BBQ Grill Tray Handle

With the barbecue grill that I made, I found that I would finish grilling and then want to use the fire pit - which meant that I would need to remove the grill whilst it was still hot.

This gave me an idea for another welding practice project.

Grill tray handles are simply handles which clamp onto the edge of an oven tray so that it can be moved whilst it is still hot.

 

Basically I intend to make the same thing for the grill. 

Using some left over angle bar from the grill, the plan is to create a C-shape, with a bit of flat bar for the lip.

This will latch onto the angle bar that creates the frame of the grill.

This will be connected to a rebar handle, which will provide some mechanical retention by being put through a drilled hole in the angle bar (the translucent bit in the diagram).

I turned some ash wood to go over the rebar, and secured it by welding a thread from a bolt to the back of the rebar, and adding a washer and end nut to secure it in place.

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BBQ Grill and Coal Tray for the Firepit

BBQ Grill
 

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This project doesn't look like much, granted. However it's a bit of a milestone for me as it's the first real welding project I've done.

It's pretty basic - a frame made of angle iron with bar stock as support, with a steel mesh as the grill itself. The mesh is sandwiched in place to the frame by bar stock - because the mesh itself was too thin to weld (at least, not at my current skill level.)

The cross section looks like this:

 

 

 

 

 

The welding was done with flux-core wire (FCAW - Flux Core Arc Welding, sometimes also known as 'gasless MIG')

Although the welds aren't the prettiest, particularly due to the spatter from the wire (lesson learned - use anti-spatter spray), the frame is plenty strong and sturdy enough for it's purpose, and has been used for several barbecues already.

Coal Tray

 
Because the firepit itself is quite deep, it's not practical to have the coals at the bottom of the pit - they're too far away from the grill. It's also a good idea to have more control over what is being burned when cooking food, so having a separate tray makes sense.

I made this quick tray from aluminium that was left over from the greenhouse that was removed earlier this year.

I had read a few articles warning of aluminium use in food because of health concerns, but this a) seems to relate more to food in direct contact with the aluminium and b) aluminium foil is extensively and commonly used, so one would expect there to be a bigger outcry about it if there was anything to worry about.

Some other aluminium parts from the greenhouse were used to create legs for the tray so that it stands a couple of inches blow the grill.