DIY Steel Fire Pit

by robertjkeller

27K13216

Intro: DIY Steel Fire Pit

I made this fire pit in about a day using approximately $40 USD worth of steel. Check out the video as well as the instructions here!

STEP 1: Cutting the Steel Plate (1/3)

I started with a 24" x 24" steel plate and 2 steel gussets that were 12" along two sides. They were all 3/16" thick. I also used a 10-ft long piece of 1/2" square steel tubing for the base.

STEP 2: Cutting the Steel Plate (2/3)

I set up a scrap piece of steel tubing to act as a guide to cut the steel plate in half. I just used a regular cut-off disc in my angle grinder.

STEP 3: Cutting the Steel Plate (3/3)

This left me with 2 plates that were each 12" x 24".

STEP 4: Assembling the Basin (1/4)

I lined up a 12" side of one of the gussets with a 12" side of one of the plates and tacked it in place with the welder. I was using 0.025" MIG wire and 75% Argon/25% CO2 gas for this project.

STEP 5: Assembling the Basin (2/4)

I repeated the same thing on the other side.

STEP 6: Assembling the Basin (3/4)

I laid out the second plate on my work table and set the three completed sides on top of it. After lining everything up, I welded it in place and completed all the other welds on the sides that were just tacked in place.

STEP 7: Assembling the Basin (4/4)

I switched to a sanding disc in my angle grinder and ground off all the welds, because they were way too ugly to leave on there :)

STEP 8: Cutting the Base (1/4)

I broke down the 1/2" square steel tubing and cut 8 pieces that were each 12" long. I'm using a metal-cutting chop saw for this. These are different tools than a regular miter saw... definitely don't attempt to cut steel using a regular miter saw!

STEP 9: Cutting the Base (2/4)

I used a small metal-cutting bandsaw to notch out a 1/2" from both sides of 4 of the pieces. This will allow me to slide another 1/2" piece into the notch and not have any holes showing. You could also just cut 45-degree miters, but I just personally prefer this method.

STEP 10: Cutting the Base (3/4)

Here's what the notch looks like.

STEP 11: Cutting the Base (4/4)

The goal was to end up with 2 sides that were notched out for each of the 2 squares. So 4 notched sides and 4 solid sides.

STEP 12: Assembling the Base (1/7)

Hopefully here you can see how the pieces fit together and the whole notching-thing makes sense. I'm using a 90-degree vice to hold the pieces square and weld them, but you definitely don't need a special vise. Just a speed-square or something that's 90 degrees will work fine.

STEP 13: Assembling the Base (2/7)

I welded up all 4 corners of each of the 2 squares.

STEP 14: Assembling the Base (3/7)

Here's the result.... 2 squares that are about 12" on each side (the notching process makes them very slightly rectangular).

STEP 15: Assembling the Base (4/7)

I ground down the welds with a sanding disc again to make 'em pretty.

STEP 16: Assembling the Base (5/7)

I cut one last piece of 1/2" tubing to 24" long. This will be used to connect the 2 squares and complete the base.

STEP 17: Assembling the Base (6/7)

I welded the 2 squares to the cross-beam, checking again and again for square as I went.

STEP 18: Assembling the Base (7/7)

Here's the completed base.

STEP 19: Attaching the Base (1/3)

I used some (approximately) 2" side wooden spacers to make sure the base was attached to the basin at the same place on each side.

STEP 20: Attaching the Base (2/3)

Welding one side....

STEP 21: Attaching the Base (3/3)

And welding the other side...

STEP 22: Finishing Up

The last thing to do was smooth out those welds where the cross-beam connects to the squares.

STEP 23: Done!


Thanks for following along! Check out my YouTube channel and Instagram for many other projects!

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6 Comments

guypmcdermott 3 years ago

what is the length of the third side on the steel gussets?

reddlightning 4 years ago

Is there blueprints anywhere for this so I can have measurements for everything?

GummyB 5 years ago

We have a be nice policy.

Please be positive and constructive.
long sleeves uv light from welding.
nice build higher sides and you will have cute hibachi grill

bgonzalez7 5 years ago

Great design and great instructable. Just that I would've used 45 degrees angles for the corners. Easier to cut and to weld.

seamster 5 years ago

This is really well done, and a nice simple design too. We need a little fire pit at my house, and this is something I might make someday. Thank you!