I find it a lot easier to use wood that is about 1/4 to 1/2 a cubic foot or so in size. For the process I use, if it is too small the fire consumes it too quickly, and if too large the center doesn't convert so well. I actually have an easier method for smaller quantities, but for the amount you need to make, I would start with about double raw wood. Dig a pit and get your fire going. Let about a third of it go to ember, your fire will be good and hot. Get a steel pipe about a yard long with a cap on one end and stick the open end near the base of the fire. Smother the fire with dirt, leaving the pipe sticking out. You want to build the fire so that it will have enough structure that the dirt won't just fall through it and fill in all the little spaces. Now here's the tricky part, you want to bake the wood for at least a few hours (hardwoods, by the way, make better charcoal for cooking purposes). If the combustion quenches completely, then the wood pile may cool too much, and it won't convert all the way. You can remove the cap to let in a little more oxygen once in a while. It is one of those things where you learn by experience what to look for, how the ground feels above the fire, etc. About half the time I end up with a decent set of charcoal, which I can break up with a hatchet or hammer easy enough. I like to use maple or alder, but I guess oak is the best for it.

My cheater method is to build a fire, use one of my dutch ovens with a tighter fitting lid, and put some wood in it and cook it charred. I can make a couple cubic feet at a time this way, and it is a lot more reliable.

Don't use aluminum. The combustion level and reactive vapors will dissolve it into your wood and it'll make a mess of it all.