No Weld Car Rims Fire Pit.

by RequiemScrc in Outside > Backyard

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No Weld Car Rims Fire Pit.

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Welcome to my latest Instructable.

Today I bring you, a no weld firepit/wood stove. It is a little in between the two but I just say fire pit.

I got this Idea from a youtube video, I thought it was an awesome idea. Yet they required you to weld it together and I realized a few things.

One: Not everyone has a welding machine

Two: There has to be an easier way.

Three: That would take up a lot of room together like that.

So I choose to make mine without welding, with few tools as possible as well as the ability to break it down if needed.

What You Will Need

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  • 2 Steel same size rims
  • Angle grinder
  • package of cut off disks(thin ones, you will probably need more than one disk)
  • pack of grinding disks (thick ones)
  • chalk (not shown)
  • Pliers (if the tires still have valve stem or tire weights)

First the rims.They need to be steel(other metals may just burn or catch fire) the same size, I have two 18" inch here but I have made a 14"- 16" inch ones. Just had to make the logs smaller for them. You can get these a few ways. People throw them out, I found the above today set out with the trash. You can get them at wrecking yards or ask a local auto repair shop if they have any slightly damaged rims you can buy for a few bucks, sometimes they will let you have them for free! Just make sure the dents are not to bad or deep.

Marking and Shaping the Rim.

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Now you may have two of the same sized wheels but not all are created equally. One can be a little smaller than the other. It will make things a little easier if it is by some a fraction or a centimeter. I have used a whole inch smaller before. All I needed was to cut the opening and stack them at that point, though it slid around if not centered just right. So it was a slight hazard so I would not recommend it.

Moving along. You want to mark the opening, depending on your rim it may be a little smaller or larger. You want it big enough to fit firewood but not to big to let it easily drop out. for deeper rims 9 cm or 3" one each side, you can get away with just over 6 cm or 2 1/2" on each side as seen above and it will still equal a decent sized hole(double that) in it.

I should not have to tell you cutting metal makes it very hot and safety goggles are a must.So please be careful. Hot metal and sparks will go everywhere.

Now you just want to take off the lip of the tire rim about 1 1/2 cm or half and inch of the rim.As marked above. It does not need to be exact. Just enough to let the rim interlock easily with the other unaltered rim. As seen in one of the above I have already made.

Use the cut off wheels to take off the lip and cut out the opening and the grinding wheels to take off any burs or sharp edges.

Stack and You Are Done!

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Lock them together and make sure everything lines up and it is ready to burn. I put mine and on some cinder blocks so they do not burn anything under it. Easy to empty when it cools and makes a nice edition to cold nights.

Thank you for reading!

Stay creative and safe.

Till next time!

Bonus tip: As an nice touch to keep it from rusting, spray it down with something like Rust-oleum ultra high heat paint.