Step up Your Grill Game With This DIY Scrap-Metal Mini BBQ

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There is nothing nicer than having a good BBQ in the great outdoors with friends. But, when you combine that activity with your own DIY outdoor grill, the experience is taking to a whole new level. 

Using some scrap pieces of metal, you too can make this amazing outdoor grill. Read on to find out how in 6 simple steps. 

Before we get started, we will need some things. 

Tools and equipment needed

• Scrap metal pipes (wide and small bore)
• Scrap metal sheets
• Scrap metal pieces
• Angle grinder
• Belt sander
• Welding gear and safety equipment
• Magnetic metal welding clamps
• High temperature proof black paint

 Optional:

• Wood
• Meat
• Beer
• Friends and family

Step 1: Prepare your metal

With all your materials gathered it is time to get on with the build. First, grab your old metal pipe and clean off any rust and other detritus on the outer surface of it. 

You can do this by hand using a metal bristled brush or use a polishing attachment to your angle grinder. The choice is yours. 

Work the grinder in a smooth action up and down the length of the pipe as needed. Keep working the outside of the pipe until all rust and blemishes have been fully removed from the outside of the pipe. 

Next, mark a circle using a marker pen around the entire circumference of the pipe roughly midway. You may wish to rig up a mounting point for the pen using an olf paint pot and some wood to help you out.

Hold the pen on the wood, and slowly rotate the pipe to create a perfectly level line. 

Next, take your angle grinder (or circular saw) and cut carefully along the line you just created to separate the old pipe into two equally-sized pieces.

Follow your line as closely as possible when cutting the pipe in half. As always with activities like this make sure you wear face and hand protection to prevent damaging your skin from metal sparks. 

With the pipe bisected, take one half and place it vertically onto a piece of sheet metal. Take your marker pen once again and mark out the dimensions of the pipe onto the metal sheet. 

Rinse and repeat to make a second equally-sized circle on the same piece of sheet. Once complete, take your angle grinder once again and cut out the circles. 

As with the pipe, follow the marked lines as accurately as possible and be sure to wear protective gear. 

Use pliers to remove the pieces once the cuts are completed. With the circles separated from the metal sheet, transfer them to your belt sander. 

Slowly rotate the circles against the belt sander to smooth them out and remove barbs and other cut marks. 

Step 2: Make the main body and legs of the grill

With the pieces now cut, we can begin to assemble the outdoor grill. Take the circular metal plates and pipes, and weld one piece to one end of one of the pipes. 

First, spot weld the plate into place and then complete the weld to fully join the pipe and plate together. 

As with the cutting part of the project, be sure to wear protective gloves and a face shield to protect your hands, face, and eyes from any potential damage. 

Once the welds are complete, take your angle grinder and clean up the weld points. Work the grinder around the seam and remove any, and all, excess weld material. 

Next, take a length of small bore pipe and place it to the side of one end of the pipe. Use a magnetic clamp to hold it into place and weld it to the main pipe. 

Take another equally-sized small piece of pipe and weld to the base of the pipe directly in line with the first. With that complete, take two more pieces of the same-sized pipe and weld in at roughly 45-degrees to the first pair. 

These will form a set of legs for the burner. With that complete, mount your marker pen onto another small piece of wood. 

Run the pen tip around the base of each pipe to form a perfectly level line to allow the legs to sit flush on a horizontal surface. This will mean that the line will mark an oblique angle to the leg's surfaces. 

Once complete, cut off the angled sections using your angle grinder as needed. As before try to make the cuts as clean as possible. 

With that complete, cut or use some old metal circles to form caps for the legs. Place them on the open ends of the legs. 

Hold them in place and then weld them to the grill's legs as needed. 

Once the welding is complete, take your angle grinder once again and clean up the welds as needed. 

Step 3: Continue shaping the grill

With the main body complete, scour an inner concentric circle slightly smaller than the overall diameter of the main endplate. Then mark three at roughly 5 o'clock, 6 o'clock, and 7 o'clock on the plate along the marked circle.

Transfer the burner to your drilling machine and drill the holes, as needed. 

Once that is complete, mount your marker pen once again so that it is held at a height half the diameter of the main burner body. Then move the burner around the pen nib that marks a level line all the way around its main body. 

With that complete, hold your burner on its side and cut along the line using your angle grinder. 

Step 4: Finish the lid and internal features

With that complete, take some strips (or cut some) and hold them in place at right angles on a magnetic welding clamp. Weld the join between the piece to make an L-shape. 

Take two more equally-sized strips and hold them in another magnetic clamp in the same fashion. Hold the two pieces together to form a rectangle and weld them as needed. 

The rectangle will need to be the same dimensions as the footprint of the piece of pipe you previously cut off. With the rectangle complete, place it over and around the removed section of pipe from the grill. 

Weld it into place as needed. 

With that complete, take your angle grinder and clean up the weld lines and sides of your newly fashioned grill lid. 

With that complete, drill two holes to one side of the rim to make mounting points for the lid handle. Depending on the handle you have to hand, the width between the holes will vary.

Once complete, mount your lid handle into place. 

Either bolt the handle into place or weld it, as needed. 

With that complete, you can now attach your grill lid to the main body of the grill. Close the lid to the main body, and place the hinges into place. 

Weld them into place as required. 

With that complete, open the grill lid, and place two wavy pieces of metal across the grill's width. This will be used to hold the grill bars. 

With that complete, place your grill bars onto the mounting bars. 

Hold them in place and begin to weld the pieces together as needed. 

Trim down the piece where needed so that it can sit flush inside the body of the grill.

Step 5: Add the final touches to your grill

With that complete, remove the bars and close the lid. Take your drill and drill a series of ventilation holes in the top of the lid. 

With that complete, open the lid once more and weld some small flanges around the inside rim of the grill. These will be used to hold the grill bars in place when the grill is in use. 

With that complete, replace your grill bar assembly to the inside of the grill so that it rests on your newly fashioned flanges. 

With that complete, we can begin to finish the grill. Dismantle the main pieces to prepare them for painting. 

Place them on an old sheet, or some cardboard, and paint the main body and lid to the color you want. In this case, the creator has opted for black.

Make sure the paint you choose is both heat and outdoor proof. 

Do the same for the lid of the grill too. You may want to elevate the pieces on something like some old logs when doing this. Keep painting the pieces until you've achieved a nice even and smooth coverage of all exposed parts of the metal. 

Leave the paint to fully dry and then completed reassemble the piece. 

With that, your scrap metal outdoor grill is now complete. Take the piece outside and get a fire going in its belly. 

You can now invite your friend round for a much-needed BBQ and catchup. Enjoy. 

If you liked this project, you may enjoy making another outdoor fire-related project. How about a Star Wars-themed burner? We thought that might get your attention.