Make your own tikki torches

Make your own tikki torches using copper pipe and a few other essentials that you will find at your local Builders Warehouse. Push your torches into the ground throughout your garden or around your patio, light them and relax.

 

Note: I was unable to find a copper oil reservoir in any searches, so as a replacement for this you can use a wider-bore copper pipe and stop-off the one end with a cap secured with epoxy glue.

Aadd a brushed, shiny finish to the copper pipe by rubbing with 180-grit sandpaper over the surface. Wipe away any residue with a clean cloth.

For the mounting post, you can use any length of copper pipe. Connect the larger bore pipe to the mounting post with a reducer. Spread a small amount of epoxy glue inside the reducer and then slip it on the post as a base that will hold the larger bore pipe.

Preserve the shiny finish by spraying on a couple of coats of Rust-Oleum clear polyurethane or clear coat. Alternatively, leave the copper unfinished and let it take on a patina of age.

Make a cap for the large bore tube using another reducer. Slip in place without any epoxy glue so it’s easy to remove when you need to refill oil. Slide the wick into the pipe with 1cm exposed. Add a bushing or small section of pipe to serve as a wick holder, keeping the right length of wick ready to light.

To fill with oil, lift off the cap and pour oil into the reservoir. Make sure there’s enough to saturate the wick before replacing the cap.

 

 

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