Tonight we will be having our Bonfire. This is a thing that we do on our property every now and then. The occasion is simply Spring, plus my smallest daughter has decided that we are going to have a bonfire.
Every year we get loads of branches from fallen trees, branches that were fed to the goats and are now stripped of bark as well as various other bits of woody detritus. So this will be the fuel for our bonfire.
Last time we had a bonfire, I made some long forks for roasting marshmallows and cocktail frankfurts. This year, I need more because my daughter has invited a few of her little friends over.
The marshmallow fork is a simple affair. Two strands of fencing wire woven together and then spread out at the end to form the tines. The other end is shoved into a wooden handle so that it doesn’t conduct heat down to delicate little hands.
So I start with some fencing wire. This stuff is about 3mm thick. I take out two strands and then fix them into the bench vice.
There is about 6” of wire in the jaws of the vice, this will be the tines of the fork. At the other end of the wire, I even the ends up and fit it into the chuck of an electric drill.
The drill is then turned on slowly to twist the wire. When the twist is even along it’s length, the job is done.
Next, the handles are done by cutting a 5” lengths from a broomstick. A hole is drilled in one end to take the twisted wire.
I’ve wedged the twisted wire into the handle with a couple of extra bits of wire offcut. Later, I’ll pull the wire out and epoxy the wire into the handle properly.
At the other end of the wire the tines are simply bent into shape.
The whole fork is about 1.25m in length, this gives enough distance from the fire to allow the child to roast a marshmallow or cocktail frank without incinerating.
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