Time to manufacture custom grill grates for better searing. Here’s how I did.
I needed to get the grill grates further down, closer to the fire. The closer to the fire, the better the sear. So I measured the largest diameter, in my case it was 32 cm (12.6″). I bought 6 meters of round bar, 6 mm (just shy of 1/4″). Inspiration comes from the Big Green Egg original grates, I like their thickness, they’re easy to clean.
I started by manufacturing a wooden jig out of two boards. I glued and screwed them together. These were used to shape the ‘frame’.
I mounted it in a vice and started shaping the frame by hand.
Once done I cut it to length and trimmed the ends so they would fit nicely together.
I welded the ends together and did some grinding. Quick and easy, and it looks good.
I then mounted the frame on the jig again, and did some work on it to even out the circle. I then pulled it up close to the edge, so I could continue mounting the straight bars on a flat surface.
Now’s the time to weld the first bar in place. I trimmed the ends of each bar to mount it flat on the frame.
The second bar is important, as it determines the spacing for all other bars.
Here’s how it looks when all bars are in place.
Finally it’s time to fabricate the legs. I made a small cut where to bend them, then welded the ‘knee’.
The grates will be ‘upside down’, or hanging, so they extend further down, closer to the fire.