An awesome way of showcasing your design capabilities, alongside your welding prowess, is to make your own fire pit. The number of designs that are available at your disposal here is endless. We will show you how to make your own fire pit using plasma cutting. And in this case, a cut-ready design for a plasma cutter fire pit from DXFforCNC.com will do.
So, how do you make such a fire pit? What is the procedure? It’s pretty simple to make the pit and we will give you a step-by-step guide to achieve this feat.
Create and Cut out the Design Using a Plasma Cutter Fire Pit
The first step that you need to take when making your own fire pit is to create the design. A CNC table will help you to cut out the pattern that you need to use or you can even use a plasma cutter. You need to mark some cut lines and then you can cut every piece of hot rolled steel sheet to the sizes that you wish.
You can use a CAD tool to make intricate designs that you will use for the plasma cutter fire pit. This is your chance to showcase all of the creativity that you’ve got, as there are endless possibilities for you.
Bend Every Steel Sheet to the Angle that You Wish
Now comes the second step where you need to bend the steel sheets. You might have to use a metal brake for this step, even though you can still make the bends by hand. You need to first make a bend line on each steel sheet. Then you need to score each metal sheet along that same bend line using a cutting disc attachment. This cutting disc attachment should be on a 4.5” angler grinder. When performing this task, be careful not to cut through the metal.
Then you can pull the metal towards the scored line so that you can get the right angle. You need to then fill the score line with a weld bead. This will help you to restore the strength and toughness of the metal.
Prepare the Edges for Welding
The next step is to prepare the edges of the steel sheet for the welding process. You need to do this by clamping every sheet there to a work surface. It should be a strong and solid work surface for the process to be successful.
Using a 40-grit flap disc that’s on the angle grinder, you now need to clean up the weld areas carefully and with high precision. You might have some dross that remains after using plasma cutting for the plasma cutter fire pit. Cleaning will help you to get rid of this dross.
Link Two Sides Together on a Flat Surface
To ensure that the sheets are as square as possible when carrying out this process, you need to use clamps or magnets. Thereafter, you can commence tacking them together from the bottom as you head to the midpoint. Afterwards, you can come back to tack between the two tacks. This is a staggered pattern that will help you to spread heat evenly.
Move to Tack the Top
Once you’re done tacking the bottom, you now need to move to the top. To butt steel together effectively, you can make use of clamps or pliers. This will help you to ensure that you have the tightest joint when you’re tacking. In this case, you can use the same staggered pattern like the one that you’ve used before.
Tack Weld All the Four Sheets
The process of tack welding needs to go on for the four sheets. And you need to use the same approach of working from the bottom side to the top. You also need to regulate the heat input using a staggered weld pattern.
As you progress up to each joint, you can adjust the fitment as need be. To make sure that’s proper surface mating, you can make use of a hammer or pliers.
Measure the Midsection of the Interior
You need to measure the midsection of the interior where the bed of the pit can be welded in. You will need these dimensions to measure and cut the hot rolled square bars. These bars will support the logs on the bottom of the plasma cutter fire pit.
Prepare the Frame’s Perimeter
Cut four sections of the square bar. These will be the frame’s perimeter.
Ensure the Square Bars are ready for Welding
You can do this by cleaning and beveling all the pieces that will be welded alongside each other.
Clamp and Tack the Square Bar Frame
Once you have done this, you now need to tack and weld the three cross bars into the frame. It will help to add to the structural durability and rigidity. Thereafter, you can tack weld the grate to the bars so that they can fit perfectly. Then wind up the welds at every contact point for potency.
Tack the Grate into the Fire Pit Frame
This is the last step as you ensure the entire piece is in a comfortable position for welding. Then you can weld horizontally downhill an inch at a time. Now your plasma cutter fire pit is ready for use.
Final Thoughts
So that’s how you make your own plasma cutter fire pit using plasma cutting. It’s a tough process but when you follow the steps well, you can do it too.