Build it from scratch. Hi all!

[Texan79423]

Looks like a well though out plan. Drawn out very well and I bet you know all the weights too. Cool!

For what it is worth... You will spend a lot of time and money on your project. much more than you would expect. If you keep the pit (as planned) in the garage, keep it cleaned and out of the weather it may survive. I built a 1/4 trailer pit with 14 ga. storage boxes 22 years ago and I assure you with care and maintenance it will get passed on for years to come. Light weight metal and rust are you enemy.

[tuftbb]

Yes, I expect it to both cost more and take more time than I would expect. But this is one of those projects I want to savor anyway so I'm looking forward to it. I've thought of the rust factor so am trying to find the best spot to build it. No garage, but a few other options that should be weather-safe and have low humidity. And I do plan for it to last though out the ages.

[dwilliams35]

One thing to remember about those small welders is just what you're doing with it; it'll do a 3/16" deep weld in one pass. Even if you're welding 1/4" or 5/16", you're still going to get a weld that deep for the most part.. That's 50% or so more metal than your entire firebox was planned for before people here said to thicken it up... You're not going to do an x-rayed high pressure pipeline pumping flaming acid through a schoolyard here, chances are that "light" weld will do just fine for what you're doing.. Also, most welds on a pit will allow access to the back side; all of a sudden that 3/16" turns into 3/8. 3/16" worth of metal will hold a heck of a lot of load if your basic structure is sound..

I did a heck of a lot of welds on farm equipment with a 110 MIG before I upgraded machines. I'm sure I'd be laughed out of any group of real welders, told that it would never hold, etc... 20 years later, those welds are still holding; nobody told them they were insufficient and doomed to certain failure, I guess
..