Mad Daves Charcloth Tutorial

[maddave]

Hi Dudes and Dudesses

This tutorial is just a quick one on making charcloth as I was making some today and the camera was handy, so I thought it may be of some use.

First of all you need a fireproof tin with a tight fitting lid and a hole in it that you can plug with a peg or nail etc similar to the one below, although the hole on this one is a bit larger than neccessary.

Then you need to pack your tin nice and snugly with natural cotton material cut into about 4" squares (or a size that will fit your tin). Denim is good and linen which I have used in this example.

Next put the lid back on nice and tight, leaving the hole open. This tin contained boiled sweets originally. (A screwtop tin is better if you can find one)

Now carefully put it on the fire (or barbecue in this case) and wait... Soon smoke will begin to pour from the hole. This is the crucial time and you cannot leave the tin unattended at this point.

When the smoke coming from the hole stops or lessens dramatically, plug the hole with your peg or nail to stop oxygen entering and remove the tin from the fire ***This will be very hot*** and set the tin aside. Don't be tempted to open it up as the charcloth can still spontaniously combust ruining your hard work. Leave till cool to the touch !

When the tin has cooled lift the lid and there you have your charcloth. As you can see in the pic, occasionally the top bit sometimes doesn't quite burn off right. Don't worry though, the cloth underneath should be fine.

Now you have a batch of charcloth !! Get a few ziplock bags, separate the cloth into manageable bits, and bag it up !!

So there you have it. Simple and easy to make and will take the smallest of sparks.


***Note*** The smoke given off during production is quite voluminous, so don't try making charcloth in the house.... If you do, you'll only do it once LOL

Cheers Dave

 

[Celt_Ginger]

Excellent tutorial. The pictures are nice and clear and show the whole process. Well done Maddave. While I go through exactly the same process, the only thing I do that is different is that I don't cut my cloth into seperate squares/circles. I tend to make a roll of cloth about 2" wide and pack that into the tin. That way I can use either a longer or shorter bit of char cloth as I need it, but that is just a personal preference of mine.

 

[Bernie Garland]

Excellent tutorial Maddave,good clear pictures of the process,i use asda tea towels for the charcloth,cut into 30mm strips and rolled up, i find you can pack more in,and your bang on about not doing it inside,i tried to do it on the gas ring once,never again.

Bernie

 

[Schwert]

Nice setup. I use a similar approach but I drilled the hole through the side of the tin....both the top and bottom of the tin. This way I can just rotate the top to "close" the hole.

I generally use cotton bath towels. The terry loops really almost never miss the spark.

 

[irishlostboy]

ya, nice tutorial. thanks.

 

[StJon]

Thanks Maddave, thats an other wee project for me to have a go at and a great excuse to eat a tin of sweets.
jon

 

[jon r]

Great tutorial!

 

[Cobweb]

Great tutorial

One thing... I've never plugged the top of my tin when making the cloth and it comes out fine.
Just my 2p

 

[fishy1]

The large amount of smoke can be reduced by lighting it, and when the flame goes way down it is ready.

 

[Eric_Methven]

I tend to use a whole teacloth, folded and rolled and stuffed into an empty baked bean tin. I cover the top with a double layer of tinfoil with a bit of wire wrapped round to secure it. A pin ***** in the tinfoil and it goes on the Parkray fire. Leave it half an hour and stick it outside the back door to cool. I usually put a blob of mud over the pinprick hole. The teatowel shrinks and pops out completely charred all the way through. Then I portion it up and put it in little baggies.

Eric

 

[hiraeth]

Used the same method this week for my first go, old syrup tin and the gas barbie, cut an old pair of jeans into strips and made a tight roll out of them , worked a treat.Suprised how much smoke it produced though , only too glad i didnt follow my first idea an try it on the stove as i dont think swmbo would have been very impressed.

 

[Jacko]

Good claer tutorial, like the other tips, will try yours next time fishy

 

[Simon H]

Great tutorial Dave. Nice easy set up.