Making BBQ parts

[scooby074]

The BBQ was going to give me Tetanus. So in the spirit of GJ I decided I should make some new BBQ grills. Constructed of 3/8 roundbar , 304 SS. Mig welded.

Ole rusty. Notice the flaking. I framed it in angle to use as a template. This was a mistake, see below.



Raw Materials. 3/8 SS round, spaced 3/8 apart. The grill required about 34 pieces, 48' total. Original plan was to eliminate the center split, so it would be one continious grill. Bad idea.


I didnt have 100% argon, so I used C25 and 308ss wire. There is a bit of weld staining as a result. My first time welding a "large" SS project. I have lots of experience welding mild steel, been doing it for years, but this Stainless moved around like a wet noodle. I limited my heat input, kept the welds small, cooled the material between welds, only welding 3 slats at a time, and it still warped. I might have had the jig frame too constraining for how much the metal moved, but it ended up a bit of a mess. I had to cut the grill into 2 pieces to reduce some of the tension and get it to lay flat. I know for when I make my stainless BBQ, Ill either tig it or figure out some way to deal with expansion. A good learning experience.


Finished product. The BBQ didnt care about stained welds and the steaks came out great, without any rust flakes !!

 

[The Cobbler]

nice looking grills. hate to think what the stock cost you!

 

[scooby074]

nice looking grills. hate to think what the stock cost you!

Thanks
Stock wasnt that bad. I was quoted $1.80/ft but when it came, it was $2.00. Metal prices are so variable right now. Its a Broil King, the replacement grates are around $150, and they arent as thick as what I made. I think I came out ahead. Plus it was a trial run for making my own Stainless "Lifetime" BBQ down the road.

Speaking of stock prices, I also had to buy some 1.5" SS angle.. $9.50/ft. That one hurt!

 

[larry4406]

Nice job on the grates!

I did mine differently. I used 1x1" square stock to hold the rods. The holes in the square stock allow the rods to float. Only the end rods were tacked to the square stock. I used regular carbon steel. I was concerned over warpage.

BBQ Grille Grates - Anyone made any?

I need new grates for our Wolf BBQ362-2. I refuse to pay near $700 for new grates. When the originals crapped out, I used a simple piece of expanded metal, but that has now rusted out. Wife wants grates with round metal type rods. Was thinking of welding 3/8" steel rod similar to these...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[scooby074]

Nice job on the grates!

I did mine differently. I used 1x1" square stock to hold the rods. The holes in the square stock allow the rods to float. Only the end rods were tacked to the square stock. I used regular carbon steel. I was concerned over warpage.

BBQ Grille Grates - Anyone made any?

I need new grates for our Wolf BBQ362-2. I refuse to pay near $700 for new grates. When the originals crapped out, I used a simple piece of expanded metal, but that has now rusted out. Wife wants grates with round metal type rods. Was thinking of welding 3/8" steel rod similar to these...

www.garagejournal.com

floating the rods is a good idea.

Warpage was much more of a factor than I considered before starting. Im not sure how the OEMs are making welded grills that don't warp.

Napoleon has the "Wavy" style grill that Im sure helps to control warp, but that would require some sort of a die to bend the grill segments into that unique shape, not really doable for the home shop.

 

[The Cobbler]

manufacturers use electric fusion weld or whatever it's called . probably all done at 1 shot and cooled fast so it doesn't get a chance to warp ( as much)

 

[matt_i]

You could bend the wavy rod with a matching set of hard maple dies in a typical H frame press and file/carve/rout a guide to hold the rod from spitting out the side. Some trial and error for springback if you're trying to hit a dimension but those are pretty gentle bends.

 

[whateg01]

Stainless is going to move on you, even tig welded. Welding little bits like you did might have made it worse because one section cools to it's final shape then the next section cools and pulls the previous bit.

 

[lilredex]

We had the same issue in our well used Broil King. Was lucky enough to find some heavy cast iron grilles from a junker at the curb that fit nearly perfectly.....solved that problem. Am also in the process of making up a flat top for it.

A neighbour built a free standing brick BBQ and gave me a bunch of reinforcing rod to make a grille for it. That worked out really well, for many years.

 

[scooby074]

That

We had the same issue in our well used Broil King. Was lucky enough to find some heavy cast iron grilles from a junker at the curb that fit nearly perfectly.....solved that problem. Am also in the process of making up a flat top for it.

A neighbour built a free standing brick BBQ and gave me a bunch of reinforcing rod to make a grille for it. That worked out really well, for many years.

That grill on the left of the first pic is an interesting design.
Feel free to update this thread with your flat top progress if you want. Might be a good idea to put all these BBQ mods and ideas in one place? I know I gave a quick look before I started and didnt find much, just one thread that I cant seem to find anymore..

 

[scooby074]

About 4 or 5 uses and the BBQ is still working great. A couple nice Ribeyes, with dijon and peppercorns.

Going to have to build a better drain pan and flavorizer grates I think.

 

[scooby074]

Stainless is going to move on you, even tig welded. Welding little bits like you did might have made it worse because one section cools to it's final shape then the next section cools and pulls the previous bit.

I wasnt sure if keeping it cool or letting it heat was the best course. I was more concerned about it ending up the exact size because the grill kind of sits down inside a lip with a tight fit.

In hindsight I would probably not fit the jig so tight and make the grill undersize. Then make mounts in the BBQ to fit if the new grill was too undersize to work with the existing mounts (recess).

Like I mentioned, this was a learning experience for working with stainless. Up till this point, my stainless experience other than a bit in trade school, was some exhaust repairs.

 

[lilredex]

That

That grill on the left of the first pic is an interesting design.
Feel free to update this thread with your flat top progress if you want. Might be a good idea to put all these BBQ mods and ideas in one place? I know I gave a quick look before I started and didnt find much, just one thread that I cant seem to find anymore..

That grille is ribbed on one side and flat on the other, kind of different.

This is what got me going on the flat top project:

How to Make an Outdoor Griddle

How to Make an Outdoor Griddle: Home griddles are becoming more and more popular. They are an awesome way to make food when entertaining a group of people. They basically are a big piece of steel with burners that heat the steel. The big piece of steel is what makes them able t…

www.instructables.com

Good idea to keep BBQ repair ideas here.

 

[scooby074]

That grille is ribbed on one side and flat on the other, kind of different.

This is what got me going on the flat top project:

How to Make an Outdoor Griddle

How to Make an Outdoor Griddle: Home griddles are becoming more and more popular. They are an awesome way to make food when entertaining a group of people. They basically are a big piece of steel with burners that heat the steel. The big piece of steel is what makes them able t…

www.instructables.com

Good idea to keep BBQ repair ideas here.

I like the flat top idea. Ive been thinking about it for a while. Usually im cooking a lot of hamburgers and hotdogs (kids!) so it would be handy. I was thinking about making an insert to cover 1/2 the grill, so I could have flat top on one side, bbq grates on the other..

AVE made a video a year or 4! (time flies, memory ***** lol) ago about making a flattop. His was pretty massive, but got me thinking. He ended up re-doing it to address some problems.

 

[cpttuna]

Thanks
Stock wasnt that bad. I was quoted $1.80/ft but when it came, it was $2.00. Metal prices are so variable right now. Its a Broil King, the replacement grates are around $150, and they arent as thick as what I made. I think I came out ahead. Plus it was a trial run for making my own Stainless "Lifetime" BBQ down the road.

Speaking of stock prices, I also had to buy some 1.5" SS angle.. $9.50/ft. That one hurt!

try the scrap yard and recycling center. this is where I usually get my ss

 

[scooby074]

try the scrap yard and recycling center. this is where I usually get my ss

Oh yeah. I do check the scrap yards, but most time there is nothing but small pieces and type is a bit unknown other than "its stainless".

Sometimes clean uniform stock of a known type is worth the cost. Food was going to be cooked on this so some random SS material out of some random chemical plant locally wouldnt be really confidence inspiring either.

 

[cpttuna]

nice looking grills. hate to think what the stock cost you!

if you are fortunate enough to have a recycle place or scrap yard near you that has stainless, you sometimes can get good ss scrap cheap. My best buy was 1" round stainless 12' long for $7.00. It is all about timing. If I see something like this 1" round deal, I jump on it. Did I need the 1" round at the time? No, but I was sure it would be gone real soon.

 

[Walkers]

Nice work. I have made a few for people on my plasma table. I can put it a grate design and throw in their name, or initials. If I put them in backwards they can wear their name onto the steak.