Oil lamp

[Pignut]

I found this picture on here (Not sure where now)

Anyway wondered if anyone new how to make something like this, (Materials methods etc) as I dont thik the artical it was in showed you how

Thanks in advance

Dave

 

[moduser]

Pignut,

The quickest way, using stuff you probably have at home is;

something to put the oil in
Olive oil
and a wick, cotton or similar, not synthetic.

Soak the wick in oil and leave one end just outside the bowl and ignite.

To be a bit more bushcrafty you can use melted beeswax or your own refined oil say beech nut oil (crush the nuts and boil them, the oil rises to the surface where you can skim it off). Wick I suppose can be made from various natural absorbant materials although I have not tried any.

Even carve a suitable bowl although wood will absorb the oil so better off using stone or making a clay dish and firing it yourself (which is fun to do, kids love it).

Best luck

Moduser

 

[Pignut]

Olive oil!

Cool! :You_Rock_

 

[leon-1]

Olive oil!

Cool! :You_Rock_

It worked for both the Greeks and the Romans.

 

[Pignut]

Gonna have to give this a go!

Will keep you posted

 

[Big John]

I managed to make one myself although it wasn't very good! I used a chunk of chalk with a bowl carved in it. I used a stone to carve the bowl out - this bit worked well.

For oil I used fat from the pan, I think we had been cooking sausages or something!

I used the pithy center from a reed for the wick. The result worked, but the flame was incredibly small and would have been blown out by the slightest breeze.

I think the problem was with the wick, the chalk bowl was excellent, and I think the fat was ok, I really must get round to trying it again with a better wick. I did try to extract the pith from an elder stick, but it just kept on breaking up, I couldn't get a long enough piece. With the reed I could peel the skin away from the pith, although it was still very tricky and the resulting wick is only a couple of mm thick.

Let us know how you get on

 

[Pignut]

To the woods!!

Pics soon!

 

[martin]

You can use Soft Rush as the wick. It grows all over round here Pignut so you will not have any trouble finding some!

 

[Pignut]

Thanks for that Martin!

Have you had any experinace using this?

 

[Toddy]

See the beech nut oil? How is it for cooking with? Does it grow rancid quickly?
We've got enormous beech's round here and apart from the occasional handful of nuts that gets eaten, they go to waste.
One tree produces so much that when it sheds it's nuts the pavement and part of the road are sticky with oily paste.
Does anyone have any info on historical uses for the nuts/ oil apart from fattening pigs and pigeons with ?

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[moduser]

Hi Toddy,

Never actually tried keeping the stuff long term. The small amount I made (as an experiment based on something I read) had a mellow taste abit softer than walnut oil.

I'd definately try it again just to see how effective it is as a wood preservative.

Moduser

 

[Wayland]

Many cultures use simple shells for oil lamps , sea or snail. I have used the shells of Roman edible snails to good effect.

The lamp in your picture looks like a stone one, soapstone is the easiest to carve.

Jute string works well for a wick as does linen, cotton etc.

As for the oil, I use oil lamps a lot for Viking, Saxon or Roman events and we've used everything from olive oil to cooking fat with equal success.

Don't waste your money on olive oil, if you are going to but it just use cheap and cheerful cooking oil. Alternatively talk to your local chippy about the oil they have to dispose of.

 

[innocent bystander]

I seem to remember reading somewhere that if you put salt in the oil it burns brighter . Or something like that. Any one tried this ?

 

[Pignut]

After a couple of hrs toil in the garage, here it is (Should look good in the Tentipi)

the Whick is the corner of the tea towel and the Oil is Olive Oil..

Snail Shells!!!! Now there is an Idea!

PS sorry for the poor pic!

and as always comments welcome

 

[wolf]

See the beech nut oil? How is it for cooking with? Does it grow rancid quickly?
We've got enormous beech's round here and apart from the occasional handful of nuts that gets eaten, they go to waste.
One tree produces so much that when it sheds it's nuts the pavement and part of the road are sticky with oily paste.
Does anyone have any info on historical uses for the nuts/ oil apart from fattening pigs and pigeons with ?

Cheers,
Toddy

beech nuts do go rancid quiet quickly,i think they smell of almonds when there off,basically in the woods its a race against the squirrells to get the good ones.

 

[Pignut]

I seem to remember reading somewhere that if you put salt in the oil it burns brighter . Or something like that. Any one tried this ?

Not sure, think I read that on here somewhere?

 

[Big John]

Looks great Pignut, good effort.

Is the wick is just sitting in the oil - there's nothing to support it in an upright position or anything?

Looks like you've hollowed the bowl out of a stone - ye olde angle grinder was it??

It's hard to judge the size from the photo, how big is it - what sort of burn time do you get?

 

[innocent bystander]

Not sure, think I read that on here somewhere?

I read it in a book somewhere - i think the context was roman...

Quick google :
http://www.unc.edu/courses/rometech...Libba_McElreath/artificial_light_in_rome.html
knew i wasn't going mad...

 

[Pignut]

Looks great Pignut, good effort.

Is the wick is just sitting in the oil - there's nothing to support it in an upright position or anything?

Looks like you've hollowed the bowl out of a stone - ye olde angle grinder was it??

It's hard to judge the size from the photo, how big is it - what sort of burn time do you get?

The hole in the top is the size of a two pence!

The wick is just sitting in the oil, (I wondered about stability but it did not seem to be an issue once set up.

If the bowl is full to the top I get about 15mins of burn time..

and yes in true woods man style I used "Ye Oldie Dremmel" for the shaping of the bowl. I intend to use all naturals for my next!

Hope that helps

 

[Pignut]

Many cultures use simple shells for oil lamps , sea or snail. I have used the shells of Roman edible snails to good effect.

The lamp in your picture looks like a stone one, soapstone is the easiest to carve.

Jute string works well for a wick as does linen, cotton etc.

As for the oil, I use oil lamps a lot for Viking, Saxon or Roman events and we've used everything from olive oil to cooking fat with equal success.

Don't waste your money on olive oil, if you are going to but it just use cheap and cheerful cooking oil. Alternatively talk to your local chippy about the oil they have to dispose of.

Any info on how to use snail shells? I know it sounds simple but!..............