Candle Making in the bush

[pict]

Here's a DIY project you can do if you ever find yourself in a trail shelter or old cabin.

I was solo camping along the AT once and stopped for the night in a trail shelter. I wanted to spend some time reading that night and didn't have a candle.

There were drips of wax all over the place from where other people had lit the shelter with candles. I went around with my SAK and scraped up every dribble of wax in the place. I found a piece of heavy cotton string tied to a nail. I formed a tube out of foil around a small stick and twisted the end into a point with the string trapped in the center of the twist. I then packed it full of wax chips/shavings and heated it until it melted. Once it was cool I had myself a candle (about the size of my finger). That candle stayed in my PSK for a long time after that and eventually got used up.

In my experience finding copious dribbles of wax in old cabins and permanent shelters is quite common. It's so common that it gets overlooked as a renewable resource. Mac

 

[Salamander42]

Excellent idea. There are even some open camp sights that I've stayed at in the Hoosier National Forest that have lots of wax on rocks and logs around the sight. I sometimes use it to aid in making my fire. Never thought of gathering enough of it to try to make a candle though.

 

[Joezilla]

Pict, great ideA!!!!!

 

[Brian Jones]

This is one of the best improvised solutions I've seen in a long time. Never heard this way of doing it before. Excellent, Mac, and thanks!

 

[oldman/Marty]

In the wild a crude candle can also be made with Pine Pitch and animal fat. Using about 1 teaspoon of animal fat to 4 teaspoons of pitch, melt the pitch carefully and add the fat. Pour it into a shallow pan, rock cavity or Birch Bark pan. Use whatever you can for a wick (even twisted cattail fluff will work but not as well as cotton fiber) and you have a crude candle. It is a little smoky but it will last for an hour or two.
Also a large candle (More like a torch) can be made by taking a cattail head or Mullein top and soaking it in animal fat. They work okay but they tend to spit little spots of burning grease so don't get too close with your fleece.
Oldman/Marty

 

[the possum]

I've made little candle sized lamps when I couldn't find wax. Just take an empty brass cartridge, fill it with animal fat/cooking grease, insert a suitable wick material, and light it. The wick must be stiff enough to stand up inside the brass though, since it's not supported by solid material like a candle. A scrap of baling wire around the rim provides a handle so you can carry it around more easily without spilling, since the brass gets hot.

 

[DeadeyeLefty]

Good idea pict. That's a great example of applying the grey matter to use what's around you.

While not made in the field, I usually pack a candle made from 4 tealights and an Altoids tin. Take the tealights out of the foil cups and toss the cups. Break the tealights in half, put the wicks into the Altoids tin along with the broken tealights and heat the tin. You get a candle with 4 wicks (sorry, I meant 4 'intensity settings' !). Even with all four wicks going, it'll burn for hours.