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DIY kettle anyone?

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Chris C

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I have seen some stuff on the net about a DIY kettle, it sure looked like it was made of a grease pot.
Mainly looking for a personal kettle I can boil some water in or make coffee,small meal, stuff like that.

Anyone made a kettle or bought another type container to make a kettle out of?
 
Tall Hat said:
Anyone made a kettle or bought another type container to make a kettle out of?
Why not just buy a pot or kettle? It avoids wasting $500 worth of time and effort for a $15-30 item....
 
I like to tinker.
And I have not seen any kettles for that kind of price.
Ill likely keep shopping but thought Id see if any one had made one.
 
Tall Hat said:
I like to tinker.
And I have not seen any kettles for that kind of price.
Ill likely keep shopping but thought Id see if any one had made one.
OK - Wasting $500 worth of time and effort for a $40-50 item.

Look at the 1/2 gallon Brass bucket for $38. The ears aren't the most period correct, but the kettle is sound. I've carried one for years.
 
Grease pots are usually made from aluminum or stainless steel.....Neither are period correct materials. Not to mention the design would likely be wrong as well.
But, if it's a "bushcraft" thing, have at it.....Post a picture when you're done cause now we're all curious.
 
To each his own. Perhaps he will get $500 worth of satisfaction in making it.

He did not ask our opinions on if he should do it or not, just how.

Live and let live.

Fleener
 
I took a "Soldier's Mug" and punched two holes in it near the rim..., one by the handle, and one opposite, and used some wire to make a bale for it. (The location of the holes keeps the bale away from the mouth when drinking).

Instead of coming up with something they didn't necessarily have (the domed lid "corn boiler" is documented only as far back as 1976 :shocked2: ), why not convert something they did have and was common?

:idunno:

LD
 
fleener said:
To each his own. Perhaps he will get $500 worth of satisfaction in making it.

He did not ask our opinions on if he should do it or not, just how.

Live and let live.

Fleener
If we have knowledge, even if the specific question is NOT asked, why should/would we not share it? To omit information that would be useful/valuable, even if not specifically requested, would be intellectually dishonest.

The original question suggests the OP has little knowledge in this area and the first thing I would suggest is READ MORE. Learn everything you can about the question THEN proceed forward. Until you have done this, you still don't know what you don't know and are proceeding somewhat blindly....
 
Black Hand said:
fleener said:
To each his own. Perhaps he will get $500 worth of satisfaction in making it.

He did not ask our opinions on if he should do it or not, just how.

Live and let live.

Fleener
If we have knowledge, even if the specific question is NOT asked, why should/would we not share it? To omit information that would be useful/valuable, even if not specifically requested, would be intellectually dishonest.

The original question suggests the OP has little knowledge in this area and the first thing I would suggest is READ MORE. Learn everything you can about the question THEN proceed forward. Until you have done this, you still don't know what you don't know and are proceeding somewhat blindly....
A good teacher knows this. :thumbsup:
 
Tall Hat said:
I like to tinker.
And I have not seen any kettles for that kind of price.
Ill likely keep shopping but thought Id see if any one had made one.

This might sound like heresy :shocked2:
But, prowl through Walmart and other discount and import stores, like Pier 1. Keep a sharp eye and open mind for what they carry. You will (probably) find items that will blend in well with a rendezvous/trekking setting. Just make sure the metals and solders are food safe.
 
Tall Hat said:
...Id see if any one had made one.
Yes, I've made two (back when I didn't have as much knowledge as I should have had). Neither are in use - one is complete (though the tin lining is patchy and the seams aren't completely sealed after tinning) and the other still needs to be soldered together. Buy a pot/kettle...
 
We do likes our copper today, and lots of copper and brass pots were used in the old day and sent on to the frontier. In terms of avarage tin kettle was more common in general use.
 
From the number of your posts- it looks like you are just getting started- (but maybe I'm wrong :hmm: ). In any event, I've made a huge amount of errors. I'll assume I know what's what and get some item that "looks old", and then find out it is not like the stuff actually used. I might actually repeat the whole thing, item 1, replaced by item 2, replaced by the even more PC item 3, and so forth.
So if you are going to go to a lot of trouble make sure you spend a lot of time on the research, find an original and get all the details and then copy that.
The other thing common to our past time is finding one original item and then jumping to an assumption this one original item was common. An example might be the heart shaped tobacco pouch shown in ONE PAINTING by Miller: https://redcdn.net/adphoto/10/01/20/77_1_1200.jpg
All of a sudden it is a standard item thought to be carried by every mountain man, when in reality it might have been a one of a kind item.
If you make such a pot be sure to share, post pictures, etc. We are all on a learning curve
 
Last edited by a moderator:
tenngun said:
We do likes our copper today, and lots of copper and brass pots were used in the old day and sent on to the frontier. In terms of avarage tin kettle was more common in general use.

I think that depends on the time period. The earlier you go, the more likely it would be copper or bronze. The 1759-60 Ft. Pitt Ledger showed bronze kettles, but no tin kettles. The mass produced tinware was king after the 1830s and through the ACW, until it began to be replaced by "graniteware" in the late 1800s.
 
You can't really go wrong with a brass kettle. Construction and ear shape (among other things) varied over time, but brass seems to have been commonly used. Copper seems to be less common, but this is only an impression. Tin-plate appears to be the least durable of all and likely the least expensive when it was available, but again this is an impression (for availability).

An inexpensive brass kettle can be purchased, the cast ears removed and replaced with Dog-ear lugs. This makes it look earlier. That said, very few people know enough about kettles to ID the differences and even less people care if you have cast lugs (I do F&I and left the lugs alone because it wasn't worth the annoyance of replacing them). I have a perfectly serviceable 1/2 gallon tin-lined spun brass kettle that has cooked enough stew and cornmeal to feed an army (enough for 4-6 people per meal) and enough coffee to keep Seattle going for a week....
 
I am not sure if anyone is making period correct 18th century cooking kettles, the reproductions I have seen so far are not authentically correct. Generally speaking the 18th century kettle was wider than it was tall. The only exception to this I believe was the large military tinned iron kettles. I am working on converting two kettles at present, a tinned iron version & a brass kettle. When I am finished, I will post more info. Meanwhile if you want more information on period kettles, go to my blog here: https://woodsrunnersdiary.blogspot.com/search?q=kettles

Please note: When a trade list mentions "small kettle", it means in comparison to a large kettle. The small kettles were not as small as modern tin kettles.
Keith.
 
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