Making a Fire Pit from a 55 Gallon Oil Drum

Today in the shop we are making a new Fire Pit for my back yard, out of a 55 gallon oil drum. I have been wanting to make a fir pit out of oil drum for several years, but wasn't sure what design I wanted to create, until now. I reached out to my Father, who had an extra one on his property. After emptying the 4-5 quarts of oil that were left in it, and cleaning the inside with soap and water throughly, I was in business. I wanted to paint it with some type of design, so after removing the old paint from the outside, I cut it in half, and repainted it with the first coat of high temp grill paint. I repurposed the second half for the lid, and after removing several sections from the top, I used metal lathe to put screen back onto it. I repurposed the cut outs from the top for tabs, and a handle for the lid, as well as brackets to hold the 16 gauge plate in place, that was used as the fire base. I also repurposed an old steel bed frame headboard for the scroll legs, which were bolted on.

The lid will only be used when the fire is dying down, and I don’t want to leave the pit open before going inside, so don’t worry about the handle getting hot. In the event that it does get hot, I’ll remove the lid like I would with any fire pit lid, I’ll use a poker stick.

I originally though that I might do some welding on this project, but I realized that I could use pop rivets, and hardware instead. I was able to complete it with just as much strength and durability, and figured it would be a good tutorial for everyone, including those who do not have access to a welder.

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Видео Making a Fire Pit from a 55 Gallon Oil Drum канала The Art of Craftsmanship