Back again with another Handbuilt Holiday gift plan and today it’s a fun kids play grill you can build from wood. Ana White and I are here every Friday to bring you a new gift build with free plans. I absolutely love building all the gift projects and this kids grill was so much fun.
A DIY tutorial to build a kids play grill. Make this kids sized play grill for your littlest BBQ lover complete with storage drawer and tool hooks.
Just look at all that grilling surface area! So good I could almost eat it. And there’s a bonus – this kids grill works indoors for year round fun.
Ana designed the plans for this kids play grill. It’s simple and has just the right amount of details to make it kid friendly and super cute.
And she added a warming / toasting ledge on the grill back just like the adult version. Plus there’s a generous shelf below and a side ledge for prep items. Ana thought of it all!
So click on over to Ana’s site here for the complete plans. And be sure to read down below for actual building process tips before you get started.
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When attaching the grill surface boards use a scrap piece of 1/2″ plywood as your spacer. This insures equal spacing between every board without having to measure. And I highly suggest painting the grill boards before attaching. I used Spax construction screws keeping the screw head visible as part of the grill design.
Then use painters tape to mask the grill surface before painting the remaining boards.
The control knobs are cut from wood dowels and spray painted. Once dry attach using wood glue and finish nails.
I opted to make the lower 1×4 apron into a drawer to make use of the space below the grill boards. For drawer glides I attached a 3/4″ square dowel on each side and a scrap 1×2 as the upper drawer glide.
To make the drawer front look like a grill vent mark the lines and use a 3/8″ forstner bit at each end.
Then complete cutting the vented portion using a jigsaw.
The drawer box is 1×3’s with a 1/4″ plywood base. Paint the drawer front first and once dry then attach to the box using wood glue and 1 1/4″ countersunk wood screws from the interior. Additionally, after the drawer is installed, add screw stoppers near the back sides of the drawer to prevent it from falling out onto kids toes.
Fill up with all the kids play grill accessories and use for storage.
I hope you enjoyed this week’s Handbuilt Holiday gift build. Please stop by next Friday when we share another fun gift plan to add to your project list.
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The grill is absolutely brilliant!! Any child would love to mimic daddy and his grill. Thank you for sharing it with us. Wayne
Thanks Wayne, it’s definitely a fun project to build and super sturdy too.
this is awesome! Every year I am amazed by the Christmas serie, so much fun…
I wish my kids were still young enough to play!
Thank you! Ana and I love putting it together and building all the fun things bring so much joy. I hope others find something to build for their family and friends for the holidays.
Up to how old do you think a kid would be for this?
This kids play grill is probably best for ages 2 – 6.
I love this grill, I’m going to make it for my son’s birthday. What size dowels do you use for the knobs?
Thanks Greg. I think the black piece was a 2″ and the red is 1 1/4″ but it was awhile ago so I don’t remember exactly. They were from my scrap bin so I just used what I had on hand.