this instructable will show you step by step how to make a small lightweight camp stove.

Step 1: Materials

for this project you will need;
an aluminum can (empty)
a pocket knife or box cutter
ice pick, or a thumb tack
scissors
90%+ alcohol or coleman fluid
a container to boil water or cook stuff in

Step 2: Cutting Off the Top

take your knife or box cutter and cut the top of the can off under the lip of the can so there is still some rigidness to keep it sturdy.

Step 3: Marking the Line for Cutting

find a box or something about 1 1/2 inches high and place a sharpie on the top, then take the can (right side up) press against the tip of the marker and rotate it to get a nice straight line around the can.

Step 4: Cutting

take your pocket knife and cut on the line that you just made, this wont be a very nice cut, so you then take some scissors and make the cut nicer and as even as you can get.

Step 5: Marking the Top

take the same box or item you used for drawing the line earlier, and take the top of the can and flip it upside down (so the lip is on the table) and use the same line technique to draw a line on the can. then you cut along the line. for this you can just use the scissors, cut along the line of the can and try to get it as even a cut as possible.

Step 6: Crimping the Can

for this you will take your index finger and your middle finger, put them together and place them inside the can so that the tops of your fingers are touching the curved part of the can. then you take your knife, put it between your fingers on the other side of the can and press down to make a large dent on the bottom (cut side) and a small dent on the top. you will then move your fingers to that the side of your index finger is touching the ridge of the crimp, continue doing this until you have gone all the way around the can.

Step 7: Punching the Hole

then you will take your ice pick, knife awl, or thumb tack and punch a tiny hole in the upper part of the can.

Step 8: Final Step

slide the top part of the can into the bottom, it should fit because you crimped it, it may just need some adjusting to make it slide in easily. then fill the can with some alcohol (preferably 90% or up) or some sort of stove fluid, like coleman white gas. fill it up so that it covers the bump in the middle. however you may need more if you are cooking something for a while, but fluid just over the indent will boil water in a matter of minutes. to put out the fire you need a small cup that will fit over the stove, it should put the fire out immediately but you may want to leave it on there for a little while just to make sure it wont re-light. this should be able to be touched withing minutes because the aluminum cools very rapidly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An8hGMoRs-s&feature=youtu.be this is a link to a video of the stove boiling some water, this took only a few minutes to heat up, however there wasn't a ton of water in there so the times may be different for people. make sure to have plenty of alcohol in the stove to keep it going so it doesn't go out.