Having a place to sit down for a meal is a convenience we often take for granted — after all, urban environments are packed with tables and chairs. However, in the backcountry, it's not always so easy. A few sections of a large-diameter fallen tree can serve as improvised stools and a table, but anyone who has tried to lift a log will know that moving this camp furniture is going to be a workout.

A Russian YouTuber known as Advoko MAKES recently posted a two-part English-dubbed video series that shows how to use selective cutting, drilling, and burning to create “fire-carved” log furniture for your campsite. This process removes wood to dramatically lighten the logs, and creates cavities that can be used for storage or decoration.

The principle is similar to that of the Swedish torch (also known as the Swedish fire log or Finnish torch). Part one of the video series shows how to make the torch with four rip cuts to the log, and how to convert the torch into a four-legged stool:

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In the second video, Advoko MAKES host Max Egorov shows his technique for creating oval holes in the logs by burning out short rip cuts. He also creates round holes using a hand drill with a large auger bit, and connects multiple holes to create a hollow table. We also appreciated the wood mallet he uses, which is cleverly bound together using recycled strips of plastic soda bottle that are shrunk using heat from the fire.

Although the original Russian-language channel has more than 850,000 subscribers, Max is just getting started creating English-dubbed versions of his videos, so this is the first we've seen from him. Based on these first two videos and his plan to post new content twice a month, we're looking forward to seeing more.

If you're interested in following Max's future projects, check out the Advoko MAKES channel on YouTube.

Written by Patrick McCarthy