# Homemade Fire Pokers



## claybe (Dec 3, 2014)

I don't like my fire poker and have been contemplating making my own. I would love to see some pictures of some homemade pokers to get some ideas!


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## claybe (Dec 3, 2014)

Also if you have a poker that is good and not homemade post that too


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## 2PistolPacker (Dec 3, 2014)

I bought this one at Home Depot, nothing fancy, but exactly what I wanted.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded-Fireplace-Poker-FTA05B/204399654


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## BrotherBart (Dec 3, 2014)

Those are the only ones I have used for years. Love the things.

I have a megabucks fireplace tools set that has never been touched. Sits by the stove for looks and I grab the HD poker every time. Upstairs, downstairs and at the fire pit.


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## highanddryinco (Dec 3, 2014)

Funny you should post this today. Just made this one last week. Haven't even had a chance to put a finish on it yet. $7.00 worth of iron from the scrap yard.
Plenty strong, probably too much so. But then again, you never know when you're going to have to go all Walter Sobchak on a stranger.


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## JTRock (Dec 4, 2014)

TSC makes one similar to the depot one shown. Same price, does the job well


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## DuckDog (Dec 4, 2014)

I just ordered a set from a local blacksmith.  Same guy that built my stoveside wood holder. Not cheap by any means but it supports a local guy who  is carrying on a tradition. I look at it as functional art. Plus it will literally last a lifetime.

www.forgedincanada.com


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## 7acres (Dec 4, 2014)

My current poker is a metal tubular golf club shaft I removed the club from. As long as I remember to use the proper grip the coals don't hook or slice on me. There's a small hole in the handle end I enlarged to let do double duty as an awesome stoker too (provided my lungs function as the bellows). At first it was the only thing handy I grabbed to use in a pinch. Now I'm very pleased and content with it.


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## BobUrban (Dec 4, 2014)

I support my local blacksmith for all my primitive steel tool needs and he doesn't work cheap(unless your his close friend and then he just gives stuff to you so he has a reason to make more)  

He makes knives, hawks, axes and hatchets too

If you want a custom poker PM me and I will hammer one out per your description - albeit with a little artistic liberty.


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## 7acres (Dec 4, 2014)

BobUrban said:


> I support my local blacksmith for all my primitive steel tool needs and he doesn't work cheap(unless your his close friend and then he just gives stuff to you so he has a reason to make more)
> 
> He makes knives, hawks, axes and hatchets too
> 
> If you want a custom poker PM me and I will hammer one out per your description - albeit with a little artistic liberty.



Wow, that is some _very_ nice steel there!


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## Jags (Dec 4, 2014)

...And I was just getting ready to throw Bob under the bus.


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## rideau (Dec 4, 2014)

DuckDog said:


> I just ordered a set from a local blacksmith.  Same guy that built my stoveside wood holder. Not cheap by any means but it supports a local guy who  is carrying on a tradition. I look at it as functional art. Plus it will literally last a lifetime.
> 
> www.forgedincanada.com[/quote]
> DuckDog, I'm on the Rideau in Portland....curious, how much was the poker?  Might get a rake made to my design....


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## EatenByLimestone (Dec 4, 2014)

highanddryinco said:


> Funny you should post this today. Just made this one last week. Haven't even had a chance to put a finish on it yet. $7.00 worth of iron from the scrap yard.
> Plenty strong, probably too much so. But then again, you never know when you're going to have to go all Walter Sobchak on a stranger.




That's what I use.  They were home made but not by me.


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## NinjaTech (Dec 4, 2014)

EatenByLimestone said:


> That's what I use.  They were home made but not by me.



This is my temp one right now till the hand made ones I ordered are finished.

Looks like fidos butt, but gets the job done.


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## BrotherBart (Dec 4, 2014)

Decent pokers are all over the place. Ash/coals rakes are scarce as hen's teeth. Had to make one from the parts of a a old fireplace tool set.


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## rideau (Dec 4, 2014)

Yes, Brother Bart.  I think I want one shaped rather like a snow plow, so I can push or pull the ash and coals to one side easily.


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## KD0AXS (Dec 4, 2014)

BrotherBart said:


> Decent pokers are all over the place. Ash/coals rakes are scarce as hen's teeth. Had to make one from the parts of a a old fireplace tool set.
> 
> 
> View attachment 146609


I stumbled across this kids' garden hoe at Lowe's for 5 bucks. Works great. I actually thought it was just a plastic toy when I first saw it, but when I picked it up and found it was all steel it went right in the cart.


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## rideau (Dec 4, 2014)

I have a well designed rake, which I bought from Woodstock.  The idea is similar to the child's toy posted above.  It is fine for a front load door, not so useful for a side load.  Hence, my desire for a different rake.


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## BrotherBart (Dec 4, 2014)

The ones for Big Green Egg grills are nice but stupid expensive.


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## Bagelboy (Dec 5, 2014)

That's what I use, a kids garden hoe. I've had it 2 years now. It is the best fireplace tool I own. It was impossible to rake coals forward with my fireplace tools, but once I got that, it is a breeze to pull them forward!


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## Osage (Dec 5, 2014)

Here's what I did. Used an old garden rake. Have one in the house and one in the shed.


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## bsruther (Dec 5, 2014)

Osage said:


> Here's what I did. Used an old garden rake. Have one in the house and one in the shed.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That's a great idea. Been trying to come up with something I could make a coal rake out of and what could be simpler than to just use a rake, duh.
I have more than enough rakes, so that won't be a problem. I think I may have to procure one of the wife's shepherd's poles though.


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## Huntindog1 (Dec 5, 2014)

I bought a stove shovel I think at Tractor Supply at the end of season clearance.

Put it in the vice and flattened it and put a L shape bend in it so I can push and pull coals and ash around in the stove.

Here is a pic of it with out the bend.


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## bsruther (Dec 5, 2014)

It ain't pretty, but it will work. Thanks for the idea. Guess I gotta get more stove paint now. The handle is the extra spring handle from my 30, fit perfectly on the shepherd's pole.


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## Osage (Dec 5, 2014)

bsruther said:


> It ain't pretty, but it will work. Thanks for the idea. Guess I gotta get more stove paint now. The handle is the extra spring handle from my 30, fit perfectly on the shepherd's pole.
> 
> View attachment 146650


 
Like the spring handle idea.


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## edyit (Dec 5, 2014)

I made my coal rake out of an old fire hydrant marker, I like the long handle for when pulling coals from the back of the stove.


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## wahoowad (Dec 5, 2014)

rebar. great balance. doubles as home defense


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## DBoon (Dec 5, 2014)

I use a piece of cut off rebar for a poker and an old garden rake (without the wooden handle, which rotted off).  The garden works really well to bring coals to the front.


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## csween (Dec 6, 2014)

I made an ash/coal rake using a cheap fireplace shovel, 3/4 dowel, and some scrap steel. Took the shovel and cut it off after the handle leaving enough metal to bend and flatten against the rake blade which was then riveted on. 3/4 dowel fits snugly in the end of the handle and made the overall length 30" since I have a deep stove. Also made the height of the blade 1/4" less then the width between the firebricks of the ash clean-out so I can turn it sideways and clean that area easily before putting the plug back in. Sprayed some stove paint on everything and done. Works great but wish I had more teeth and they were a little deeper so scraping less ash but I can redo the blade easy enough. Total cost about $6.00.


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## claybe (Dec 6, 2014)

Great stuff!  I guess I need to make an ash coal rake now too . Keep the ideas coming


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## claybe (Dec 6, 2014)

BobUrban said:


> I support my local blacksmith for all my primitive steel tool needs and he doesn't work cheap(unless your his close friend and then he just gives stuff to you so he has a reason to make more)
> 
> He makes knives, hawks, axes and hatchets too
> 
> If you want a custom poker PM me and I will hammer one out per your description - albeit with a little artistic liberty.


Bob, can you post some more close ups of your set there. Also can you PM me how much it would cost to get a knife like the one that looks like a deer antler handle?  Very nice worksmanship!!


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## BobUrban (Dec 6, 2014)

Best I can do. Its tough due to the length of the tools and getting all the detail into the pic.  Mine(this set) are pretty plain and minimalist because that is what I like. The set I made my friend has Diamond plate on the shovel and matching twists in the shafts.  These just got hammered shaft material to give a more distressed look and all my handles are the same because that is what I like and they feel good in the hand.  The stand has matching flipped ends and a strange ball thing on top because it just didn't look finished and I wanted to have a means to grab all three tools at once and move the stand.  I started to hammer out a ring and them remembered the steel ball I had whipped up and decided to add that to the top instead.  It started out as a bolt and a lot of wire fed through the mig later - whola, a steel ball.  If you search the archives there are quite a few of my knife pics floating around here and I have 100's of knife pics on my computer.  Just a hobby - turned obsession - not unlike firewood gathering 

The coal sifter was an afterthought.  It was a tool oft discussed here so I whipped one up to match my set but it never gets used.


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## CenterTree (Dec 6, 2014)

KD0AXS said:


> I stumbled across this kids' garden hoe at Lowe's for 5 bucks. Works great. I actually thought it was just a plastic toy when I first saw it, but when I picked it up and found it was all steel it went right in the cart.


LOL. I have the exact same hoe and I also got the matching RAKE that was there with it.   They work fine.


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## bebop (Dec 7, 2014)

Works great, can't ruin it.


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## dougand3 (Dec 7, 2014)

For the gophers, er, golfers out there...


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## MasonsDad (Dec 7, 2014)

I could not find a good coal rake and could defiantly not find one I like so I had this made at work. I am fortunate to own a company that does manufacturing so all my guys with stoves got one too


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## tinman1 (Dec 9, 2014)

MasonsDad said:


> View attachment 146919
> 
> I could not find a good coal rake and could defiantly not find one I like so I had this made at work. I am fortunate to own a company that does manufacturing so all my guys with stoves got one too


I modified this shovel to a coal raker


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## ewlsey (Dec 9, 2014)

I made my own ash rake. I don't really use a poker. It's probably not fair to call it "homemade" though, since I own a CNC machine shop (no CNC needed for this project).


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## csween (Dec 9, 2014)

Went back to the drawing board and redesigned the blade with deeper/narrower teeth so only raking coals. When I want to rack ash I just flip it over.


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## claybe (Dec 10, 2014)

csween said:


> Went back to the drawing board and redesigned the blade with deeper/narrower teeth so only raking coals. When I want to rack ash I just flip it over.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nice


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