One of the benefits of outdoor recreation is cooking on an open fire, which makes ear, kulesh and even plain tea seem incredibly tasty. But it is not always possible to find suitable stones to build a semblance of a hearth. Therefore, to take along a light tripod made of aluminum tubes is an excellent solution, since it does not take up much space, is quickly assembled and convenient to use. Of course, you can buy a finished product of factory assembly, but for a craftsman who likes to do everything with his own hands, this is not interesting.
Necessary materials and tools
To build a tripod for a trip, the following materials will be required:
- 3 pieces of aluminum or thin-walled steel pipe 150-200 cm long. The longer the pipes are, the higher the tripod will be.
- 3 steel eye bolts.
- 3 S-shaped hooks.
- Metal chain to hang the bowler.
From the tools you will need:
- Hammer.
- A grinder or a hand saw for metal.
- Pliers.
Making a tripod
Now you can proceed directly to the assembly of the tripod. If larger pipes were prepared, they need to be cut to a convenient length, which can be any.
To connect the bolts to each other, you need to loosen one of the loops a little so that you can put on the other bolts.
It is most convenient to do this by holding the bolt in a vise, and unclench the ring with pliers or a gas wrench. This is the hardest part to assemble the tripod, so you have to tinker a bit.
When the eyelet is sufficiently squeezed out, the rings of two other bolts and one end of the chain are put on it.
After that, with the help of a hammer, the expanded ring is compressed so that the worn elements do not fall out and the structure remains intact.
The tripod legs are connected in this order.
The end of a bolt with a nut screwed onto it is inserted into one of the ends of the pipes. If the nut in the pipe loosens freely, then you need to knock on the pipe on a rigid base just above and below the nut and flatten it a little. This will allow you to securely fix the nut in the pipe so that the tripod does not fall apart at the most inopportune moment.
When this is done, an S-shaped hook is put on the chain after 3-5 links from the top of the tripod, which will allow you to adjust the height of the dishes above the fire.
Advice! The end of the hook, which is worn on a chain, must be clamped with a hammer or pliers so that it does not fall out and is not lost during transportation.
If the length of the chain is too long, then it must be shortened so that the dishes are located at a height of several centimeters above the ground with the tripod unfolded.
Another S-hook is put on the last link of the chain, the end is clamped. Crockery will be hung on this hook: a cauldron, a pot, a kettle or other suitable utensils.
You can adjust the height of the dishes above the fire by moving the legs of the tripod or by chaining the chain several links to the upper hook.
Of the advantages of this design, it should be noted its compactness and ease of folding / unfolding.
If desired, you can slightly expand the functionality of the tripod. For example, in the legs you can drill holes and fix additional hooks on which you can dry your shoes or hang the dishes away from the fire so that the food does not cool.
Note! When breeding open fire in nature, fire safety rules must be observed! You also need to monitor clothing or shoes being dried over the fire so that they do not burn. To do this, the legs of the tripod should be so long that their lower part can be located at a sufficient distance from the campfire and remain cold.