Firepit

Baroness Anastasia's
Kick-Ass Firepit.
An adaptation from 15th & 16 century braziers

Lee tries out the brazier at home

We were watching Kenneth Branagh's Henry V, when Anne noticed the ornate brazier in the French court scenes. She turned to me, the resident engineer, and said; "That's what we need! Can you design a kick-ass firepit?"

A baroness' whim is a command; right?

The firepit was roughly patterned after charcoal braziers of the type used for interior heating. It can handle a 20" log, yet breaks down nicely for travel. Seth donated the sheet metal, and assisted in the cutting. Robert performed the necessary welding, and carved out night-time scenes featuring Northern Army stars and a different phase of the moon on each panel.

Inspiration:


A wheeled brazier from a miniature by Antonio di Niccolò, 1475.	A wheeled brazier, 16th century Germany

Construction:

The cut pattern in the lower right shows how all the sheet metal components were cut from a 2' x 4' panel. We used 14 gauge steel.

Pins were removed from four hinges, and the hinge plates (shown here in red) were then attached to the side panels, as suggested in the upper right.

The legs are lengths of pipe onto which are welded steel pins that are slightly smaller in diameter than the discarded hinge pins.

The corners of the pan were relieved as shown here. This allowed the sides to be folded up at 45 degrees, to meet as shown in the photo below. These corners were then welded closed.


Corner detail, showing the edges of the pan folded up, but not yet welded.	The pin from the leg extends upwards through the pan, and holds the hinge plates together.	The assembled brazier, before welding and artwork.

As you can see, the legs hold everything together. Pull them out, and the panels fall away from each other. We stow the panels and legs in the pan for travel, along with a cooking grill and ash shovel. The total package measures less than 3 x 24 x 28".

At Seth's suggestion, drain holes were later added to prevent rainwater from accumulating in the pan. These were made outside the firebox, one in each corner.

The brazier has seen several years of use, and has held up well. Experience has shown that it is best assembled upside down.

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Photographs and other content are copyright 2006 by John Wilson unless otherwise credited.
This web site was created and is maintained by John and Lee Wilson. Do not remove back panel; there are no user serviceable parts inside.
Last updated 1/11/2006