BBQ Grill: A Summer DIY Project for the Welder

An outdoor barbecue grill is a great project for beginner welders. It’s practical and the materials aren’t very pricey. Here are instructions on how to fabricate your own open-framed BBQ pit.

Step 1:

Lay out and cut your sheet metal (10-12 gauge) components for the BBQ tub by your preferred choice (shearing, hand-held plasma cutting, using a CNC cutting machine, etc.). Start by cutting one rectangular piece that is 36 × 18 in. with radius corners. Along the 18-in. edges of the sheet, measure down 1.5 in. on both sides. Break these two sets of lines to create a 1.5-in., 90-deg flange on both edges of the sheet metal. Turn the sheet metal over. From one of the 18-in. sides, measure down 8.5 in., and on the other side, measure down 13.5 in. Bend both lines in the same direction (opposite from the first two 1.5-in. bends). Cut the two sides for the tub at 12 in. height × 14 in. length with a 5 in. height × 6 in. length rectangular notch from one of the upper corners of each piece. Square the two single sides with the formed sheet metal tub then tack them together.

Lay out and cut your sheet metal components for the BBQ tub. Start by cutting one rectangular piece that is 36 × 18 in. with radius corners.

Step 2:

Cut two pieces of 0.09 × 1 × 2-in. rectangle tubes to 30 in. each with 30 in. in length. One side of each piece needs to have a 45-deg bevel cut into the tubing along the 2 in. length to box in the ends when assembled. From the top of the beveled end, measure down 2 in. from the center of the 2-in. side. Center punch and drill out to 7/8 in. Cut a third piece of rectangle tube with 45-deg ends on both sides to 18 in. in length. Frame the two 30-in. pieces into the center of the BBQ tub with the box-in facing inward toward each other. Frame in the 18-in. piece of tubing across the top of the BBQ to connect all three pieces of tubing. Square all corners and weld the pieces into place. Weld all sheet metal edges into place, then sand and finish any flat weld to a flush surface.

Step 3:

Cut four pieces each of 1/8 × 1¼ × 1¼-in. angle iron to 1¼ in. in length. You are going to be building two sets of brackets for the pivoting legs using these pieces. Drill a ¼-in. hole into two pieces that are 3/8 in. down and 7/16 in. from the front edge of the angle iron. Repeat this process with the two remaining pieces on the opposite side. Tack one set along the 14-in. side so that each piece of angle iron sits 1¾ in. from the side and 7/8 in. from the front and back. Repeat this for the opposite 14-in. side. 

Step 4:

Cut the four leg assembly pieces by your method of choice from the 3/16-in. plate. The pieces will be 7.5 × 1¼ in. with a radius on one side and a 1-in. saddle on the other. 5/8 in. from the top of the radius side, drill a 1/4-in. hole. Countersink the edges to remove burrs and assist with bolting. Cut two pieces of 1-in. round tube to 14 in. in length each. Weld two leg assembly pieces to the 1-in. round tube with a 1-in. inset from each end of the round tube. Fit the legs into the holes of the angle iron brackets on the bottom of the BBQ. Once all components are squared, weld the angle iron pieces along the outside edges.

Cut the four leg assembly pieces by your method of choice from the 3/16-in. plate. 5/8 in. from the top of the radius side, drill a 1/4-in. hole.

Step 5:

Cut the grill from a minimum of 10-gauge sheet metal. Create a ½-in., 45-deg relief cut into each corner. Bend the edges up until the corners of the relief cut are flush again (around 10 deg). Weld the ½-in. relief cuts and sand to a smooth finish. Form the two grill saddles from a 10-gauge sheet and form the two sides into 90 deg. The inside width of the saddles should be 21/8 in. Space the grill 1 in. up from the bottom of each saddle and weld into place.

Step 6:

Roll a ½-in. cold rolled round bar into a 12-in. inside diameter ring. Cut your center plate for your crank wheel with a ¾-in. hole in the center. Weld to the inside of the 12-in. ring. Cut a piece of ¾-in. cold rolled round bar to a length of 24 in. and cut 2 in. of thread into one side of the bar. Weld the nonthreaded side into the center of the crank plate. Fit the ¾-in. round bar into two bronze flange bushings and into the 7/8-in. holes at the top of the rectangle tube. Using a compression spring and crimped hex nut on the threaded end of the round bar, tighten the assembly until the crank can hold roughly 12–16 lb of weight. From the inside of the rectangle tube, draw a mark along a horizontal axis on the ¾-in. round bar. Mark a centerline 2 in. from both directions. Remove the crank assembly and drill the two marks to 3/16-in. holes.

Step 7:

Cut the four handle arms from the 10-gauge sheet metal. The total length of each piece will be 10 × 1½ in. with a radius on one end and a 1-in. hole ¾ in. on center from the top of the radius. On the nonradius side of each arm, create a 90-deg bend 3 in. from the end. Cut two pieces of a 1-in. round tube to 12 in. lengths each. Slide two hand arms (90 deg bend in) over the 12-in. round tube so that each bracket sits 1 in. from the end. Weld into place. Attach the 3-in. bend sides to the sides of the BBQ so that the top of the handle bracket is 7 in. from the bottom of the BBQ tub.

Step 8:

Finish sanding any spots to a smooth touch and remove any residue and/or spatter. Paint the BBQ tub assembly and legs using a high-heat/BBQ paint. Do not paint the grill or the ¾-in. round bar on the crank wheel. After the parts have dried, assemble the BBQ legs to the bottom of the tub using 3/16-in. socket cap screws and corresponding nyloc nuts (I prefer stainless steel). Using ¾-in. locking collars, attach the crank wheel to the ¾-in. flange bearings. String a 1/8-in. stainless steel braided cable through the two holes in the ¾-in. crank round bar and loop through the grill saddles. Crimp each side with two aluminum cable crimps.

Finish sanding any spots to a smooth touch and remove any residue and/or spatter. Paint the BBQ tub assembly and legs. Then treat your family and friends to a joyful dining experience by blending your welding and metalworking skills with your meat-smoking skills. 

This article was written by Roline Pascal (education editor of the Welding Journal) for the American Welding Society.