Materials You Need
marine silicone - $5
cheap glass frames - $4
small rocks - $2
any kind of metal mesh - $2
gel fuel - $4
any metal planter with a lip (edge) on it - $8 (on sale)
Step #1
once you buy your planter, you need to find cheap frames with glass that will fit around the edges of your planter. i used glass document holders from the dollar store for $1 each.
Step #2 – Making a Glass Box
you need to make a glass box. so ... run a thin bead of silicone along the edge of one glass panel.
place another piece of glass over the siliconed edge
press edge into silicone and hold for a few minutes
silicone the 2nd edge, propping both sides up with anything to keep them straight until they dry.
once the silicone on the 2 sides has dried flip the box over so it looks like this.
run a thin bead of silicone along both exposed edges of glass.
gently place the final piece of glass between the 2 siliconed edges being careful *not* to smear the silicone.
now you have a box. a glass box. wasn't that easy? let the silicone dry for 15 minutes or so. go have a cookie.
don't be alarmed if your silicone squeezes out like this. clean it up with a razor once it's dried.
run a final bead of silicone around the entire edge of the glass box.
flip the box over then place silicone edge on top of metal planter, making sure there's enough edge near the center left over for some metal mesh to rest on it.
** DISCLAIMER! I have used my picture frame glass over and over in this firepit WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS AT ALL!
It is sudden temperature changes that causes glass to break, not necessarily heat. So if you were to take your hot, hot fire pit and throw it in the freezer, chances are it would break. Uneven heating and cooling of the glass is the secondary cause of breakage because it puts stress on the glass. Thin glass is LESS likely to be susceptible to uneven heating and therefore less likely than thick glass to break. This is not my opinion, it is scientific fact.
However, if you’re still frightened by this then go to a glass cutting facility and have tempered glass cut to size for your fire pit.
Also, I have purposely made this fire pit large to keep the glass away from any direct flame. Remember to do the same.**
Step #2 – Making the Pit
now that you have the structure, it's just a matter of tweaking it a little so you can have fire.
cut a piece of mesh (i used a cheapo grill grate from dollar store) to fit *exactly* inside your glass box. it will rest on the lip of the planter.
place your opened can of gel fuel in the centre of the planter.
place as much mesh as you need to cover the entire surface of the planter, resting mesh on the small edge of planter you've left inside the glass box.
it'll look something like this.
cover mesh loosely with rocks (you need some space in between the rocks to allow for oxygen so the fire will stay lit).
you're almost done
firsty ... admire what you've done for $25.
Step #3 – Light your fire
clear the rocks away from above the gel fuel can and carefully light the gel fuel. i use an advanced technique. i light the end of a piece of spaghetti. whole wheat of course.
i would rule on survivor, provided i'm allowed to bring a piece of spaghetti.
there you have your fire pit! $25. plus as an added bonus, depending on what type of fuel you use, you can also use this fire pit *indoors*!!!
What makes this fire pit so amazing is the glass. The flames reflect against it creating dancing flames all over the place! Before I get to the final pictures with the fire pit in it’s rightful home in my back yard I wanted to let you in on a few tips.
1. Make sure you buy gel fuel that’s meant for gel fireplaces. Gel cooking fuel will not work because it usually only creates heat, not an actual flame.
2. Like I said, if you use a proper gel fuel (Real Flame for example) you can actually use this fire pit indoors. Be careful to place it on heat resistant fabric so it doesn’t scorch your furniture. The metal conducts the flame heat a lot!
3. Make sure your rocks are heavy for their size. Rocks that are light are full of air and may explode!
4. You can use any metal planter for this. This was on sale, so this is the one I got for this little fire pit experiment. Black metal square planters that are probably on sale at garden centres right now would look fantastic with white rocks.
5. The gel cans last for about 3 hours, if you’d like to stop the flame earlier, just place something non flammable over the glass box to snuff out the flame. Cans can be relit at a later date or time.
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That’s it! That’s all it takes to make your own personal fire pit. $25, about an hour, and a piece of spaghetti. Oh … and a beautiful, golden, flaming match. Heh heh.
Via: http://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/how-to-make-a-personal-fire-pit-for-cheap/
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