. I agree MOST mass produced stuff nowadays is stamped from SS but I don't think durability comes into the equation. Maybe I misinterpret what you mean. I also believe that the only allergy to bees wax is a contact dermatitis, not the same as anaphylactic shock allergy reaction. Bees wax is common in some skin care products and some people have a sensitivity to those products containing bees wax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hephaestus Smith Posted June 8, 2017 Author Share Posted June 8, 2017 OK let's keep on topic, so are the Squirrels Powering the blowers on little treadmills. , only joking thanks for all the input on the finish, in the end I've gone with boiled linseed oil except for the sprong which I used sunflower oil. But I have more orders in I might change it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 8, 2017 Share Posted June 8, 2017 A major factor in selling stainless steel cookware was the lack of maintenance required as compared to cast iron. Another was it was much lighter than cast iron. I prefer my squirrels pan fried in cast iron using bacon fat... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gote Posted June 8, 2017 Share Posted June 8, 2017 If I look at the picture I get the impression that you cook your squirrels in aluminium pots. Is that correct? And how do you pour them out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WNC Goater Posted June 8, 2017 Share Posted June 8, 2017 12 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: I prefer my squirrels pan fried in cast iron using bacon fat... +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockstar.esq Posted June 8, 2017 Share Posted June 8, 2017 14 hours ago, WNC Goater said: Not in agreement with the SS comment Pots and utensils and various cooking implements have been made from copper, aluminum, tin, steel, cast iron and who knows what all. I agree MOST mass produced stuff nowadays is stamped from SS but I don't think durability comes into the equation. Maybe I misinterpret what you mean. I also believe that the only allergy to bees wax is a contact dermatitis, not the same as anaphylactic shock allergy reaction. Bees wax is common in some skin care products and some people have a sensitivity to those products containing bees wax. No doubt about it, lot's of metals have been used for cookware. Since the OP is asking in reference to modern consumers, my comment was directed that way. Not having to finish the stainless bits is one solution to the OP's problem. Cooking stuff that's not dishwasher safe is a turn-off for the majority of consumers. I actually googled the beeswax thing before I made that comment. It sounds like there's some compound in beehives that absolutely can cause a person with a bee sting allergy to have serious problems. My understanding was that some processes for extracting the wax will remove it, while others may not. It didn't sound like there's an easy way for a layman to know the difference looking at a block of beeswax. I don't know any more than that, and so I try to hew away from stuff that might cause a problem. You're quite correct that people have used all of the above for generations, and most of them without incident. I do suspect that it's easier to find a lawyer now than it was in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 8, 2017 Share Posted June 8, 2017 So paraffin wax avoids the whole Bee issue! I like using stainless for cooking gear but have great trouble getting the price the extra cost of materials and extra time to work them. (and of course for historical work real wrought iron is called for!) I did make a camping eating set out of Titanium about 20 years ago as I like being able to dump them in a pot and boil them for a couple of hours if I'm not real sure they were properly cleaned while in camp... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WNC Goater Posted June 8, 2017 Share Posted June 8, 2017 2 hours ago, rockstar.esq said: I do suspect that it's easier to find a lawyer now than it was in the past. THAT is the truth and a large percentage of people looking for a reason. re. Stainless steel. I guess I was questioning how common it is for people to forge in SS. No doubt the typical modern consumer is going to choose SS/no care/dishwasher safe. I was specifically replying to the OP's forged pieces there that he was requesting a finish for. There are some who will choose hand forged because it is hand forged, assuming responsibility for taking care of it. No disagreement you are correct in that most would choose the no maintenance route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockstar.esq Posted June 8, 2017 Share Posted June 8, 2017 I have limited experience with stainless but there are some forgeable alloys. I tried a bit of unknown stainless from the off-cuts bin at a steel supplier to make a cheese slicer a few years back. It was hard under the hammer but I got there eventually. It didn't like high heat forging much either. Anything higher than a bright red just crumbled. Oddly enough, it really didn't want to burn. Even small sections could get very hot without throwing sparks, melting, or cracking. So long as I didn't actively hammer it above bright red, it worked pretty similar to high-carbon steel. I was happy with how well stainless retained a forged appearance even after it was cleaned up. At a glance, I think most people could tell it was hand forged stainless steel. None of which is to say that I particularly enjoyed working with it. I'm sure a better smith could have made quicker progress than I did. Forging that stainless probably took me four times as long as mild would have. That's why I suggested forging just the removable fork part out of stainless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 8, 2017 Share Posted June 8, 2017 It generally has a narrower forging range, harder under the hammer, costs more to buy and loves to eat abrasives during finishing; hence the greater price when selling items made from it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hephaestus Smith Posted June 8, 2017 Author Share Posted June 8, 2017 1 hour ago, ThomasPowers said: It generally has a narrower forging range, harder under the hammer, costs more to buy and loves to eat abrasives during finishing; hence the greater price when selling items made from it. Ok. that puts an end to my plan for squirrel cooker v1.1 with stainless sprong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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