Chuckwagon Campfire Cooking Rack

Maybe you've seen those wrought-iron cooking setups that the cowboys use to hang their Dutch Ovens and other cast-iron over the camp fire.  A search on the Internet will reveal that they tend to be a bit expensive if not outright obscene in terms of cost.  Here's how to make one for less that $30 that will serve just as well as any on the market.

Step 1: The Parts

All you'll need is three 48-inch long x 1/2-inch black steel plumbing pipes from the hardware store.  In addition, you'll need two T-connectors (3/4 inch by 3/4 inch by 1/2 inch), perhaps 4 cheap 5/16ths carabiners or S-hooks, and 2 lengths of 2-foot x 1/4 inch link chain.  See the photograph that illustrates all of these components.  Total cost for all of these was less than $30.

Comments

[bomber-marc]

Thanks for this great Instructable! Just to let you know, I took advantage of the CC license and translated it in French, on an instructables-like website targeted at LARP players. So far we only got positive reactions :).
http://www.trollcalibur.com/node/7452

Oh, and did I say it ? Thanks again :)

[-chase-]

It is a pretty nice oven rack for certain areas
- i see you pound the uprights about a foot in the ground.

For an all round oven rack - you could use the same priciple of screwing the piping together but go for an A-frame style on each end.

No pounding of the uprights in the ground and might be a bit more stable all round.

I'm just thinking of if it rains and the ground soaks and your pots/ovens are full - the wind starts blowing - pots / ovens start swinging - you may find your next meal on the ground being eaten by the critters.

Plus with an A-frame style you can go with lighter weight piping for the uprights.

another idea just looking at it - to prevent the pots chain from slipping you could use say 10" pieces of piping - with a coupler 1.5"nipple - then  coupler then 10" piece and the same again to make up the horizontal support (top pipe) the nipple in the middel of the couplers would prevent the chain from slipping side to side or down the pipe - say if you tip the pot/oven to one side - like scooping out that last deliscious drop of campifire stew...?

just some thoughts... but nice job and one last question...

So... when is dinner being served?

[edlivesay]

Thanks!

Come on down... we'll drink breakfast together!

Ed

[DazeDreamer]

I really like this Instructable for a campfire cooking rack. Being able to take the whole thing apart to store it or transport it makes it even more appealing.

I also like the suggestion to add tee-connectors to the bottom of each leg. To avoid having to stake the connectors to the ground, though, you could run another length of pipe through each of the bottom tee-connectors to make the whole thing stable and free-standing.

[CementTruck]

Neat idea!

Step 3 - Perhaps putting a piece of wood on the pipe before whacking it with the back of an axe might be a tad safer for the metal. Black pipe tends to crack or shatter when struck repeatedly. If this critical point breaks we'd starve. ;)

Another thought - if you put Ts at the bottom of the vertical pipes you might not need to pound this in the ground. You could anchor the inverted Ts with a few stakes made out of rebar bent in a U shape.

Cheers!

[rprough]

This are great! You could also set two of these side by side and that way you could hang 4 pieces of chain to suspend a grill above the fire that you built right in the middle.

[edlivesay]

There's plenty of room to hang 4 medium pots on a single rack. By using a 6-foot piece of lateral pipe, more than enough room would exist.

[rprough]

You are correct. I should have said this would make it a great grill.

I did vote for your instructable.