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Sep 21, 2023

Build A Pizza Oven At Home

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Bake your favorite pies anywhere with this portable oven we designed.

Pizza ovens have exploded in popularity in recent years. We've tested a bunch of them and can see why. A good pizza oven can cook a fantastic artisan pizza in less than two minutes—and you can make it any way you like. That's especially convenient if folks in your family never agree on toppings. In 10 minutes, you can crank out three 12- to 14-inch pies. Everyone gets what they want.

During one round of testing, we got to thinking: How difficult would it be to make your own portable pizza oven? There are plenty of plans around for brick pizza ovens, but not too many for smaller, portable, propane-fired ovens you can use anywhere: on your patio, at a friend's barbecue, or even camping. So, we launched into this DIY pizza oven project. The body is made from brushed stainless steel we found at our local salvage yard and the pizza stone comes from Amazon. Making the burner was the most challenging part and required repeat tries to get it working well enough to get the pizza stone up to temp.

If you want to do this project, we've listed materials and tools for it below. It helps to have a couple of specialized tools, like a metal bending brake and a bandsaw, but they aren't necessary. I've used a vise and metal bar stock to clamp and bend sheet metal for years—having the brake for this job was a luxury. And while a bandsaw or sheet metal shear makes cutting easier, there are plenty of other options for cutting sheet metal. Cut-off wheels on angle grinders and circular saw blades designed for metal are just two possibilities. One word of caution: If you're using stainless steel, some cutting tools might heat up and discolor the finish.

Before assembling the burner, there are a couple things you'll need to do. First, you'll need to drill and tap the 6–inch brass pipe nipple so that you can install the propane nozzles. Drill four 17⁄64–inch holes, 1 1⁄4 inches apart, then thread the holes with a 5⁄16–24 tap. The next thing you'll need to do is drill out the tiny orifice in the propane nozzle using a 5⁄64–inch drill bit.

After we finished building the pizza oven, we discovered the burner was susceptible to wind, occasionally pushing the flames out the back. So, we added this intake hood that shields the burner and creates a better draft to keep flames headed where they should be going. When using the oven, it's best to orient the back of the oven towards the wind.

To fire up your pizza oven for the first time, connect the adjustable regulator to the propane tank and to the flare fitting on the burner. Turn the adjustable regulator off, the valve on the propane tank to open, and open the gas valve on the oven. Slowly turn on the regulator until you hear gas coming out, then hit the igniter. After you hear the burner ignite, you can look in and adjust the flames until they're just licking at the top of the pizza oven door at the front. Let it burn off for about 25 minutes or so before you use it the first time. It will generally take about 15 minutes to warm up, depending on temperature and wind.

Now, go make some pizza!

Brad Ford has spent most of his life using tools to fix, build, or make things. Growing up he worked on a farm, where he learned to weld, repair, and paint equipment. From the farm he went to work at a classic car dealer, repairing and servicing Rolls Royces, Bentleys, and Jaguars. Today, when he's not testing tools or writing for Popular Mechanics, he's busy keeping up with the projects at his old farmhouse in eastern Pennsylvania.

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