Merry meet, my enchanted friends! I deeply apologize for being gone for so horribly long. Life has been quite fickle to me in moving me around the land.
Anyway, I have a small problem. I just bought a miniature cast iron cauldron from a nearby magick store where I live, and despite being yet to have its first use in a few minutes, I realized I had nothing to hold it up just over a tea light candle to start brewing things in, which was my primary choice of purpose for this, my first cauldron. The store clerk, who was exceptionally kind to me, told me I could use a tea light candle underneath it, as it is, obviously, too small for a standard-sized stove eye, but as mentioned, I have no stands/holders in any form to speak of. Google was absolutely ZERO help to me. Does anyone know a simple DIY for a stand/holder for my little cauldron?
Re: Mini cauldron help please By: NordicOpal / Beginner
Post # 2 Aug 03, 2020
You could put stones under the legs however it might slip. I would use flat stones of the same size.
You could set the whole thing on an inverted pot.
You could put the cauldron in a pot with some water and heat it that way, sort of a double boiler.
Inverting candle holders of the same size would work also.
Nordic, I just realized I forgot to mention one very important detail... I neglected to tell you that at the moment my family and I are sheltered in a hotel room per the arrival of Hurricane Isais where I live (I'm in North Carolina, if that helps.), and the only stones I could find, flat or nay, came from the ground areas where they put them around stepping stones, front door etc. and nearly every one I found was either the wrong size, thickness, shape or height to hold my beautiful little kettle (you can tell I really love what I bought from that store, I'm just displaying a form of gratefulness for being able to have it :P)
I should have also mention that, unfortunately for myself and my family, while money does not elude us, it is very difficult for us to hold onto for long because of everyday expenses (groceries etc.), so I don't really have many, ah, affordable options for assembling a proper setup, so much of how I put my setup together is quite moderately makeshift at Best. My apologies for such lengthy explanations, and my negligence to provide sufficient details beforehand, but I just like to make sure I provide as much context and information as possible.
ANYWAY again, getting back to the point. My cauldron also has a handle, so is there some sort of simple, inexpensive if possible, D-I-Y hanger I could craft in some form?
Re: Mini cauldron help please By: kts Moderator / Adept
Post # 5 Aug 04, 2020
Try using mental wire hangers to form a tripod you can hang the cauldron handle from if you feel the cauldron needs to dangle over the flame. The cauldron however should be fine to sit on a fire safe surface with a tealight beneath it. Such as a counter top, cutting board, bathtub. sink, etc I am unsure as to how effectively this will heat up the cauldron and any liquids contained inside the vessel as a tea light often doesn't provide enough heat unless the cauldron is very small and the flame is touching or in contact with the cauldron.
As with anyfire related activity please be safe, practice good fire tending skills, and never leave a candle left burning unattended.
Hm, metal wire hangers in a tripod? Are you sure that's strong enough? And there's not enough space underneath the cauldron to elevate by the legs, heck, the legs aren't even legs, they're just little knobs that keep it upright.
Re: Mini cauldron help please By: Spirit76 / Novice
Post # 8 Aug 06, 2020
Another option might be a banana hangar. I am not sure how high the cauldron would rest but it might be a good solution. You can find them in some grocery stores, or pretty cheaply on Amazon if you don't mind waiting for postal services/when you will be able to return home.
I got a ceramic bowl and some decorative sand from Dollar Tree.
I got some stones from outside.
I poured the sand in the bowl, and dug the rocks into the sand to the bottom, on their sides, arranged in a circle.
I pressed a tea light candle into the center, halfway down...
Poured some water into my cauldron and lit the candle, so I could do a "heat/simmer test"...
AND IT WORKED! Well, I had too many outside interruptions to see if one candle to get to boil, but I DID get it to start steaming a little! There is hope afterall!
And don't worry, I patted it dry afterwards.
Thank you so much for all your help regardless! I hereby declare all of you my new best friends :)