Today I have a super-easy do-it-yourself project – one that will cost you about 10 minutes of your time and nothing else…
First I’ll give you the reason for this DIY:
There’s been a lot of hype this summer about the dangers of using metal-bristled brushes to clean your barbecue. Some brands are better than others, but there have been incidents of the metal wires coming loose and falling into your food.
Because of this, people have gravitated towards wood scrapers to clean their barbecues.
You can buy them online if you like, or you can take a few minutes and make a DIY barbecue scraper using just a saw and some scrap wood. (note: do not use pressure-treated or any chemically treated wood of any kind)
I had a scrap piece of 1 x 5″ cedar in the garage, so I cut it down to 12″ long.
I cut a 30° angle on one end – but Hubby says my angle should have been more acute than that.
I marked the centre point and then marked lines an inch out on either side of centre. I traced a paint can 2″ down from one of the short ends and only as deep in the long sides to meet up with the lines on either side of centre.
I haven’t had my Rockwell Bladerunner X2 out in a while so it was fun (and quick work) to use it again to cut out the half-circles.
I drilled a hole for a zip tie to go through and gave the DIY barbecue scraper a sanding all over.
That’s it for the building – you’re done!
You’ll need to create the grooves in the angled edge of the scraper. To do this, turn your barbecue on and let it heat completely. Rub your cedar scraper (angled side on the grill) back and forth in a straight motion until small grooves form in the wood.
Hubby fidgeted this one around a bit so you see doubled grooves – but can be corrected by reinforcing one set next time we use the barbecue.
I guess there is the potential of slivers in your food if the board breaks – but the likeliness isn’t high, so we’re going to go with this for now.
Ergonomic handle, easy build, will last for years, inexpensive (free) and highly effective at cleaning the grill – this project is a win all around!
Hang it by the zip tie next to the BBQ and throw out that nasty, metal-bristled one right away.
I guess you should go weed your patio now so your blogging friends won’t see all the weeds creeping through. F*!$ing photos always give away my dirty little secrets! lol
Have a great one!
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A comment and then a question —- this is a great idea, even if we’ve never had the wires of any of our cleaners getting into food (or falling off for that matter). I also love the simplicity of the idea. However, what is to say that splinters from the wood can’t get into food? Kowing that cedar is a great wood, I question that it’s any different from wire getting into food. You’re the pro – so what the answer as I’ll switch if you say wood is better! Thanks.
There are no guarantees that wood won’t splinter into your food – but cedar boards have been used in barbecues for ages for fish dishes etc. The only thing that might be better is that wood is a softer material than metal, especially when wet so if, by some mis-chance, a sliver did get into your food, I would guess it wouldn’t do quite as much damage to your throat or stomach.
Again, I am NOT a professional in this area, so you may want to further research.
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