Category: Craft & DIY
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Some thoughts, as the Beer Can Stove video goes viral
At the time of writing, the video above has been played 1,311,131 times. Needless to say, when Armen and I popped out to buy a couple of cans of Kozel for this film, we were not expecting this to happen. It’s been fun to watch the statistics over the last few days. It’s also been interesting to ruminate on why content ‘goes viral’ — internet shorthand for a shedload of people seeing something online in a short space of time. What it boils down to, I think, is simple, resonant ideas put into easily shareable form, plus a dice-roll. The dice… Continue reading →
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How To Turn A Beer Can Into The Only Camping Stove You’ll Ever Need [VIDEO]
The best gift I’ve ever received on the road is this; a stove made from nothing but a discarded drinks can. In this video we’re going to learn how to make it (with a little help from my friend Armen). You can get your raw materials from the trashcan, make it in 10 minutes with a pocket knife, and get fuel from any pharmacy or hardware store. Oh, and it costs a hundred bucks less than the Whisperlite. What’s not to like? I’ve been using these stoves for years now. Here are a few ideas for getting more out of them: Cooked… Continue reading →
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The DIY Beer Can Stove Is The Best Camping Stove You’ll Never Buy
Jetboil? Trangia? Primus? I laugh in your faces! The lightest, cleverest and most practical camping stove I’ve ever seen can be made by hand from a single empty drinks can. Continue reading →
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How To: Build A Bicycle Wheel In Ten Easy Steps
People fear wheel-building. None more so than touring cyclists. Nobody, apart from a tiny elite of skilled craftsmen in scattered bike shops across the world, should dare impinge on this secretive world of mechanical artistry. But we all have a capacity for art, don’t we? Could it really be all that difficult? I had a new rim to fit to Tenny’s bike, which would involve taking apart the rear wheel in its entirety and rebuilding it from scratch. So I decided to find out what this wheel-building malarkey was all about. After four and a half hours of careful labour,… Continue reading →