Not a hobo stove

[Gailainne]

Theres been a few threads recently on hobo type stoves, so I thought I'd share a design I have been working on since I saw Graham_S's wood stove in action at Loch Tay. I didnt take any measurements, or even photos, so no comments on copyright.

What I did was measure my favourite cook set that I have had for eons, it has a click stand and stainless steel trangia inside it along with a few other bits and pieces. anyway the biggest pot was 150mm dia, so I designed the wood stove such that the pot could sit on it.

Hopefully you can see the circle indicating the pot and also the rectangle at the rear for the chimney

The chimney is made from 4 pieces that slot together, mainly so it stacks better when apart.

The back

Finally the front

I already have the stainless steel sheet for this project, 0.9mm for the most part but 1.5mm for the top plate.

The design also has fold out feet, that are permanently attached to the sides, but I didnt bother with a grill, maybe later.

When I get some time at a weekend I'll cut it out, the card version seems to validate my design.

Stephen

 

[mazeman]

looks like it should burn a treat!

 

[Matt Weir]

Looking good Stephen

 

[Jedadiah]

Very nice Stephen. I'm glad you decided to go for S/S as i think the cardboard may not be that robust! Tell me, are you leaving the top plate flat like a hot plate / griddle ( firebox) or are you going to drill holes, one big hole or some sort of mesh? Yes, impressive bud!

 

[Chainsaw]

Very very nice, I've been mulling over getting something like this either the one from nordicoutdoor/tentipi or the yukon firebox.

But I'd be happy to field test one of yours for a while and give you feedback!

Cheers,

Alan

 

[topknot]

Hi,
Very nice.
Best of luck with cutting and drilling the S/Steel.
Topknot.

 

[Gailainne]

Cheers Guys

with it being less than 1mm thick I dont forsee any problems cutting and finishing st st, however if I do, I'll let you know

Jed, thats why I went with the thicker mat'l for the top plate, not only a bit more robust, pans full of water get quite heavy, but for heat retention, so it will stay solid, if I need a grill I've already sourced some st st 1.6mm wire which will do the job, hopefully just bend it round a jig, ie nails and a bit of plywood.

Stephen

 

[Gailainne]

Hi,
Very nice.
Best of luck with cutting and drilling the S/Steel.
Topknot.

, Topknot, pride cometh mate, the bandsaw and sander went thru it like butter....drilling, and cutting it is another matter

You can see my attempt at drilling the umpteen holes for the ash grate...gave up for a while after burning out 2 titanium coated drills breaking a masonary drill and getting 2 others so hot they were setting fire to the pattern paper, plus the burrs it leaves underneath are a nightmare to clean up.

BTW I measured my plate mat'l, the big sheet is just over 0.7mm and the top plate is 2mm.

Anyway, next thing I tried was the top plate

Surprisingly after the last effort, a small 4mm tit drill went thru it fairly easily, different grade I imagine, so I drilled a few in a line, then opened one with a masonary drill. Next the dremel, with a cutting wheel

The one on the left lasted about 20 secs without really doing anything, next I tried the one on the right (came with the cheapy box of dremel clone stuff from Aldi/lidl), not sure what its made from but it can handle st st just fine, only problem is its a fine cut and its slow.

I'm afraid I have given up on that one for the moment as well. It looks like the only way I can see to do it with the tools I have is to drill a series of holes around the perimeter of the hole for the chimney, and then cut them out and file smooth I may cheat and see if one of the contractors at work has access to a milling machine.

I've been working on the feet, complete apart from the pivot, and bending the strengthener into them.

And the front and chimney pieces.

The bottom ash collector is done, next challenge is cutting out all those slots on the back and side pieces.

I'll keep you updated

Stephen

 

[spamel]

Use pilot holes, the smaller drill bit will go through nicely and then open the holes out with successively larger bits. The tip of a large drill bit will not cut the steel, it is the lands on either side that cuts so you need to give the tip a bit of a break with a small hole for it to sit in. SS is notorious as a bugger to machine though, but it looks like you are doing a good job. I can't believe that that silver disk cuts SS, I use the fine red disks which do better than the larger black disks. I'm gonna have to try that metal disc out some time!

 

[Gailainne]

Spam

I did know about the pilot hole trick...but have you seen how many holes I have to drill , tried to rush it didnt I, and fell foul. I have a few stepped titanium coated drill bits, again from Aldi so I might give them a try later.

The silver disk is I think coated with industrial diamond dust, or something similar, there are a few various shaped pieces in the kit, I've tried 2 on the thick st st, with no ill effect to the cutter.

Its been a loooong time since I did my Engineering apprenticeship, I had forgotten how long it takes to shape metal.

Stephen

 

[spamel]

Only fools rush in, or something! take your time, a bit here and a bit there! It'll be worth it in the end! Have a word with Woodland Edge too, they may market it with their other ones as well. People like variety and choice!

 

[Gailainne]

My design is a variation on a theme anyway, theres and a few other people, scoops_uk for one, the standard woodland edge one will take a 120mm zebra I think, mine will take something like a 160mm pan.

Something Jed said either here or on the BES site has got me thinking about alternative designs for the top plate...something for later tho, have to prove this works first.

I've finished for this evening, back to the beers still havent got thru that case of Grolsch, (you see at least my taste in beers improved )

Stephen

PS I hope you wife is feeling better Spam, sorry I should have said before.

 

[topknot]

Hi,
Drilling s/s the drillpress speed needs to be about 30-40 f.p.m and a cutting compound used like turpentune . keep going looks good mate.

 

[SOAR]

Looks good so far mate, like Spam says bit at a time is the best way, I am sure you will make it happen. I look forward to seeing the end result.

 

[nicodiemus]

The silvery disc is a diamond cutting wheel, intended for cutting glass and such for craft applications. The "heavy duty" wheels, despite following Dremel's advice and being very very slow with them dont work in my experience. I prefer the thicker ceramic ones, even if they break. We're all wearing safety specs, right?

How much does all the steel weigh total? Looks like a cracking little piece of kit. I've wanted a twig burner type thing, but i don't really have anywhere to use one, so my Trangia serves me fine, with the new multifuel..

 

[tommy the cat]

Looks great to me! Keep at it a bit at a time and you will get there, I would like something like that myself.
Dave

 

[ASH]

This looks a great design, beyond my skills. I have made a Hobo stove and managed to cut SS very easily with the dremel diamond wheel. However not sure what tool dremel do to cut a round hole in SS something with a diamond tip?

 

[Graham_S]

If you thing cutting SS is bad, you want to try getting holes in Titanium

 

[Gailainne]

hey Graham

The titanium I got from titanium goat cuts with scissors and a paper punch its that thin, I still havent decided what to do with it. still quite fancy a roll up pyrolysis stove, dont know if I can pull that one off tho

Stephen

 

[Gailainne]

I've been away from this project for a while, so as I had a day off on Monday, I thought I'd try and finish it. The dremel with that diamond wheel was a real help, in the final fitting, anyway heres the end result;

Front view, I screwed up the dimensions of the chimney somehow, it fitted, but not well.

Side view, I was worried about the weight the ashplate was carrying so have a total of 5 support tabs.

Internal view, with the front stiffners removed, not the best finish on the ash plate

A little video of its first firing, couldnt edit it shorter, sorry, just jump it forward.


I'm quite chuffed with it, it works well, the chimney really draws, I left it to cool, I'll check it tonight and see if it will come apart

Stephen