Collapsible Wood Burning Camp Stove (On a Budget!)

Intro: Collapsible Wood Burning Camp Stove (On a Budget!)

The Firebox (http://tinyurl.com/opdevhe) is a folding stove that folds down into almost nothing but still functions as a great stove for camping, backpacking, bushcraft, etc. The only problem is the cost: $50+ for stoves of this design. This is my version of a stove coined "The Firebox Replica" by a few Youtubers. Total cost: about $7

STEP 1: Materials and Tools

Materials:

• 6 3"x5" Tie Plates (can be found at hardware stores for around $1 a piece)
• Coat hanger or thick wire

Tools:

• Rotary tool (with cut-off wheels)
• Safety glasses
• Gloves
• Container of water (to cool hot plates)

STEP 2: Cuts

I was planning on creating a prototype, change a few things, and then create a good version fully documented but the prototype turned out better than I expected. Read captions on picture as a guide and red lines are cuts that need to be made. I suggest you mark them with a sharpie marker and ruler so cutting lines are much easier with the rotary tool. If you don't have a rotary tool a hacksaw with a metal cutting blade or a jeweler's saw should be fine but may take ages.

STEP 3: You're Done!

Slot the pieces together (bars before front and back plates) and you're ready for the first burn. :D

Note: The issue of heating galvanized steel has come up, potentially releasing harmful fumes into the air. This coating can be removed or reduced by heavy sanding or heating in a campfire (these do reduce corrosion resistance).* A high temperature heat paint can be used after to protect metal plates from corrosion.

* As suggested in comments. I personally have not followed these techniques and it is up to you to do your own research on the topic then decide what you will do should you follow this guide.

Better Note: Use non-galvanized or stainless steel plates.

Comments

[TrollFaceTheMan]

As Blacksmith I can Confirm that Using Galvanizes Steel for a small stove like this is perfectly fine...

Yes, you can get Metal Fume Fever from Inhaling the Fumes produces during the "Burn Out" Phase, but unless your doing that inside, or have you face directly above the stove the whole time (Which I would doubt because it would be pretty hot...)

You shouldn't have to worry about the Metal Fumes... But if you are that concerned please, just throw the whole thing in a Bonfire, and leave it for a couple of Hours to "Burn Off" the layer... Then you should be fine...

Trust me, I have used Galvanized steel Many times for Crucibles, and have Heat Forged it plenty of times without any issues...

Understand, chances of you getting harmed by heating it are minimal... And even then, mainly it would be caused by Misuse and Miscare, which can easily be avoided...

[corradini]

Having had metal-fume-fever exactly once (from melting some zinc alloy) I never want to have it again -- it's REALLY ... unpleasant. I *kind* of agree with this comment - "oh, just burn it off, make sure you don't inhale, don't do it indoors" -- and, yes, if you know what you're doing it's easy to burn off the zinc layer safely -- but really want to emphasize that getting it WRONG is very, very unpleasant, and Has Health Consequences. (It's like a welder saying "oh, c'mon, I weld all the time - you won't ruin your eyes or electrocute yourself or burn anything, as long as you do things right!" -- and s/he'd be right! But that's coming from a WELDER. Don't mess with the zinc without knowing what you're doing - or at best you're in for the nastiest headache you've EVER had (since your first bad drinking binge and then some).
So: YES: burn it off. And THEN - you've got ungalvanized Fe...something, WHICH WAS GALVANIZED FOR A REASON, which was to protect it from oxidation. And fire is the very definition of that. So now you're going to be (inadvertently) rusting the hell out of something that was protected from rust but you removed the rust protection from (smartly!, to keep from taking years off your life). So, yeah: high-temp paint, maybe? Or just recognize that this project - while brilliant! - has a limited lifespan vs. one made from s/s (which btw *does* also rust - just more slowly...)

[Dragon2497]

I like the design of this stove better than most of the others I've seen. This is now on my "Project" list. Instead of the plates I'm thinking about using one (or two) baking sheets from the dollar store ($0.99 each) that would cut down on the weight and eliminate the (slight) risk of toxic fumes until the coating is burned off. I agree that IF you use galvanized plates to at least burn it off OUTDOORS before first use.

[dbbd1]

I'm a little confused in some of the pics, the bowtie-shaped piece is higher (sitting higher above the shelf) than in others. Was it lowered later, to work better? Or am I missing something?

[spark master]

We are going to have a lot of dead campers here. My kid's Scout troop regularly use Galvanized steel garbage pails to make turkeys for the big out door thanksgiving feast. Cooks fast and quite yummy. Seriously tasty bird.

[Jladou]

Them trash can turkeys are some of the best birds you'll ever have

[nolte919]

I love this idea. Any idea on the weight? According to Home Depot's website each plate weighs 0.16 lb. With some back of the envelope calculations, I get 14 oz for the whole thing.

[loondog]

I used this last night for the first time and it rocks .

[DanielR68]

has anyone tested the actual peak temp coming from one of these stoves? ddw_az touched on the possibility of a stove made out of aluminum melting. Aluminum melts at 1200°F. This is just food for thought!

[TheGeek1984]

I decided to try this out with tea lights to see if I can use it indoors safely.

[becket]

Really nice stove, bought all the materials yesterday and got started, hmm something didn't fit at all.
After reading again I noticed what was wrong.
We don't use inches over here :-)
So after some small changes to the stove it works pretty awesome
Thanks a lot.

[Common Man Survival]

We use metric where I'm from but hardware and wood is sold in inches and feet for some reason. Glad you enjoyed!

[JayB7]

very nice, thank you!

[thecreator24]

Okay thanks I never would of thought of stacking the cutting wheels great idea

[thecreator24]

On the cuts do you cut once or twice on them

[Common Man Survival]

I stacked two cutting discs on top of each other while cutting so that the width of the slot was as wide as the circles so that a second pass wasn't needed. Hope this helps. Thanks!

[steve.teeters.9]

Oh I also forgot to mention that I used aviation tin snips for all of the external cuts, it was a lot faster and cleaner and no need to buy cutting wheels as often. also clean up was better as there were no burrs left. just my 2 cents on that. thanks again for the awesome idea.

[GrammeyMom]

As someone who has camped her ENTIRE LIFE, this stove is AWESOME!!!!!!! I JUST SIGNED UP ON THIS SITE AND THIS IS THE FIRST THING I SAW AND IT BLOWS MY MIND. YOU ARE A GENIUS!!!!!!!!!!

[NightHawkInLight]

I love this project. Super clever design and materials usage. Well deserved first prize.

[Common Man Survival]

Thank you so much. I really enjoyed your instructable, planning on making a few pairs of shoes for myself after I get a chance to pick up some rubber spray. I was a bit shocked that my project was selected from the other finalists.