DIY- Portable Toolbox Grill- Improved!

My idea of a great family vacation doesn't include fancy hotel rooms or fine dining.  Hubby and I are literally happy campers sleeping under a ceiling of stars and a quiet campfire to light the night.

Every Fall, we take a roadtrip south-of-the-border to sunny Baja California Sur.  The 3-4 day trek often involves overnight camping, and outdoor-grilling goes along with the territory... no matter where the territory is.

When I first saw a portable Tool Box Grill online, I loved everything about it.  I wasn't at all surprised to hear a familiar inner-voice say "You can make that!"... and the rest is history.  Well... my history, anyway. ;-)

Here's how I built my new/old, 100% recycled, portable $8 $19 Tool Box BBQ Grill with the improvements documented in Steps 9-12.

Special thanks to Jan Halvarson for featuring my Portable Toolbox Grill in the Summer DIY Projects article published at WIRED.COM.   I am honored! ;-)

Step 1: Materials and Tools

Here's the list of materials and tools I used to build this project, along with the price breakdown.

Materials:

• 1 old Steel Tool Box- local Thrift Store- $2
• 2 Steel grates*- Recycled (Free)
• 4 Stove bolts, 4 washers, 8 nuts-  Husband's stash
• Aersol Paint Remover- Hardware Store- $5
• Heat-resistant Stove Paint- leftover from previous project
• Sugru- Prize from Instructables!
• 2 Pot Holders- Dollar Store- $1
• Magnets- craft stash
• 4 Rubber stoppers- craft stash

Tools:

• Safety Glasses
• Reciprocating Saw
• Drill and bits
• Right angle drill
• Paint scraper/putty knife
• Wire brush
• Wrench
• Ratchet and Socket
• Elbow grease ;-)

*Safety Precaution: It's a good idea to thoroughly fire/burn a grill grate that's been repurposed from a freezer or refrigerator before grilling food on it.  Above all, stay upwind and don't inhale smoke from any burning substance.  It's just common sense, really. ;-)

Comments

[mattbrown777]

This looks great. Good job! I have made a few ammo can grills from another users post. I gave them as gifts to some camping friends of mine. I will be making one of these for my mechanic at work.

[bajablue]

Thanks so much, Matt!

If you get a chance, check back on this project next weekend. I've got some great improvements in the works.

[SlickSqueegie]

This is soo cool.. Nice work!

[bajablue]

Thanks, Slick! I am honored you approve!!! ;-)

[stripedstarfish]

Very clever design. I thought you did some amazing work adding that wooden handle. Thanks for the inspiration.

[bajablue]

Yikes! Sorry for this tardy reply, stripedstarfish. I don't know how the heck I missed your comment... but in 2 words: Thank you! ;-)

[Mihsin]

Great Instructable, great idea, and nature loving tool when not using charcoal in it. I always use wood scaps and building lumber etc. I shall start using this plan from scratch.
Best regards.

[bajablue]

Thank you for commenting, Mihsin. I had a lot of fun building this grill... I hope you do, too! I'd love to see a pic of your finished project!

Mary

[osusssster]

You need to stay upwind not downwind of any possibly dangerous smoke.

[bajablue]

Of course you are right!!! Major fopah that I shall rectify now. Thanks so much for the heads up!!!!

[sunshiine]

Thanks for sharing this. It is small and very functional!
Sunshiine

[bajablue]

It'll work as a portable campfire, too!

Thanks sunshiine!

[sunshiine]

My son-in-law will appreciate that!

[Jayefuu]

Lovely build!

[bajablue]

Hey! Thank you so much James!!!!!!!!

[redknight1971]

this is a cool idea. thanks for sharing

[bajablue]

Thank you for your nice comment, redknight! :-)

[SpagoPizza]

It really looks cool and you can really impress your friends with that :-)

[bajablue]

Thank you Spago... I'll be improving it over the weekend, so stay tuned if you're so inclined. ;-)

[Einarjon]

How are these magnets holding up?
I always hear that magnets lose their magnetism permanently if they are heated up beyond a certain point. Some googling says that even 15 min in a 300F/150°C oven can greatly reduce it. What's your experience?

[bajablue]

Hi Einarjon,

I've grilled in this toolbox twice.  The insert-magnet is still holding strong.

Since I don't have a thermometer on the tool box grill, it's hard to gauge the temperature/heat that's been generated.  

I decided to test an identical magnet (from the same blister-pak) in my oven, which is accurately gauged. :-)

The magnets I used measure 3/4" in diameter and are 3/16" thick.

I preheated the oven to 350° F for 10 minutes.  The magnet was attached to a stainless steel bowl and baked for 15 minutes.

After cooling to room temperature, here's a picture of the results. The magnetic ability is still very much intact.

[ehudwill]

I love this kind of project. Making a grill portable using a tool box...genius!

[bajablue]

You say the nicest things, MrH.  

I just wish I was the original genius! ;-)

Thanks for commenting!

[Dorado39]

I like this very much.

[bajablue]

Thanks so much dorado... I do, too! ;-)

[Youngberg1]

just a word of caution... Some refrigerator/ freezer racks contain chemicals that are poisonous when heated over open flames. I am not sure whether this is over the long term or short term, but I think that I would not chance it if it were me... a viable option is to get a replacement grill sold in the outdoor section of any walmart or home depot/ lowes

Cadmium poisoning
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1929634/

[bajablue]

Thanks for your comment, Youngberg! I'll be sure to include your caveat in my edit later this week.

I've grilled 2 meals and all is well... no dead bodies. ;-)

I did some research and found that cadmium "inhalation" can cause toxicity. Obviously, it's never a good idea to inhale any fumes from any burning source.

Did you know that cigarette paper contains cadmium, too? Another good reason for smokers to quit!

I'm particular about breathing fresh air, so no worries here. ;-)

[canucksgirl]

Clever! I love it... Its cute as heck. :-)

[bajablue]

Hey... Thanks CG!!!! ;-)

[iceng]

Very nice job and your DH too, for assisting with the limb threatening power tools..
Does this mean you will no longer be listening to your toolbox while grilling ?  
Or is that where you get your hot ideas ?

A

[bajablue]

Dang... I forgot to say "Thank you", so here goes:

Thank you, Iceng! ;-)

[bajablue]

lol... my beloved Tool Box has gone into hiding. He must have been eavesdropping when I told DH I wanted to hack a tool box into a BBQ grill.

Poor thing probably thought I was talking about him! ;-D

I miss my DREMEL and screwdrivers. He'd better come back soon!

[caitlinsdad]

Supposedly the only way to destroy a magnet's magnetic properties is to heat it. I've never tried but let us know if the magnets hold up in the BBQ.

[bajablue]

Hi Caitlinsdad,

I considered that and researched it. Heating above 270 degrees F can affect the magnetic lifting power of a magnet by 22-25%.

I figured since I wasn't using the magnet to "lift" anything, it was worth a shot.

So far, so good! I just took a picture of the magnet insert... and it's still functional.

I uploaded the pic four dang times, but unfortunately there's an annoying system bug that likes eating them. 8-/