Fire Bowl

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Well guys I'm getting better, not great by any means but better. I had a lot of decent welds on this, but a few buggers as well. Since the plan called for grinding the welds, it worked out great. But I'm hopeful on my next project the welds will look good enough to leave.  it's 16g square tubing and 14g diamond plate. It's square, solid, and much better quality then something from big box stores, plus as we sit around the fire I can say, "ya I made that, no big deal", do you weld? I don't like the expanded steel bottom, because embers will fall out, however if I was outdoors in an area where fire wasn't a risk it would be okay I guess, next one will have a solid floor. Gonna make a few for Xmas gifts I think. Used my Lincoln weld PAC 100 in MIG with Mixed Mig gas. I'm liking the MIG more so than Flux Cored. I did pick up a small tank a week ago off Craigslist and I swapped it out for straight CO2, so I can try that. I thought I read that mixed gas has more bite, but the guy at the counter says CO2 has more bite, but much more cleanup. Either way, I'm finding lots to do with this 110v welder and I'm real glad I got it as a learning tool, meanwhile I'm stashing some $$ for a 220v Mig Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Reply:Blue,Nice work.  How ever, I think you're going to find that light gauge piece of expanded metal in the bottom opening isn't going to last very long.  A better grate for it would be to get a 1' square piece of heavy bar grate and just set it inside your fire bowl so it sits a couple of inches above the bottom.  Then remove  that expanded metal piece.   Being able to lift the fire grate out will really help when it comes time to clean it out.   The other thing you need is a shallow metal pan to slide under it that will catch all the hot ash.
Reply:Blue,Here's some pictures of fire rings I've built using centerless tractor tire rims.  I've built 3 of them now and each one has been an improved design over the previous one.  They might give you some ideas you could incorporate into your next one.This one is number #2.   I put a sliding damper on this one to control the air flow to the fire.  It's kind of a shut down safety feature also.   Push it closed at the end of the festivities and no more hot coals can fall out the bottom when no ones around.  If you then have a piece of plate you can lay across the top the fire and any hot embers and ash are pretty well contained.  I've had this be pretty handy when the wind comes up suddenly. That spider (that the grate sits on)  made out of heavy flat bar just lifts right out.  That's really helpful when it comes to a clean out.Even that heavier expanded metal I used for a grate in this one eventually burnt up and became useless.   Because it just laid in there it was easy to replace as needed.
Reply:Originally Posted by 4956Blue,Nice work.  How ever, I think you're going to find that light gauge piece of expanded metal in the bottom opening isn't going to last very long.  A better grate for it would be to get a 1' square piece of heavy bar grate and just set it inside your fire bowl so it sits a couple of inches above the bottom.  Then remove  that expanded metal piece.   Being able to lift the fire grate out will really help when it comes time to clean it out.   The other thing you need is a shallow metal pan to slide under it that will catch all the hot ash.
Reply:Here's the last one I built.   Had some bar grate scraps left over from a job I welded together to get a piece big enough to cut a circle out of.   This is holding up much better than the expanded metal I used on the previous one.  But I can see that in another year or so I'll probably need to replace it also.   Decided to not close off the center of this one and just let the ashes fall straight to the ground.  Boy howdy will this one ever burn a big, hot fire.  You pretty much have to detail one of your party guests to just stand there and keep throwing logs into it.   It's not very economical when it comes to fuel consumption.That vertical pipe on the side is to support a swinging davit with a hook on it for holding a Dutch Oven and some other ideas I have for using it.
Reply:Nice!Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk