Stanley Cook Pot Modifications

I bought one of these pots for my wife to carry in her kit. The pot comes with two plastic cups nestled inside. They are great for drinking hot stuff from but cannot be used for cooking. The pot needed a little work done to it to make it more usable in a woodcraft environment.

The first thing was to remove the plastic tab on the lid. A small drift pin punch made short work of removing the tab. The green plastic tab was replaced with a piece of metal coat hanger bent in the shape of a fireproof tab.

The next thing to do was to fashion a bail to hang the pot over a fire.

The pot comes with a nice folding handle that secures over the lid when not in use. It is handy for pouring the finished product but I like to be able to hang a pot over a fire. A fire has no knob to control its temperature. Being able to hang a pot higher or a little off to the side makes a big difference in the outcome of the heated contents.

A couple of holes and a coat hanger accomplished the task.

I liked the outcome of her pot enough that I picked up a second one, set it on the shelf, and waited for some time to make the needed modifications. The corn boiler that I have been using is a great pot but its fixed handle makes it a little awkward for packing and carrying in a small pack.

So a rainy day comes along. I grab a few tools and set about working on the pot modifications.

The pin did not punch out easily this time. The metal piece where the tab attaches came loose from the lid. No problem. I drilled a ¼ inch hole in the center of the lid and used a 1 inch bolt with a nut on the top and bottom sides of the lid to hold it in place. A stainless bolt would have been better but I did not have one and used what I could readily put my hands on. I will pick up something stainless when I am by a hardware store.

Rather than drilling directly beneath the rim of the pot (like I did on Shirli’s) I made the holes for the bail about ¼ inch below the rim and attached the metal coat hanger bail.

When I bought this pot I also picked up the stainless cup. The combined works makes a nice cook set … stainless cooker with two serving cups nestled inside that nestles nicely in the cup for easy packing.

Now all that is left is to get this rig over a fire, smut it up good, and get rid of the new look. Oh. And pick up a stainless cup for Shirli’s pot.