TecSpy.com Michael Erskine's Domain

Last night I was out in the garden making a brazier (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazier not to be confused with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brassiere :) ) out of a 25L motor oil drum (found in the street) mounted on the tubular steel legs of an Ikea stool (also found in the street). I cut the top off by hammering a flat-ended screwdriver through the steel top near to the rim at 1cm intervals then cutting through the remaining spots, again with a screwdriver and hammer. There was some motor oil left in (you can never empty these things with the plastic spout) so poured this out and saved it to fill my oil can (there was probably about 400ml). I bolted the leg to the bottom of the drum with some long steel bolts I recovered from the timber of a cabin bed frame (found in the street!). The first burn went well. I knew there'd be some nasty smoke from the oil residue and I had wiped the inside down to remove as much of the oil as possible but it turned out fine as long as there was a good flame from the other combustable materials: twigs that had fallen from the birch tree in our garden over the past few years, collected and piled behind the shed for just this occasion. I retained the lid (with the plastic spout removed) to use to kill off the flame when necessary. I'll be making some air holes in it tonight for a better draw and burning more twigs and sticks whilst drinking beer a-plenty.