Thru-Hiker: Gear and Resources for Long Distance Hikers
    
Fabrics And Materials Fabrics And Materials The Workshop: Make Your Own Gear Projects Articles for Lightweight and Long Distance Hikers
Projects

French Seams

Knee Articulation

Hood Pattern

Installing Wrist Elastic

Down Underquilt

Mitten Pattern

Using Continuous Zipper

Titanium Solid Fuel Tablet Stove

Lightweight Backpack

Manual Buttonhole

Basic Seams for Homemade Gear Projects

How to load thread into the bobbin

How to Check and Adjust Thread Tension

Mesh Stuff Sack

Folding Wood Burning Pack Stove

0.5 oz V8 Stove

Cat Stove

Down Quilt

Make Your Own Silnylon Stuffsacks

Henry's Tarptent & Tarptent-for-2

0.3 oz Titanium Wingstove

1. The first thing to do is to transfer the pattern to the titanium stock. Use a pencil or other marking instrument to trace their outlines.
Titanium can be a very challenging material with which to work. It is very brittle and will crack if you try and bend it into sharp angles. The concave depressions in the edge can be removed by cutting inwards and then using a pair of vice grips to flex the titanium until it tears.
Normal bits do not work well on titanium; use a carbide bit to drill the holes.

2. Use a vise or vise-grip type pliers to line up all three wings. Then smooth out the sharp and rough edges left by the metal snips with a file or rotary tool like a Dremel. Do the same for the esbit platform.
Pad the jaws of the vise-grips with some paper to prevent marring of the surface of the titanium.
Take a little time at this point to make sure the edges are all rounded and smooth.

3. Using a vise or vise grips, very carefully bend the stem of the wings into the accordian shape. You're trying to leave the wings vertical while the stem (the part with the hole) ends up horizontally.
This is the most difficult part of the project. If you try and bend too sharp an angle into the titanium, it will tear. No more than 45* is needed or recommended. Bend up the edges of the esbit platform to form a small lip.
4. A rivet is the best way to permanently attatch the pieces, though if you don't have a rivet gun a small machine bolt can be substituted. I haven't found it necessary to add the customary backing washer to the rivet. Insert the rivet down into the wingstove as shown in the picture so that the flat part of the rivet will be under the esbit tablet.
5. Here's the finished product in action, heating a pint of water in a MSR Titan Titanium Kettle. The weight of the stove came in at 0.3 oz on my Weightronix digital postal scale.

 

In the Thru-Hiker Store
You can buy a small piece of titanium sheeting from eBay inexpensively.
 
AYCE says
Titanium is very brittle and will tear if you try and bend it into sharp angles. It is a challenge to drill holes in titanium; use a carbide drill bit.
 
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!
You could reuse materials otherwise bound for the landfill or recycling like tin cans and these directions to make a wingstove. The titanium offered in the Thru-Hiker store is surplus reclaimed from the aerospace industry.