Simon Kenton University of Scouting 2011 - Make It, Take It Notes

This page contains notes for a class I taught at the Simon Kenton University of Scouting leader training program on Jan 22, 2011.

My goal for this course is to teach people how to make extraordinary objects out of everyday things, a lightweight, high performance backpacking stove out of discarded cans for example.

Knots

My eleventh edition of the Boy Scout Handbook lists only six knots scouts need to know to make it to First Class Scout (square knot, two half hitches, taut line hitch, clove hitch, timber hitch, bowline). My copy of Ashley lists 3854 knots, so there are plenty of knots to learn.

Two handy knots that I use frequently are the jug knot and the bosun's whistle knot. Combined they make a convenient way to attach a water bottle to your belt.

Jug Knot (ABOK 1142)

The jug knot dates to antiquity and is used to make a handle for a jug (or water bottle). Once you have tied it you can attach the water bottle to a pack or carry several bottles at once. You can use it anywhere you have a round object with a narrow section between the ends. Once set, this knot securely holds an object by looping around the object completely before forming the handle loop. The two ends of the cord intertwine several times to prevent slippage.

It took me a quite some time to learn how to tie this knot. The books I had did not illustrate it too well and we didn't have the Internet resources available today. I can tie the knot in a couple of seconds now, so it's quite quick to tie.

Here's a link to a great video showing how to tie the jug knot:
http://www.instructables.com/id/ParacordWater-Bottle-Canteen-Strap/.

Bosun's Whistle Knot (ABOK 787)

The Bosun's Whistle Knot makes a big decorative knot in a cord. When combined with the Jug Knot (above) it will securely hold a full liter water bottle attached to your belt. It also makes a nice way to make pull cords for a jacket so you can zip or unzip it with gloved hands.

The Bosun's Whistle Knot begins as a Carrick Bend. Take the exiting ends around the next cord, then up through the middle of the Carrick Bend and finish it off. http://www.survivalworld.com/knots/Bosun%27s%20Whistle%20Knot.html shows how to tie this knot. Notice step 2 shows the Carrick Bend intermediate step.

Making a bottle sling

To make a sling that you can hook into your belt, or clip to your pack, start with a loop about 1 meter (3 feet) long. Tie a Bosun's Whistle Knot into the free ends. You will have a loop with a big knot. Now tie a Jug Knot into the middle of the loop. Before you loop it over a water bottle and tighten it up, make the two loops of about equal lengths with the loop without the knot being slightly longer than the loop with the knot. Tighten the jug knot around the neck of a water bottle making sure the knot goes between the flanges on the water bottle. This insures it won't slip off the bottle.

You can now fasten the water bottle to your belt by running the loop without the know between your belt and your trousers. Bring the loop up over the top of your belt and slip the knot between the loop and your belt and pull down on the water bottle to tighten the loop just below the knot. The knot prevents the loop from pulling through and the weight of the water bottle keeps it tensioned. Done properly this is quite secure and frees your hands for doing other tasks.

Paracord Bracelet

A paracord bracelet (aka survival bracelet) provides you with about 9 feet of paracord in a package you can wrap around your wrist. Stormdrane has produced a number of different paracord bracelet designs. He has a tutorial showing how to make a basic paracord bracelet without a buckle.

I make a slightly modified version that has four lengths of paracord running through the bracelet instead of the two shown in the tutorial. I start weaving the braid near the single loop, leaving about an inch for the loop, using the knot shown in the above tutorial. I continue weaving down the length of paracord until I reach the two loops at the end. I then pass the cord through these loops and finish with a bosun's whistle knot and trim off any excess cordage. I can then easily fasten the bracelet with the knot and loop.

Lightweight, Recycled Backpack

I have a very light tarptent that I made several years ago. It requires two poles, one on each end, to pitch it. I lived in the tent with another adult advisor during a ten day trek in 2007 at the Philmont Boy Scout Ranch in New Mexico. During this trek I used a treking pole as one of the tent poles, but I normally don't take a treking pole with me when I backpack, so it represented extra weight.

I decided to improve the situation by making a three stick Roycroft pack frame using river cane as the sticks.  A friend had given me the river cane; it's light, strong and naturally weather resistant.  The two upright frame poles can be lashed together to form the tall pole for the tarptent while the cross frame pole is used for the shorter pole at the foot end of the tent.  This means these poles do double duty and reduce the total weight of my backpacking system.   The completed pack about 350 grams (12 oz).

Duco cement spread thinly.  This helps to protect the cane from splitting out if large forces are applied to the joint.  This pin and hole arrangement provides a more secure joint that allows the sticks to be assembled in several positions. 

I used a diagonal lashing to connect the two upright poles together and square lashings to connect the uprights to the cross pole.

The pack itself is an old 40 pound Tidy Cats cat litter (unused) bag.  It appears to be made of polypropylene making it naturally water resistant, light weight and free.  It will hold up to 40 pounds (the label says so).

I ripped out the two seams and sewed in a small rectangular piece of nylon cloth top and bottom to form tubes.  The bottom tube closes off the bag to form the base.   I slip the cross piece of the pack through this tube to support the pack, spreading the load along the entire length of the cross piece.  The top tube is sewed to one side, providing a way to close off the bag when filled. 

I used an old seat belt to make the straps, tying in short pieces of cording at the ends to attach it to the cross piece and uprights.  Use a taut line hitch to provide a means of adjusting the straps.

The following pictures show the completed pack.

Links

Dick Baugh's description
YouTube: Improvised rucksack / roycroft pack part 1 of 3

Alcohol Stoves

Alcohol stoves make a great troop activity. They cost essentially nothing to make, they work great on backpacking trips, and the teach the boys some rudimentary craft skills.


Like all activities involving fire and sharp things, you must exercise standard safety precautions.

The best source I've found for alcohol stove information on the web is the Zenstoves.net web site. You'll find a number of different designs here, along with information about alcohol, techniques and other info.

Originally I used the Don Johnson's Photon Stove, but it would take two troop meeting to make and it was somewhat temperamental to light.  So I looked for a design better suited to easy construction and use, even if it meant a little less efficiency.

Zenstoves.net  contains a lot of useful information about homemade and commercial alcohol stoves, so I perused it for an easier stove for boys to make.   The Cat Can Stove seemed to be a good choice and I have not been disappointed.  The link above does a good job of describing how to make one.

I have not used the fiberglass wicking mentioned in the page, so my stoves are two piece affairs.  It will still boil a pint of water in under five minutes.

You can make these stoves in just a few minutes with simple tools, so they make a great troop project.  Be careful with the sharp edges created by the church keys and the utility knife blades used to score and cut the cans.  Exercise standard stove safety protocols when cooking with these stoves.

I've used alcohol stoves exclusively for two Philmont treks.  I normally need only about 25 ml (5 tsp) of alcohol to boil a pint of water in about five minutes using a homemade windscreen.  I've used them at over 10,000 feet elevation with no problems.

I have an old translucent 35mm film canister that I have marked with a permanent marker at the 25 ml level that I use to measure the alcohol before a burn.  A 20 oz bottle will provide over 20 burns, enough for a week of backpacking.

I put a few drops of red food coloring into my denatured alcohol, to give it a slight reddish tinge (somewhat like the old 80 octane aviation fuel).  I also put it in a bottle that has a different shape and size from the bottles I use for drinking water.  These practices minimize the chance I will mistake one fluid for the other under adverse conditions.

Resources

Web Sites

Home Made Gear
Backpacking.net MYOG
Risk's Ultralight Camping
Ray Jardine
Backpacking Light
Minibull Design

Books

Clifford W Ashley, The Ashley Book of Knots, Doubleday, New York, 1944.
Annie Getchell and Dave Getchell, Jr., The Essential Outdoor Gear Manual 2nd Edition, Ragged Mountain Press, 2000.
Ray Jardine, Beyond Backpacking, AdventureLore Press, 2000.
Ray Jardine, The Pacific Crest Trail Hiker's Handbook, AdventureLore Press, 1998.
Mors Kochanski, Bushcraft, Lone Pine Publishing, 1987.