Steam Tent Cooking Rig

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Wayland

Hárbarðr
The heart of any good camp is the camp fire and that will always be true of the Steam Tent Co-op encampments as well.

A few years ago I used to equip and run a 14th century cooking fire for a group called the Berkley Household. I still have much of that equipment in store and all it needs is a fire rig big enough to use it on.

I am no great carpenter but I decided this was safely within my capabilities so set about the job with gusto.

The rig we used to use was lashed together with rustic poles but I wanted something a little more splendid than that and of course, it wouldn’t really be Steampunk if it didn’t have a bit of brass on it.

Fire-Rig-Teaser-IV.jpg


Most hooks are too small to go around a piece of wood strong enough to bear the amount of weight that can be needed when cooking for a large group. For this reason a steel bar is suspended under the main frame to hook onto and this also allows pot hangers to be moved along the bar to regulate the heat.

Chimney cranes then give adjustable height for hanging pots over the fire allowing for very good control of the cooking heat.

For roasting meat, a clockwork Bottle Jack turns a joint first one way then the other over a dripping pan by the side of the fire.

Fire-Rig-Teaser-III.jpg

Fire-Rig-Teaser-II.jpg



No reason that cooking over a fire needs to be unsophisticated. Modern stoves are the Johnny come lately to kitchen life. Iron skillets, bakestones and griddles can all be used this way as well and over the years I have seen some extraordinary banquets prepared over an open fire.

I don't have enough room in my yard to photograph the whole thing so these are just a few teasers until I can set it up on camp somewhere.
 
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Wayland

Hárbarðr
I don't really do movies Wayne so I'll do my best to describe it.

Obviously you wind it up first and then apparently nothing happens...?

However when you hang something with any weight on the bottom hook is starts to rotate for two or three turns, then it clicks, slows to a halt and starts to turn in the opposite direction.

I haven't timed it yet but this goes on for quite a while before needing to be wound up again.

Speed seems to be dependent on weight. The heavier the load, the slower it turns.
 

Mesquite

It is what it is.
Mar 5, 2008
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~Hemel Hempstead~
You can just hear the click o the soundtrack but they don't quite film long enough to see it change direction.

This one is filmed longer so you can see the change of direction.

It also has the rig and weight for smaller joints and cuts of meat that was standard with them but more often than not has been lost over time.

 
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g4ghb

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Sep 21, 2005
4,320
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Wiltshire
Again wow, I love your kit Gary. What I would like to know though is where you store it all and more importantly how you transport it all! You are pretty effectively a mobile museum of the past and one I would love to visit.

:notworthy2:
 

Wayland

Hárbarðr
Storage is an issue... There is not much of the house, garage or even yard that isn't stuffed with gear of some kind or another. Otherwise they are stuffed with books.

Transport is by van and people that remember my little red van from the Moot will not be surprised to hear that my new blue one is a longer wheelbase now. Slightly more capacity.

At any given event, the amount that I can pack into the van tends to be my limiting factor. It's not exactly lightweight camping.
 

Wayland

Hárbarðr
That one is brass. Found it at a boot sale, unused but covered in lacquer which made it far too shiny for my liking.

Brass-Lantern-on-Stick.jpg


Also when tilted it leaked from the side arms which is a common problem apparently. So I soldered the joints and burnt off the laquer, looks much better now.
 
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Wayland

Hárbarðr
Some minor tweaks to finish this off a bit.

Fire-Rig-Teaser-VI.jpg


Brass cap nuts for the hanging rail.

Fire-Rig-Teaser-VII.jpg


Copper ferrules for the ends of the cross supports.

Fire-Rig-Teaser-V.jpg


Difficult to see this one but I have pinned the wing nut on one side of the studding bar which holds it all together to make it easier to set up and take down.
 
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Lithril

Administrator
Admin
Jan 23, 2004
2,590
55
Southampton, UK
Fantastic setup, really impressed, I love the clockwork spit, I've not seen one of those before. You do know that we'll have lost Wayne now for the next month while he searches on eBay for one.
 

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