How to Make a Burner Stand for Homebrewing Out of Recycled Stools

I noticed these metal stools from my classroom had some welds that were coming apart. They were earmarked for disposal so that nobody hurt themselves sitting on them. They were subsequently liberated from an ignominious end in the dumpster / scrap pile and re-purposed to build an awesome propane burner stand for homebrewing! I made it at Techshop to practice my MIG welding.

www.techshop.ws

Materials:

2 x broken metal stools from your local school district
1 x replacement propane burner (cast iron, available at your local homebrew supply store)
1 x brass orifice
1 x combo regulator, propane hose, needle valve assembly

Step 1: Cut and Bend Pieces From the Stool, and Grind Down Burrs/sharp Bits

I used the combination of an angle grinder and hatred towards these stools to cut them into pieces. This design calls for the use of 7 legs and 2 leg support circles, however you could make your own design that incorporates the metal from the seat. I chose to scrap the seats because of the riveted masonite piece that I didn't feel like dealing with.

Make sure you switch from a cutting wheel to a flap disc to grind down sharp bits from the old welds. Secure with jigs/clamps so that you don't have an accident. Safety first~!

Step 2: Cut Legs to Length

I cut the 4 main legs to 14 inches in length using a horizontal band saw. The cuts were strategically placed to get rid of the weak spot where the old weld was cut, and to get rid of the curved bit near where the legs attached to the seat.

Step 3: Coping/saddle Joint

I did these pipe saddle joints/coping in the most neanderthal way, which is to say I used the grinding wheel on the angle grinder. If I was a smart man, I would have used the cold saw or the band saw the way this guy did:

https://www.instructables.com/id/Making-perfect-pipe-Saddle-cuts-with-a-bandsaw-or-/

Step 4: MIG Weld Pieces Together

Most of the setup was done with jigs without measuring, although the vertical supports were leveled and held in place with magnets on a jig. The other support circle was welded horizontally level as well. Two more legs from the stools were cut and welded in place in order to support the stock pot on the burner stand, and another was welded in place in order to mount the burner itself (recommended to measure this so that the top of the burner is about 3-4 inches below the bottom of the stock pot, which sits on the aforementioned pot supports).

I drilled out the leg where the mounting screw for the burner goes (although you will need a longer screw; I was lucky to find one in the scrap bin with an accompanying nut which worked perfectly).

Step 5: Sandblast

I sandblasted all the paint off the welded burner stand, although if I were to do it again I would sandblast the pieces before I welded them together (and sandblast again just to clean the welds). You can powder coat your burner stand if you want, although because of the high BTU/flame aspect you will probably need 'high temp' powdercoating powder (caveat emptor, I haven't experimented with this type of powder coating on a burner stand).