My wood fired grill, first project shared here.

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Well I figure I've been hanging around long enough without showing any work so here goes nothing. This is the beggining of my interpretation of a Santa Maria Grill. I'm going to be putting it into an island on my back porch that I'm also building over the summer. The material is from a chiller system that we replaced at work a month or so back as we were scrapping it, I decided that the doors and panels would be perfect for the box. ANyway enough talk. Pic 1 is the material pic 2 is the machine (Power Mig 140 using .030 wire settings are 2.5 wire speed, f-g amps. I wish lincoln had more detail than this) Pic 3 and 4 are the box.  more to come in next posts Attached ImagesLast edited by Birdwell4; 06-04-2011 at 12:22 AM.
Reply:more pics Pic 1 the good Pic 2 the bad and ugly Pic 3,4 and 5 tyhe mediocre. Side note, I have more respect than ever for Zap, not only are his welds great, but he can actually get good pictures of them. I took around 60 or so pics and these are the only decent ones. Attached Images
Reply:last one Pic 2 is the best bead I got on the whole thing. It also was the only corner without overlapping material. Pic 3 and 4 show the grate I've been working on for the grill as well. The box bottom will be for logs or charcaol, the grate will be able to lift up or down (to get closer or further from the fire) I plan to cut the grates into 8" widths (so they'll fit in the dishwasher. The box is 42Wx22Hx24D. I may end up cutting more off the height. The grate in the pic is also a working prototype. The final will be built out of stainless, but I thought I should try it in mild steel to get spacing and size right before I butcher $500 worth of 304L stainless. Comments and suggestions are welcome!!!!!! (the box welding is not complete. I just ran out of daylight) Attached Images
Reply:What do you plan to do about the paint?
Reply:Originally Posted by SkeluhtorWhat do you plan to do about the paint?
Reply:Nice first project, it is a little rough around the edges, but you will get there. The paint can be taken care of by sand blasting, that is what id do. Not worth getting yourself sick because there were toxic burning paint fumes in your pit.
Reply:i think its gonna warp when you start cookinan by all means get rid of the paint
Reply:Great feeling to see something come together that you created. Good start.If you don't want to stand behind our Troops, feel free to stand in front of them.
Reply:I'll be calling the local paint and powder coat shop monday to see about sandblasting. I planned on the bottoms and side warping, but I'm not too concerned. The box is going to be set into the island counter and only 6-8 inches will be visible above the counter top. So far, I'm pretty happy with the whole thing. I know it's rough, but it'll get better. I hope to have the whole thing done by Labor day.
Reply:What about building an outer shell and put some insulation in between them?
Reply:It's going to sit on some one inch fire rated insulation (bottom and sides) inside the island.
Reply:Help yourself out and cut that paint before welding with a fibre disc.  Looks like you used a grinder at your seams, and missed a lot of the painted surface.
Reply:What did that heat-pump do to deserve all that!! Just Kidding, now you know why you scrapped that POS chiller...Looks good so far...Lincoln Power MIG 210 MP ( boat anchor )Lincoln Weld-Pac 100 HDHobart IronMan 230Cutmaster 42Jackson NexGenSumner Ultra ClampsDWM120
Reply:the heat exchanger failed, got water in the refrigerant and took out three of the four compressors.It was not a fun weekend at the retirement home.