Burn Baby Burn

I like to make stuff out of stuff. Most of the time I think I am the first person to have such crazy ideas. More often than not, if you look around the internet you find there are no new ideas. I don't care. To me, the crap I dream up in my head has never been thought of before. Never. It's a new idea to me, and I just roll with it. I think the brightest spark of creativity lies in seeing what a thing can become, rather than in what it is now. 

And so I give you the 'Oil Drum I Cut in Half Lengthwise and then Stuck on Top of Things I Found on the Side of the Road' firepit thingies. I'm still working on the name. Creativity has its limits.

OK, so I found these things on the side of the road. Really. They were put out for trash. I have no idea what they were, but I knew they would be perfect for my fire pit thing. I do not hesitate to pull over at the sight of some good lookin' garbage. I'm a picker and proud of it! I already had the wonderfully rusty, old barrel sitting in the garage waiting for its next incarnation.                      Math, geometry, and numbers are not my forte, but I knew I had to find the center of the barrel and mark a line all the way around to get two equal halves. I located the weld line on the side of the barrel, and got out my chalk line string thing. I used the string as a plumb line to find the exact opposite spot on the rim, then I wrapped the string around the barrel lengthwise until the ends met up. Somehow this worked perfectly for me. I'm sure there is an easier mathematical way, but hey, whatever works, right? 

Pop a metal cutting blade in a reciprocating saw, and get to it! {don't forget the earplugs and safety glasses. seriously! i have snapped a bunch of blades during my DIY career and a few close calls taught me the value of eye protection.}

Take your time, cut straight, and you will be done in no time. This was easily the quickest project I have ever done. If you aren't lucky enough to find the perfect legs on the side of the road, you can always just use some cinder blocks, or pavers, or other non-combustible support system. 

Gather wood, friends, beer, marshmallows, and have a lovely night 'round the fire! 

{p.s. ~ if you don't have a reciprocating saw, a jigsaw will work and is much easier to handle. just be sure to have the proper blade.}