I'm going to become a survivalist

[Master Rel]

A mixture of sugar and fruit leftovers from the garden. Apples, plums, cherries, blackcurrant, all mixed into a tutti-frutti. It's not a problem to acquire raw material; making the alembic bothers me a little more. I face the same problem as Ultra trying to create a curved hilt: bending metal pipe into a spiral.

OOooo oooo I know an answer to this one!

Sand!

Tap a tapered wooden dowel into the lower end of your copper tubing.

Pour sand in from the top until a inch or two from the top.

Tap the sand tight with a straight fitted dowel so that the sand becomes tightly packed.

Add more sand, tamp, repeat...until it will not tamp anymore, put a tapered dowel on the top.

Find a tube or related rounded object to wrap your copper tubing around, secure the one end and wrap.  If there is any restriction then a torch will help but should not be needed.  The sand will provide positive resistance from within and help prevent any weak points or kinking.

Once the shape has been achieved pop the dowels loose and release the sand...water from above attached with a tube will help pass the packed sand if it is stuck.

[Khaalis]

But I am fully prepared. I've got a traditional big stove, a good stock of firewood, warm clothes and loads and loads of determination.

LOL. You are a better person than I. I may have said the same thing once upon a time. I fear I've just gotten soft in my old age.

I really do admire you and wish you all the best. I really hope it works out well for you.

[Rina Ascura]

Can I use salt instead? To remove it more easily, by dissolving in water.

[Master Rel]

Can I use salt instead? To remove it more easily, by dissolving in water.

In truth I have never had an issue with getting the sand out...large crystal salt could work...I live on the beach so sand is always the first choice.

The salt will be more dust in the end if used that way I suspect...but yes it should work fine.

I have used shielded cable in place of sand before...pass the cable through, bend the curve, then remove...but this can be tricky and is best with one or two bends and not the eight to ten you should need...I would stick with grains.

[Khaalis]

Can I use salt instead? To remove it more easily, by dissolving in water.

Ah. I am no expert but I remember being told that salt is not very good for this application because of its crystal nature. Packing in even the finest ground salt still leaves a lot of open space and air around the crystal form of the salt. Also the crystals will crush and shift under the pressure creating even more space and air pockets.  Sand on the other hand has a much smaller surface area and packs much more densely together. It creates a more stable inner resistance.

[Master Rel]

Ah. I am no expert but I remember being told that salt is not very good for this application because of its crystal nature. Packing in even the finest ground salt still leaves a lot of open space and air around the crystal form of the salt. Also the crystals will crush and shift under the pressure creating even more space and air pockets.  Sand on the other hand has a much smaller surface area and packs much more densely together. It creates a more stable inner resistance.

All this is true...though with copper tubing, it wants to bend lol...but I would still use sand.

[srams]

Rina, can I come with you? LoL! I wouldn't survive the cold, I'm used to 110 degree weather. And I'd drink all the moonshine.

I day dream of doing this but up in Canada on Baffin Island. I've never been there nor even to Canada but it just seems so serene and isolated up there. I have only have some camping and survival skills but I do have more than most people I know. 

[Rina Ascura]

There will be enough moonshine drinkers even without you. I'm expecting my friends coming to visit me in autumn. On the other hand... get a long enough visa and drop in! You'll be permanently on duty at the stove, the thing can get unbelievably hot.

[Rina Ascura]

Harvest season is coming, and I'm amazed at the amount of apples already grown. Only today I've picked four buckets of good apples and two of rotten ones, and there's WAY more to come. In no way I can eat so much, alone or with help, I'll make some money by selling those and there'll be left enough for moonshine.  And that's only apples.

[Rina Ascura]

Today I learned a new skill: using a steam juicer. Got a three liter jar of juice out of several kilos of apples. This will be the raw material for my moonshine; after I've got 15 liters, I'll start fermenting it. And any excess juice is fine for drinking as is.

[Master Rel]

Great news on the bountiful harvest and the steam juicing!

I have not used that process yet...point for you...I am intrigued and will research further!

Are they Antonovka apples?

[Rina Ascura]

Nope, mine are green and red, and antonovka is yellow.

[Master Rel]

Like these?

[Rina Ascura]

Nope, still too yellow. My apples are red and green, maybe both at once, with no middle ground.

[Master Rel]

Nope, still too yellow. My apples are red and green, maybe both at once, with no middle ground.