If your pot has a handle, it’s fairly easy to hang over a fire when you’re cooking. The problem comes about when it doesn’t have a handle or when the handle is designed for holding the pot or you’re using a frying pan. Being able to make an improvised cooking stand will help solve this problem. One of the easiest ways to make an improvised cooking stand is to use a set of old metal shelf brackets.
One of the good things about shelf brackets are they can be “nested” together so that they don’t take up a lot of room. This makes it easy to carry them and they come apart easily in order to assemble an improvised cooking stand with just a few small bolts.
How easy is it to make? Well, Lil’ RW, my grandson who is only six years old put one together quite easily. I simply bolted a couple of shelf brackets together to give him an idea of how to connect them and he did the rest. Unfortunately, he wanted to gather some wood and build a fire so he could start cooking...in the house! Not a good idea.
Most shelf brackets come in pairs and have different lengths on each side of the bracket. This allows you to configure the cooking stand for different cookware. One configuration is great for a frying pan while an alternate configuration works well for a stock pot or a large cast iron pot. If the ground is soft enough, you can even push the ends into the ground to add a little stability.
Another option is the triangular configuration for your improvised cooking stand. If you’re missing a shelf bracket, this isn’t a problem. Just assemble your cooking stand with three shelf brackets instead of four. It’ll still hold a frying pan or pot.
Got DIY cooking stand?
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12 comments:
Thats a very slick idea - thanks for posting it. You can find these brackets very easily at garage sales too. I've use these for target stands.
I've used the long nails (spikes?) that are about 10" - 12" long to use as a platform as well. Just hammer into ground . Works great.
The gentleman at BUG OUT SURVIVAL blog has an even slicker idea, hammering green wood branches into ground to do the same.
Actually the traigular configuration would seem to be alot more sturdy than the square one anyways, a triangle is an engineering strength.
Absolutely genius! Simple, like most great ideas. Thanks for the idea.
To: anonymous 11:15
Thanks for the tip about using them for target stands...going to put that one to use.
Thanks anon.
RW
BTW, Got these brackets for 25 cents at a garage sale...a real bargain.
To: goslow
Not sure about the actual terminology and it's been quite a while since I've taken a physics class but here is my understanding about three legs versus four legs:
Actually it is not stronger in reality.
Because three points are what defines a plane, a three-leg object won't wobble. A three-legged object will tip over more easily than a four-legged object because its center of gravity is further inside its base.
Although four-legged objects may wobble a bit, they don't tip over as easily and in reality are actually more stable in my opinion.
Thanks goslow.
RW
BTW, anyone have a better explanation please feel free to comment.
To: Chief Instructor
Simple solutions are often the best and the easiest.
Take the wheel for example...
It's a very simple concept that changed the world.
Thanks Chief.
RW
That's a nice way to think outside the box, which is something I often have a difficult time doing. Thanks.
In regards to the three point -
You can even make the base wider by attaching at one common point, but then again, the weight of a larger pot might cause it to collapse. Especially when metal is heated.
Bet it would work fine with steel 'clip angles' though.
To: milleniumfly
When thinking "outside the box", it's easier if you try to see what it could be used for rather than what is a regular or normal view of the item.
Thanks.
RW
To: anonymous 6:45
Sound concept but it would probably need a better strength component(i.e., a stronger bracket) than could be achieved with shelf brackets. Have to test it out and see what might or might not work...wouldn't be the first time I tried something and it didn't work.
Then again, it might be successful and have a few other uses as well.
Thanks for the idea...will check it out and see if it would work.
Thanks anon.
RW
Nice! I'm curious, what size are those angle brackets?
To: Joe
The brackets actual dimensions are
9" X 11" and were probably meant for use with a 12 inch shelf. They do make smaller ones that could be used for smaller pots or pans.
Thanks Joe.
RW
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