Vintage

On to the Grill!

I found a really good grill to make in the May 2006 issue of American Miniaturist. The only problem with this grill is that is it round. The grill used at our family cookouts is long. The grill is a charcoal grill/smoker.

I used two Wilton squeeze bottles (used to make candy) as the barrel and lid for the cooker. I cut off the top of each 3 inches from the base and cut along the bottles seam line. I glued them so each half would form the end of the grill. I did the same with the second bottle to form the lid.

After gluing the bottom and top of the grill, I added legs and a shelf at the bottom. The legs are made from wooden skewers. I used my scissors to start the holes and then uing the sharp end of the skewers, I pushed the legs into the grill. I cut the pointed ends off as well as the extra length. Using plastic canvas, I cut a square out to form a hole for the legs and to make a shelf.

Next I used plastic canvas to make the grate to hold the charcoal. And used a plastic bendable drinking straw to make the smoke stack on the lid of the grill. To attach the lid to the grill, I had to use miniature angle molding, gluing one side to the barrell and the other side to the lid. I still have to resolve a weight issue as the back of the grill is heavy and wants to tip over backwards. I plan to add a wooden shelf to the fron of the grill, hoping that will balance things. UPDATE: Adding the shlf and gluing the grilling tools on it did help to balance the grill.