DIY backyard blacksmith hand forged ash rake for outbacker stove

A while ago I made a DIY forge for £5 here I use it to make an ash rake tool for my outbacker portable woodburner for camping

I used a fencing pin which many building sites will give you for free if you ask or can be purchased from builders merchants for about £1 and 1kg of charcoal so total cost was less than £2 and took about half an hour

Its not the prettiest as you'd expect using rolled steel bar but it will do the job

As ever I'd love to hear what you guys thought so please leave a comment or a thumbs up and if you liked and maybe you'd consider subscribing

Take care

Roo

#backyard #blacksmith #project

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Prepper Glossary

Common terms from bushcraft and prepping;

A-frame

A structure formed by two angled sides that meet at the top, such as a shelter with two walls

azimuth

Navigational term for the angle of a bearing from a general direction, normally North

bail

Handle on a pot for hanging over a fire

baton

A stick used for beating a blade when splitting wood known as battoning

bearing

Direction of travel when navigating with a compass

bergen 

Alternative British name for a rucksack

bezel

Rotating dial divided into degrees to calculate a bearing on a compass

birds nest

Collection of dry material as tinder for firestarting that resembles a birds nest

bivvy or bivi

short term for bivouac to describe a shelter when camping can be a simple bag that can enclose a person to a small tent

bow drill

Firestarting method by generating friction in order to create heat to produce a smouldering ember

bug in

Stay put and ride out any emergency situation

bug out

Evacuate an area, prepacked equipment bags for this are called Bug Out Bags (B.O.B.) Bug Out Location (B.O.L.) Bug Out Vehicle (B.O.V) 

burner

Camping stove that produces a contained flame

bushcraft

The knowledge and skills to use natural surroundings for survival in the wilderness

cache

Hidden emergency stores 

charcloth

Cotton cloth that has been heated almost to the point of combustion to create a extremely dry tinder

crane

Structure for suspending things, such as pots over an open fire for cooking, made from notched sticks

Dakota fire pit

Two holes in the earth, one used as a fire pit connected by a tunnel to allow airflow to the base of the fire

deadfall

Dead wood that has fallen to the ground, deadstanding refers to dead wood that has remained standing or fallen against something so that it doesn't lie on the ground

debris shelter

Emergency cover created by layering sticks to form a low enclosed space covered with four to six inches of leaves and twigs for insulation and weatherproofing

fatwood

Wood with a high resin content which readily takes a spark and burns very strongly

feather stick

Sticks that have been shaved to create several close fitting fine curls to increase the surface area for firestarting

fell

Process to cut down a tree, where possible avoid cutting living trees

ferrocerium, ferro, firesteel

Metal alloy used to generate sparks for firestarting

fire lay

Pattern of layinf down wood to build a campfire

fly or flying tarp

Suspending a over the ground but not touching it, often used to create open sided shleters as cover for hammocks

grind

The cross section of a cutting tools cutting edge

haversack

Small bag usually carried by a sholuder strap

I.N.C.H. bag

I'm Not Coming Home bag, a prepacked bag where you do not intend to return home

jackknife

Knife with a moveable blade that folds into the handle when not in use, often called pocket knife or if it has several folding tools a multi tool

kindling

Dry material that easily ignites for campfires

kuksa

Traditional wooden cup

lean-to

Single walled angled structure grounded at its base and supported at the head

M.R.E.

Meal Ready to Eat

notch

Shape cut into wood to form structures, hangers or handles

paracord

Strong multiuse cordage, based on parachute cordage

pitch

Place to camp

prep

Abbreviation of preparation, a plan or prepared item for a given situation, to prep is prepping, a person who preps is a prepper  

resin

Sap from trees, multiple uses depending on the tree species

ridgeline

Elevated line for setting up shelters or the observable peaks of hills forming the horizon

Roycroft frame or pack

Load carrying triangular frame made from lashed together sticks

S.H.T.F.

Something 💩 Hits The Fan, an impending or recent bad situation

tarp

Abbreviated tarpaulin also used for any sheeting to form a ground sheet or shelter

T.E.O.T.W.A.W.K.I.

The End Of The World As We Know It, lifechanging apocalyptic occurance on global scale such as an extinction level asteroid strike  

tinder

Fine flammable material in firestarting

toggle

Stick loosely connected to something as an attachment or locking point  

whetstone

Hard stone used to grind the cutting egde of tools to sharpen them

widowmaker

Dead tree temporarily supported but liable to collapse without notice







This list is by no means exhaustive in order to keep it managable but will be periodically updated so if you have any additions you would like to see entered please comment below and explain your reasoning

Take care

Roo
  

Cheap and simple DIY blacksmith forge

For a while now I've been wanting to make some items for campfire cooking with my cast iron cookware, but I didn't have a forge so I decided to make one!

Now I wanted to make this as cheaply as possible so this is what I used;

1. Sand
2. Plaster
3. Disposable BBQ
4. Hand crank BBQ blower
5. Washing machine waste hose 
6. Steel tube

I only had to buy the BBQ (£1.99) and the blower (£1.80) as I already had the other items

First I removed the grill from the disposable BBQ and emptied the charcoal out for later, this tin tray would be the basis for my forge

Then I took the small section of steel pipe from my BBQ blower and I wrapped it in clingfilm and with my penknife I cut a small opening in one side of the tray that this could be passed through

I mixed equal amounts of dry sand and plaster until the mixture was uniform in colour before adding water and mixing again until I was happy with the consistency

This mixture was placed in the BBQ tray and shaped to form my fire bowl ensuring that the small steel pipe section wasn't obstructed as that will be for my air supply

The next day the mixture had set so I removed the small section of pipe and clingfilm and set a fire using the charcoal from the BBQ, then I connected the blower to the fire bowl with steel pipe and the washing machine hose which was a perfect fit!

After a few minutes I was able to heat a 10mm steel allen key to a nice cherry red colour which I was happy with so I declared the forge a success

I had an old pump for inflatable air beds that also fitted the washing machine hose so gave that a go too and it was much better

So it is possible to make a cheap working small forge from these materials that are readily available but add a small electric pump if you can for a much improved performance



Take care
Roo