How to make a shoogler

If you want to be able to make popcorn in the woods, then you're going to need a shoogler. Here's how to make one...


You will need:

2 identical sieves
a long pole (I use hazel)
a sharp knife
pliers
the ring from an old keyring
wire cutters
2 pieces of wire (one long, one short)
pruning saw (I use a Laplander)

Use the pruning saw to make a stop cut, about half a centimetre deep, on one end of the pole, the same distance from the end of the stick as the length of one of the sieve handles.

Use the knife to split the pole down to the stop cut, taking off about half a centimetre, making the pole flat on one side.






On the opposite side of the pole, at the same end, use the knife to cut two small notches. These will stop the wire from slipping. Cut one as near to the end as you can, cut the other about a centimetre higher than the stop cut on the other side.

Twist one end of the wire onto the bottom of one of the sieve handles. Then attach the sieve to the flat side of the pole by wrapping the long piece of wire around both the handle and the pole as tightly as you can. Wind the wire upwards towards the end of the pole, using the notches, and secure.

Make sure there are no sharp bits sticking out.




Join the round ends of the two sieves together using the old keyring. You will have to force it through the mesh and an old piece of wire can be used to make the holes bigger before putting it on.

Make sure you have the sieves both facing upwards otherwise it won't work!






At the top of the handle of the second sieve, secure the short piece of wire.

Bend the free end over onto itself so that it isn't sharp.

Flip the second sieve towards the handle so that the shoogler is 'closed' and make sure the sieves line up. Wrap the short wire you've just added around both handles and the pole to keep it shut.


You now have your very own shoogler!


When you want to make popcorn, open the shoogler and add oiled popcorn kernals. Secure shut making sure the sieves are as close together as possible (if there are any gaps the popcorn flies out).

Hold the shoogler above the embers of a campfire or BBQ. If you're impatient and you hold it over flames, this will happen:

Allow the metal on the shoogler to cool before diving in and stuffing your face.

Happy shoogling!

10 incredible reasons you should get behind my crowdfunding project,with unbelievable pictures of cats. #7 is truly shocking.

Yes, that’s how you’re expected to write headlines nowadays. And apparently it works as you’re reading this now. So you may as well carry on and read the rest. And, yes, there will be pictures of cats. Well, one cat a number of times. But he is cute.

Back to my crowdfunding project.

1. It’s risk free. You make a pledge and the money is only taken if enough people do the same and the target is met. That way you won’t pay out on an idea that’s a dud. Which mine isn’t.

Risk free means you can sleep easy

2. You don’t have to pay a fortune. Pledges are tiered so that you can spend as much or as little as you want. Found some loose change down the back of the sofa? Great, pledge a fiver. Numbers come up on the premium bonds? - does anyone own them anymore? - Fab, splash out and make my day.

Told you he was cute

3. You get something back. Each pledge receives a reward. It might be just a great big thank you and a warm fuzzy feeling for a fiver, or a one of a kind hand-crafted work of art made by someone wonderful if you pledge more. Or anything in between. There are lots to choose from so have a look and make a pledge.

He was going to save the world but got stuck in a veg box

4. You can get things that money can’t buy. Like the aforementioned work of art, or DVDs signed by the director, books signed by the author, that sort of thing.

Money can't buy Cat Buckaroo

5. You can make a difference. And you can do this with not much money and without leaving the house, or even getting up. That’s the great thing about it.

You can even pledge from this position

6. You can help out the little guys. Great ideas rarely come from big companies. They come from inspired individuals, like me, who don’t have many options open to them in terms of financial support. I wonder how many more amazing things would be out there if more people crowdfunded?

Pledging feels this good

7. This cat likes knitting (told you it was socking). He’s not very good but he enjoys it. It relaxes him. He says he’ll pledge £10 if you do.

It's a scarf apparently

8. You can invest in people who are passionate about what they do. Crowdfunding isn’t the easy option. It’s lots of hard work even before the project is launched. And then some. Now it’s up and running it’s even more hard work so if I didn’t truly believe that my project was worth doing, I would never have got this far.

So, so passionate

 

9. You’ll have something exciting to talk about. The whole point of crowdfunding is to get people excited about the project. If you’ve pledged you have to talk about it and encourage others to do the same. You can share it on Facebook, tweet about it, email your friends. For 42 days you’ll have something really cool to talk about. I have friends who check my Crowdfunder total more than I do. They seem to be enjoying themselves.

He's so excited he's fallen asleep in a pizza box

 

And finally…

10. You can say ‘no!’ to borrowing. Ha! We're free! Now we don’t have to beg anyone to allow us to pay vast amounts of interest on money that doesn’t really exist. ‘Cos now we’ve got crowdfunding. So there.

If he had fingers he'd be sticking one up

Click here to make a pledge on my crowdfunder project. Go on. I showed you cute cat pictures. Do it.