# Fire Pit/Grill Build



## Thumper168 (Jan 18, 2011)

It seems their isnt a lot of fabers on here but I thought this might be enjoyed by a few. Its the begening of a Fire Pit/Grill Ive been thinking about for some time. Here are a couple pics and if their is any intrest in watching the progress ill post more pics as it comes together. I love building this type of stuff, enjoy :thumbup:


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## xxxxxxkidsoncoffee (Apr 30, 2008)

Looks good. What kind of welder are you using?


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## Thumper168 (Jan 18, 2011)

Welder I used for this was a Millermatic 252. 
Here is a pic of an older one that Im basing my design off of. Im going with a square more modern design and I built it out of 1/4" plate for years and years of use.


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## doubletake (Oct 23, 2007)

Looks good.


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## X-Shark (Oct 3, 2007)

Your right about not many fabricators on here.....Or at least they don't display their projects.

I'd suggest a few 3/4in holes for rainwater to run out.


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## Rammer Jammer (Oct 1, 2007)

Looks cool. I'd enjoy seeing the progress pics.


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## Thumper168 (Jan 18, 2011)

Shark their will be drain holes and ill post the build pics as it goes together. Im heading to Tulsa today so it will be a couple days before I get back on it.


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## Framerguy (Oct 2, 2007)

Hey that is real nice work Thumper, I like the swing out drip pan, the adjustable grille, and even a hand cranked rotisserie on top!! Great ideas!! 

You are quite right though, in this modern world of disposable everything, there isn't much interest in fabricating from other materials or designing and building from scratch. I had the privilege of living near an old blacksmith in my teens and I would sit and watch him work for hours forging what he needed to build things for people. It piqued my interest in doing handwork like you are doing here. I fabricated many things throughout my life and many times I did it just for the challenge of building something out of something else. 

My wife was the first registered female farrier in the state of IL back in the 70's and she needed a portable forge to shape horse shoes and for her corrective shoeing customers. One of my better projects stemmed from this need and I designed and built a small forge large enough to heat bar steel up to shape horse shoes but small enough for her do handle by herself. I built the first one out of a 16 gallon house trailer water heater! It didn't last too long as the sides were thinner than required for the hotter burning anthracite coal she used so I designed another out of a cut off piece of 1/4" thick 20" diameter industrial steel pipe I scrounged from a local welding/fabricating shop and built another heavier one for her. It was too heavy for her to slide in and out of the truck so I built a set of rails out of angle iron and mounted slides on the bottom of the forge so she could slide the whole unit out onto the tailgate to heat her steel for building special shoes! That forge lasted her for the duration of her horse shoeing career until she hurt her back in a freak horse related accident.

Good luck on your designs and I hope you will take some photos and post them here for those of us who are still interested in that kind of work to see. Do you find yourself making modifications on your designs on the fly as you build?? I never designed anything I fabricated without making changes or adding something to the construction before I finished the project!! Keep on building and posting here, I am sure that there are others who would enjoy seeing what you do.


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## 69Viking (Oct 30, 2008)

Wow nice! So how much would you charge to just build it this far with the holes in it for drainage? I'm looking for a good fire pit that will last and this looks like it would do the trick!


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## Thumper168 (Jan 18, 2011)

Im always changing my designs during the build, once its finished and the way I like it I will change my design to show the changes made and take down all the measurments and lots of pics so when I build it again their is no guesswork, just follow the plans and its WAY faster the second time around... 
I just love building things out of bare materials and watching it come together, Im like a big kid with grown up tools :thumbup:

And for the record thats not a drip pan, that my friend is a wok :thumbsup:, or in Texas a Cooking Disc


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## Thumper168 (Jan 18, 2011)

69Viking Id would have to confirm what Ive got in materials but my guess on a selling price would be $250 or so. The 1/4" plate is expensive but then again this thing will still be around when were long gone... I believe in quality things like our grandfathers once made, not this flimbsy junk stuff made today..


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## ironman172 (Sep 28, 2007)

This is one I found at a flea market.....I couldn't get to my wallet fast enough for 30.00....you are making a very nice one by the way:thumbup:
the last pic's are of one I made out of stainless pipe I cut in half and welded together....and stainless tube I made the tri pod cooker out of too

http://www.backyard-firepits.com/products/california-firepit-tahoe-fire-pit.aspx

.


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## DragonSlayer (Nov 2, 2007)

Nice work. I like it.:thumbup:


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## Thumper168 (Jan 18, 2011)

I figured up the cost and I can build them for $195 if anyone is interested.


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## SHunter (Jun 19, 2009)

Sounds like a great price. I paid close to $200 for one at Lowes and it isn't as nice as your fire pit.


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## Thumper168 (Jan 18, 2011)

Here are a few updated pics of the build.


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## Thumper168 (Jan 18, 2011)

A little progress


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## Thumper168 (Jan 18, 2011)

Here it is finished up, I added a hook in the middle for hanging a pot as well. Im breaking it in soon with a cold adult beverage and a few lobsters.


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## ironman172 (Sep 28, 2007)

Very nice!! I like it:thumbup:....is that stainless expanded metal?


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