How to Build a Barbecue Grill From a Drum
It's that time again -- the time of the year when outdoor cooking reigns supreme. Why swelter inside when the mercury clocks in around 100 degrees Fahrenheit when you could be outside, enjoying the breeze and feeding your friends and family. A solid barbecue grill need not cost you a month's wages. Indeed, with some basic tools and a 55-gallon drum, you can start grilling in the great outdoors for minimal cost. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Drum, 55 gallons (nontoxic foodstuffs)
- Tape measure
- Permanent marker
- Angle grinder and discs
- Goggles
- Steel hinges, 2 (4 inches wide by 4 inches long)
- Tek screws, 1 box (1/2 inch long)
- Hand drill (Phillips head bit)
- Metal fence handle (6 inches long)
- Stainless steel mesh, 5/8 gauge (3 feet wide by 4 feet long)
- Tin snips
- Pliers
Instructions
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1
Stand the 55-gallon drum on one end.
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2
Using your tape measure, mark the bisecting center line of the drum with a permanent maker. Mark past the edge of the drum and down both sides as much as possible.
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3
Lay the drum horizontally.
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4
Extend your tape measure and continue drawing the bisecting line with a permanent marker. Continue drawing until you reach the edge of the unmarked end.
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5
Stand the 55-gallon drum to expose the unmarked end, and finish drawing the bisecting line across the end and down the other side, until you have circumnavigated the entire drum, end over end, with a permanent marker.
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6
Use the angular grinder to cut the drum in half, following the bisecting line you have just finished drawing. Be sure to wear eye protection.
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7
After cutting, do NOT separate the halves.
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8
Using your tape measure and permanent marker, make a mark 10 inches from each end of the drum.
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9
Place a 4-inch by 4-inch steel hinge at each 10-inch mark, and screw it in place -- using your hand drill -- with tek screws.
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10
Measuring horizontally, mark the center of the top half of the drum.
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11
Place the center of the metal fence handle at this mark and screw it in place with tek screws. This will be the handle that lifts the top of the grill open, so place it as near or far from the lip of the top as you like.
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12
Open the drum, exposing the innards of the new grill, and allow the top half to hinge all the way to the ground.
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13
Using your tape measure, measure the dimensions -- in terms of length and width -- of the lower half. This measurement will be used to cut the steel mesh for the grill.
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14
Flatten the 5/8 gauge steel mesh with your hands, and lay out the measurements taken in Step 13. Add 3 inches to both the length and the width of your measurement, and mark the mesh with a permanent marker accordingly.
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15
Cut the steel mesh with a pair of tin snips.
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16
Lay the freshly cut mesh over the lower half of the drum. Push it as far back toward the hinges as possible.
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17
Using a pair of linemen or pliers, bend the overhanging mesh down over the lower half of the drum. This is the grill you cook your meat and vegetables on.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Be sure you obtain a drum that was used for food stuffs, like corn syrup or olive oil. Never use a drum that was used to carry toxic material.
Use both hands when cutting with an angular grinder. Always wear eye protection.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Image from Wikimedia Commons.
