DIY Packable Fire-Irons

I saw the idea somewhere along the way so I can’t claim the idea as an original concept.

I can’t remember where or when I saw it. I wish I could so I can credit the idea. All my Googling turned up nothing like it. That’s not to say there isn’t. It’s just to say I haven’t found it. So if I’m stepping on someone’s patent, I apologize up front. The encroachment is purely accidental.

What I do remember about what I saw was that I liked the idea but it was made from thin flat bar material. I didn’t care for what I saw. I figured the thin flat bar would get hot fast and bend under the weight of something sitting on it so I kept my bucks in my pocket.

Back during the winter, when it was fun to build fires and cook over them, I decided to play around with some salvaged 3/16^th round stock. I wanted to make a set of folding fire-irons that were lightweight but strong and packable … something that would be ideal for solo trips.

This particular metal round stock comes from one of those tripod style flower stands that florists attach arrangements to (commonly seen at Visitations and in cemeteries). Very few of these sources for metal are ever recycled. Most of them are left behind and eventually thrown away.

I cut two pieces 14 inches long, figuring this length would be neither too short or too long, then used my forge to heat one end of the two pieces just hot enough to flatten them a little.

[Here’s a little tip. Hammering and flattening the ends hardens them. Heating them a little after flattening them makes it a lot easier to center punch where you will be drilling the two 3/16^th inch holes that have to be drilled. Without center punching the two pieces, it’s really hard for a bit to get a bite when you start drilling.]

I used a flat washer on the slotted side and one on the nutted side of the 1/8^th inch threaded screw. I also spun on a nut between the two halves as a spacer before adding the outside flat washer and nut.

The next step was to use side cutters to trim the length of the diminutive bolt leaving about 1/8^th of an inch showing before peening it on the anvil to flatten the excess screw to insure the rig would never come loose. A little touching on the grinder finished rounding the ends.

These stands come with a heavy coat of baked on enamel paint that is a real chore to sand off. I quickly gave up on sanding, built a hot fire, and put the painted fire-irons into the fire. It was a cold Lower Alabama morning and sitting by a hot fire felt good. A quick wire brushing finished the creation process.

It was a fun little DIY project that yielded a very usable take-along tool.

I also found that the 14-inch length is ideal.

What?

You don’t have a forge?

A forge isn’t necessary for a small project like this. 

A good bed of red hot hardwood coals will heat the small diameter metal enough to make if workable.