Brake Rotor Fire Pit

This was a bit of an experiment, trying to find a good use for old brake rotors.

The brake rotor is obviously the main material, but I also used this metal screen, some 1/2” steel rod, and some 1/4” rod.

I believe this screen is stainless, but it might just have some sort of galvanized coating. Either way my tin snips make quick work of it. I cut out a circle to go in the bottom of the rotor and keep ashes and whatnot from falling through the holes. I didn’t want to cover the holes though, because having plenty of airflow underneath the fire is very helpful.

Next I made the legs. I wanted them to be about 6” long, so I cut three 12” lengths of the 1/2” rod.

Even though I cut a notch in the center and used heat, they still snapped when I tried to bend them. That’s okay, that’s what welders are for!

I used this welding magnet to hold the two halves at a 45° angle and weld them.

Next I welded the legs to the bottom of the rotor. I eyeballed the spacing, but they were about equal-distant. The triangle shape of the legs meant that they all flared out at the same angle.

I was surprised how well the rotor welded. I was expecting it to put up more of a fight.

Finally I used a flap disc on my angle grinder to round over the points of the legs.

Next was the cage on top to hold the majority of the fire. I originally wanted to use more of the steel mesh, but it just melted away when I tried to tack weld it.

I cut six pieces of the 1/2” rod at 3.5” each. This just seemed like a good height. I arranged the six rods in a hexagon shape. Placing one above the center of each leg and one directly in between each pair.

I used the same welding magnet to hold them as vertical as possible.

Last were the horizontal pieces. There were 18 in total and I cut them from 1/4” rod. I originally cut them to 5.5” long, but ended up having to go back and custom trim each one to fit. I cut this spacer block to hold them at the same height while I welded them in. Unfortunately my block was a bit too tall and I didn’t get all three rows equally spaced. At least with the top two being closer it almost looks intentional!

The last thing was to put the screen circle back in and give it a test! It fit nice and snug with just a pressure fit.

It worked well! It can’t hold that large of a fire, but should be plenty for a couple people to sit around and burn some small scraps.

This project was completed July 14, 2020

View this project on Instagram.

Prior to this I had made a larger but less stylish fire pit that is a tad more practical.