The Super Cat

So I tried crafting a new alcohol stove today—The Super Cat— named because the guy who designed it constructed it out of a Fancy Feast can. It is a two-in-one stove and stand. The directions are as follows:

You’ll need a 3ounce Fancy Feast can, tape measure, marker, and ¼” handheld hole punch

1. Remove label from 3 ounce fancy feast cat and remove the glue (nail polish remover works really well).

2. Using a ¼” handheld hole punch, punch one hole so that the top of the hole is ¼” from the top of the can.

3. Punch a hole ½” from the center of the first hole and continue punching holes all around the can (15 holes total).

4. 1/8” below these holes, punch another row of holes, spaced in between the 1^st row of holes.

5. Fill stove with one ounce of alcohol and light with a match through one of the holes. 

 

Before the pot is placed on the stove the flames shoot out the center, but once the pot is placed over the top the flames are forced through the side holes. The How To web page insisted that the stove (with 1 ounce of alcohol) could bring two cups of water to a rolling boil in 4.5 minutes, however it took mine 15 minutes to boil one cup of water; my stove is not the Super Cat but the Mediocre Kitty. 

I decided to give homemade alcohol stoves a rest and try making fire the Bow and Drill way. You need a bow, shoe string, spindle, bearing block, and hearth board as well as a knife, tinder nest and ember pan. 

From left to right: Bow, spindle, hearth board, bearing block, ember pan (leaf) and tinder nest (dryer lint)

I followed the directions from the following website:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC_54ICw-ao. 

I was able to get smoke however, I was not able to make fire. I think my hearth board was too thick so the embers were cooling off before hitting the pan. I have not given up on this.