Mother's Rebar Log Holder

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Taint nothing as soul-satisfying in the dead of winter as a healthy fire cracklin' away in an open hearth (or any of the newer and more efficient fireplaces and wood-burning stoves now on the market). Nothin', that is, except the secure knowledge that you have plenty of cut, split, and dried fuel right at hand . . . to keep that of blaze snappin' and poppin' for the rest of the day and far into the night.

And that, of course, is perzackly the kind of security that the log holder shown here can provide. Just fill 'er up once . . . and you're set to ride out most any storm that OI' Man Winter is likely to throw your way during the coming months.

All you'll need to construct one of these fireplace accessories for yourself is a welding torch (or access to one), a tape measure, a hacksaw, and three 20-foot lengths of 3/8-inch rebar (construction reinforcing bar). And if you don't have—or can't use—a torch or an arc welder, no problem: Most professional welders (or scrap yard men or even body shop people) can be cajoled into making the necessary 13 welds for a reasonable flat fee.

Start the fabrication of the log holder by cutting one full length of the rebar exactly in half to create two pieces of the rod, each approximately 10 feet long. (It really doesn't matter a great deal precisely how long the lengths of rebar are . . . as long as they closely match.)

And while you're in the cutting "business", you might as well go ahead and ruse your trusty hacksaw to zip the remaining two lengths of rebar into one 63-inch long section, four 32-inch pieces, two 20- inch-long sections, and two 11-inch lengths of the rod.

OK. Now bend both 10-foot pieces of rebar around a tractor tire, truck tire, feeding tank, hot tub, an old telephone wire spool . . . anything that will form the rod into matching circles about 41 inches in diameter. Lay one of the rings flat on a cement floor, the ground, or any level surface and form an unbroken circle by welding the joint where its two ends butt together. Then roll the first ring out of the way and repeat the process with circle number two.

Next, bend the four 32-inch lengths of rebar into matching "V" shapes . . . each of which has one 20-inch-long and one 10-inch-long leg (the bend itself should use up about two inches of the bar). Then lay one of the big rebar rings flat on the ground and—opposite the circle's joint—weld on two of the "V" legs as shown. The long sides of the V-legs, you'll note, are mounted about 21 inches up from the ring's bottom and the short sides are tack welded about 26-1/2 inches apart.

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