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Mystik Spiral
Survival Scholar

Joined: 25 Mar 2007 Posts: 1489 Location: Green Bay, WI |
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 |  | alright what size to cut the cloth into I am going to use denim pants  |
2 inch squares is the most common. Gives you plenty of char cloth per square. 
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| Sun Apr 06, 2008 6:27 pm |
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flashlightfreak9
Administrator

Joined: 22 Apr 2007 Posts: 3348 Location: Sweet Home Alabama!!! |
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Hey, linsleyk, could you use a little punctuation every now and then? It makes it hard to read your posts without any. Thanks.
The norm is to cut the cloth the same size as the tin you plan to store it in. 
_________________ The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. - Psalms 53:1
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| Sun Apr 06, 2008 6:33 pm |
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Mystik Spiral
Survival Scholar

Joined: 25 Mar 2007 Posts: 1489 Location: Green Bay, WI |
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People actually sell char cloth on ebay. It's about $1 or more for about 10 to 20 peices. With my huge stash I could make a quick $50. BTW anyone want to buy one of those $50 lanyards. 
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| Mon Apr 07, 2008 5:49 pm |
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Brian
Equador Jungle Survivor

Joined: 02 Jun 2007 Posts: 661 Location: Spencerport, New York |
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 |  | People actually sell char cloth on ebay. It's about $1 or more for about 10 to 20 peices. With my huge stash I could make a quick $50. BTW anyone want to buy one of those $50 lanyards.  | You might be able to get away with that somewhere else, but I think here, everyone wants to make their own too much to be willing to buy one for $50 Char cloth on ebay huh well I might just have to make some of my own from old jeans which were already paid for long ago
_________________ We only have one Earth, take care of her and she will take care of you. ~ probably someone else |
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| Tue Apr 08, 2008 2:00 am |
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flashlightfreak9
Administrator

Joined: 22 Apr 2007 Posts: 3348 Location: Sweet Home Alabama!!! |
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People will buy anything on eBay.
I think I'll make my own. 
_________________ The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. - Psalms 53:1
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| Tue Apr 08, 2008 10:26 am |
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Drummer Dave
Administrator

Joined: 22 Sep 2006 Posts: 4386 Location: B.C West Coast, Canada |
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Way more satisfaction doing it yourself but nice for people that dont have a clue as how to do it.
So if its going for say $ 1 for 10 pieces, i must have a least $ 100 worth, lol.
_________________ A Knifeless Man is a Lifeless Man
Canadian To The Core
Carry Less by Knowing More
Knowledge Weighs Nothing
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| Tue Apr 08, 2008 11:17 am |
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flashlightfreak9
Administrator

Joined: 22 Apr 2007 Posts: 3348 Location: Sweet Home Alabama!!! |
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You're rich. 
_________________ The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. - Psalms 53:1
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| Tue Apr 08, 2008 4:38 pm |
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linsleyk
Cook Islands Survivor

Joined: 03 Sep 2007 Posts: 1387 Location: Washington |
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sorry about no punctuation. ok I will get busy and make my own. more fun that way. 
_________________ I just heard something big crack�.. holy crap!-Les Stroud
better to fail at something you love then to succeed in something you hate. |
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| Thu Apr 10, 2008 4:38 pm |
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Drummer Dave
Administrator

Joined: 22 Sep 2006 Posts: 4386 Location: B.C West Coast, Canada |
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 |  | sorry about no punctuation. ok I will get busy and make my own. more fun that way.  | > Its way more fun Linsleyk once you do it & get it right you can make dozens of pieces for nothing but your time 
_________________ A Knifeless Man is a Lifeless Man
Canadian To The Core
Carry Less by Knowing More
Knowledge Weighs Nothing
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| Thu Apr 10, 2008 5:18 pm |
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Mystik Spiral
Survival Scholar

Joined: 25 Mar 2007 Posts: 1489 Location: Green Bay, WI |
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I think I'm the Bill Gates of char cloth. I have three 1Lbs. coffee cans full of char cloth. That's what 3/4 pair of jeans will get you. 
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| Thu Apr 10, 2008 5:28 pm |
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flashlightfreak9
Administrator

Joined: 22 Apr 2007 Posts: 3348 Location: Sweet Home Alabama!!! |
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You're set for life.
I'll probably make some tomorrow night. Supposed to rain tonight and I'm going to do it outside. 
_________________ The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. - Psalms 53:1
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| Fri Apr 11, 2008 6:18 am |
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flashlightfreak9
Administrator

Joined: 22 Apr 2007 Posts: 3348 Location: Sweet Home Alabama!!! |
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I did it after the rain quit last night and......success!
First off...the hot plate is more than hot enough to char the cloth.
Second...if you use a hot plate(or any other method for that matter), DO IT OUTSIDE! I did it on my back porch(a well-ventilated area) and the smoke was almost unbearable.
Third...DO NOT take the tin away from the heat source until it stops smoking completely. It is not done until it stops smoking.
Now for the complete story.
Well, first I tried to char a test piece with the top off. It started to burn nicely(smolder) after 2 minutes and would have burned up if I hadn't put the lid on to choke it out.
I thought: Well, I won't be able to do it without the lid, so I might as well go ahead and put a hole in the lid. After punching the hole, I tried two test pieces and they charred nicely in about 4 minutes. So far, so good.
Then I put the rest of the cloth into the tin and closed the lid. Back to the burner it goes. About a minute later, tons of smoke starts billowing out the hole and around where the lid closes. 10 minutes pass...15...20...by 30 minutes I'm wondering what the heck is happening? I was hoping the whole batch wasn't incinerating. By 40 minutes, there was just a little smoke coming out and I was getting impatient. So I took it off the hot plate. It was still smoking out the hole, so I set a piece of metal over the hole to stop the smoking. Then, I stuck the same nail I used to punch the hole back in the hole to plug it until the tin cooled off. About thirty minutes later, the tin was cool. I tried to take the lid off, but...it wouldn't budge. The lid had some gooey junk all the way around that sealed it shut. The same stuff was coming out of the hole, and was all over the inside of the lid, so I assume it was the impurities in the cotton. After prying the lid off, I looked inside and thought oh no. It didn't finish. The top 5 pieces didn't finish charring, but the rest of it was done.
I know to let it finish now.
I now have fourteen pieces of charcloth.
Next time, I'll finish the other 5 and make a bunch more. 
_________________ The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. - Psalms 53:1
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| Sat Apr 12, 2008 7:01 am |
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Mystik Spiral
Survival Scholar

Joined: 25 Mar 2007 Posts: 1489 Location: Green Bay, WI |
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Great job ff9! It's really great to know that it works fine on a hot plate.
I guess all char cloth making is an adventure. Mine blew up on me when I did it. One tip for next time would be to flip your tin about half way in. That way the top will have a chance to cook in the dirrect heat. 
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| Sat Apr 12, 2008 7:17 am |
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flashlightfreak9
Administrator

Joined: 22 Apr 2007 Posts: 3348 Location: Sweet Home Alabama!!! |
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Thanks.
If I had the camera, I would take some pictures, but I don't know where it is. 
_________________ The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. - Psalms 53:1
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| Sat Apr 12, 2008 2:02 pm |
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linsleyk
Cook Islands Survivor

Joined: 03 Sep 2007 Posts: 1387 Location: Washington |
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now I am scared its going to blow up on me 
_________________ I just heard something big crack�.. holy crap!-Les Stroud
better to fail at something you love then to succeed in something you hate. |
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| Sat Apr 12, 2008 4:53 pm |
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Mystik Spiral
Survival Scholar

Joined: 25 Mar 2007 Posts: 1489 Location: Green Bay, WI |
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 |  | now I am scared its going to blow up on me  |
Just make sure you have the right amount of ventilation. Too much, and you'll burn your char cloth, too little you'll blow the lid off your container. 
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| Sat Apr 12, 2008 4:59 pm |
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turd
Administrator

Joined: 06 Mar 2007 Posts: 1899 Location: Saskatchewan, Canada |
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| Sat Apr 12, 2008 6:35 pm |
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flashlightfreak9
Administrator

Joined: 22 Apr 2007 Posts: 3348 Location: Sweet Home Alabama!!! |
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 |  | now I am scared its going to blow up on me  |
That is most unlikely. I know MS's blew up, but don't worry.
The hole should be about an 1/8 of an inch...bigger than a pencil lead, but smaller than a pencil eraser.
Smoke came out of the sides where the lid was attached on mine, so it is highly unlikely that it will blow. Mine smoked like crazy, but I never felt it was in danger of blowing up.
Just don't stand with your head over it.
Don't worry. It will do just fine. 
_________________ The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. - Psalms 53:1
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| Sun Apr 13, 2008 6:43 am |
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Mystik Spiral
Survival Scholar

Joined: 25 Mar 2007 Posts: 1489 Location: Green Bay, WI |
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 |  |  |  | now I am scared its going to blow up on me  |
That is most unlikely. I know MS's blew up, but don't worry.
The hole should be about an 1/8 of an inch...bigger than a pencil lead, but smaller than a pencil eraser.
Smoke came out of the sides where the lid was attached on mine, so it is highly unlikely that it will blow. Mine smoked like crazy, but I never felt it was in danger of blowing up.
Just don't stand with your head over it.
Don't worry. It will do just fine.  |
I put a hole that would be suitable for an altoids tin in a quart paint can. It sounded like a jet engine, and the smoke caught on fire so it was like a blow torch. I'm just glad I have a firepit that's caged. After that experience I put 4 more holes in it, and it works fine. 
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| Sun Apr 13, 2008 6:51 am |
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flashlightfreak9
Administrator

Joined: 22 Apr 2007 Posts: 3348 Location: Sweet Home Alabama!!! |
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Yeah, that wasn't a wise decision on your part.
The hole must be proportional to the size of the tin. 
_________________ The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. - Psalms 53:1
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| Sun Apr 13, 2008 6:59 am |
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