Let's Make a Pot Stand/Burner

Let's make a pot stand/burner for our 12cm Zebra Billy Can. This pot stand/burner is a project I've done in the past but now I need to make a new one because the old one has been lost for some time. This project will allow you to heat your billy can with a Trangia burner, fuel tablets, or a wood fire.

Things you'll need:

• Ikea silverware sorter


• Dremel Tool


• Safety Glasses


• Sharpie


• Straight Edge (Optional)

So let's get started.

	Here is the new silverware sorter next to my well-used 12cm Zebra Billy Can.
	Use the Sharpie and straight edge to lay out the opening you'll cut in with the Dremel. I liked the shape of Mungo's more than my original so made mine like his.
	The Dremel is used to make quick work of the cutting. Fortunately, I've done this before and have learned from my mistakes. I still managed to break one cutoff wheel into a million pieces. I like to cut opposite sides to prevent the cutout from springing loose too soon.
	The silverware sorter fits nicely inside the 12cm Zebra Billy Can with just enough room to slip a plastic bag in between to keep the mess contained. Since the sorter is a bit taller than the billy I'll put the lid upside down under the billy before slipping the whole assembly into a stuffsack (again, to contain the mess.)
	I stuff the silverware sorter full of newspaper, fatwood, and whatever other tinder I can find to get it ready for burn-in. This process will cook off any coatings left on from manufacture and it should burn up any tiny metal slivers left from the cutting process.
	A few strikes from my firesteel into a cotton ball gets this party started. I shove the now-lit cotton ball into a depression in the newspaper, like a sideways bird's nest, to get things going.
	Now we're cookin'. You can see the metal has discolored from the burn-in and it's sooting up quite a bit inside (thanks to the fatwood.)
	Once you've got your fire going nice and strong you can feed it larger pieces of wood like so. Push the ends in as the sticks burn much like you would feed a star fire. This allows you a longer burn with less maintenance. Here I'm feeding the fire some pieces of knotty birch I just happened to have laying around.
	Once my fire's well-established I like to capture some of that heat. Today it was about melting down some snow to make a cup of tea. It takes a massive amount of snow, which contains lots of air, to make enough water for even one cup. I'm not saying it can't be done, but it'd be far easier to go prepared into the woods with a bottle or two of water.
	Once the burn-in is done and everything is cleaned up you can see the difference between a new silverware sorter and my new potstand/burner. Now I'll toss this into a plastic grocery bag and stuff it into my 12cm Zebra Billy Can and fill it with goodies for my next trip to the woods.

And that's all there is to it.

Now I've got a pot stand that'll last for a good long time.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with. Send me pictures and I'll put them on the site.

Thanks for reading,


B