Making your own DIY custom shape skillet (1 Viewer)

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alia176

alia176

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Curious if anyone has done what the title says and if so, did you go with any type of special mild steel? I was thinking of using 1/8" mild steel to make a weird shaped skillet for my camper's three burner stove. I can bend 1/8" and was hoping to have a drip rail on the perimeter then connect all three sides together. Finally, I'll have a hole one one side where the grease can fall into a can that'll be located under it.

Do I need a special type of steel for this project or just any mild steel that I'll need to properly season?
 
i believe any mild steel would be fine. a friend of mine made a 2'x3' griddle from just plain mild steel 3/16" thick. it was for his scouts troop n they're still all alive
 
I would not hesitate to use mild steel (after some serious disk sanding to remove scale, corrosion, roughness etc).

Depending on what you want do on the sides, if you have a welder, it might be very easy and fast to just weld some sides on the main griddle plate, I think, especially if you have to get the welder out to do the seams after bending anyway. And fun extra welding practice. If you want side uprights and if you make them with thin enough sheet metal, you can bend it by hand to follow the odd shape, even rounded shapes. Very easy.
 
JohnVee said:
@alia176 Let's see it when you're done. BTW, I've been using the hell out of your old burrito basket!
Click to expand...

LOL, glad you're making use of the burrito basket and I'm missing it. I've got heat up the WAZOO in the engine bay now but not an elegant way to heat up things :bang:

Thank you Eric for your feedback. I'll use 1/8" mild steel for everything and hoping to bend one side into a grease trough. I was looking at a Camp Chef griddle and will try to mimic their design and really like their grease trough. When I felt one, it looked like 1/8" steel with diffusers underneath.

Am I calling this thing the wrong name, should I be calling it a griddle? 🤔
 
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I could not open your link, but if you mean a trough along the sides, that might not be that easy to bend to shape with 1/8, I imagine, unless it's a simple V maybe, and I would think practically impossible if it's not a straight edge. Curious to see how you do it.
 
Hey @alia176 have you seen the griddle top I made for my quick-n-dirty grill? It's just a piece of 3/16" mild steel. I used a piece of angle iron as a grease trough and use an aluminum can to catch the grease.
MVIMG_20200804_125103.jpg
 
I remember that now but thanks for providing the details. I need to get some 3/16"
 
alia176 said:
Curious if anyone has done what the title says and if so, did you go with any type of special mild steel? I was thinking of using 1/8" mild steel to make a weird shaped skillet for my camper's three burner stove. I can bend 1/8" and was hoping to have a drip rail on the perimeter then connect all three sides together. Finally, I'll have a hole one one side where the grease can fall into a can that'll be located under it.

Do I need a special type of steel for this project or just any mild steel that I'll need to properly season?
Click to expand...
This is funny: I'd like a custom made one that fits just right in my camping box...
 
I am also thinking along the same lines. I actually want something lighter in weight than the Lodge griddle I'm currently using. The Lodge is also about an inch too small in both directions to get the most out of my Coleman dual burner stove. I'm thinking 1/8" thick rectangle with a 1/2" to 3/4" side wall around three sides, drip catch in the front.
1631045508480.png
 
From what I've gathered, 3/16" thickness seems to be a common theme with Camp Chef and DIY. Quite possibly, 1/8" material might warp with the heat, even though the sides are going to keep everything tied together.
 
I think I'd want to have a side or front grease trough to be able to clean up the surface easily while or between cooking. And relatively low sides that are not in the way.
And especially a griddle that is overall easy to clean afterwards (especially especially if I'm in bear country... stay away Mr. Griz!)
 
If I was going to make a griddle like that is out of mild steel I would take the time to really polish the cooking surface. It will help tremendously to keep food from sticking.
 
leonard_nemoy said:
If I was going to make a griddle like that is out of mild steel I would take the time to really polish the cooking surface. It will help tremendously to keep food from sticking.
Click to expand...

By polishing, you mean use finer and finer sanding discs until the surface is super smooth and shiny?
 
and then/or you could season it. Best way I've found to do this for larger items is to put it on the grill at 400F or so and periodically spray a light coat of veggie oil (PAM etc) on it when hot. Let bake on for 15 or 20 mins and repeat 2 or 3 x.

But of course if you rely on the seasoning to prevent sticking then super polishing won't make much difference.
 
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