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Hammered the notch cut-out loose, it looks pretty good (used a flat plywood to test fit). However it's a little bit lower than expected. The firebox top is going to sit at 8.66" from the bottom. Since it's so low, I'd have a change to extend the RF plate all the way to the end of CC instead of weldi...

Here's a pic of the notch cut out (it's still a bit intact). http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/280x200q90/198/qlru.JPG Here's the huge hole I'll need to patch, any tips for a first timer? I'm thinking some heat would be involved in shaping the patch and then some welding and grinding...? http://imagi...

I think this post on another site explains the difficulty of marking the cut-out pretty nicely: http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/121415/my-100-gallon-reverse-flow-build/20 Got the trailer to my place yesterday, did some calculations and it should work even though it's pretty short. I calculated th...

Yeah I confused even myself with that notch marking... I guess I got it about right, I used a block of wood of correct height on a level ground and went all the way around the tank's end with a pencil and the block. I cut out the FB to CC opening today, I'll post some pictures tomorrow when there's ...

Hi, What kind of guides are you using for plasma cutting your smokers? The straight ones are easy, but the curved cuts are tricky. I did some cuts freehand and decided that's wasn't the way with my hands :-) I'm trying new guides tomorrow, for the doors' curved cuts I'm using a ratchet strap with lo...

Thanks, Can someone give me any pointers how to measure the notch? I'm having _a lot_ of trouble with it, I've already cut out the doors and made a hole for the exit stack. For the last five hours I've been trying to mark the notch, just can't wrap my head around it at all.. My tank is upside down a...

One question, what's the minimum firebox height? I've drawn my firebox at around 23", is it enough?

I'll have to lock down my firebox dimensions pretty soon so I can start cutting

Thanks for the kind words, that was the second time I've cut with plasma.

I bought a second tank, around 80 gallons, which is going to be my "small" personal smoker. Probably going to do a offset design with tuning plates, just to get a feel for both types of cookers

Got the doors mostly cut (they're still intact so they won't fall off in transport). Freehanding the vertical cuts just after the sun went down was a bad idea, not very pretty. Probably need to do some grinding, even though the flanges cover the cuts when closed. I guess I'l try to make a straight e...

Hi, Beginner stick welder here, just started my smoker project and laid out some practice beads with 6013. What would you recommend for a 5/16" firebox root pass if 6011 was out of the question? I'm using a good quality 250 Amp AC welder. I haven't found a 6011 locally here in Finland, we use a diff...

Tucked in. I don't think I have any wasted height, ran the numbers quite a bit.

I was looking at them also, they are quite cheap here in Europe. I think it could cut 1/4" steel, but the problem is you can't really use a guide with them, so it's all freehand. Unless someone has ideas

Thanks, I'm going to cut the doors next week (getting to use plasma then). What's the minimum you would leave between the doors? I have now around 3.15" drawn. What's the best way to cut the vertical door cuts with plasma? Just freehanding or bending some flat bar for guide? I though of making a cir...

Damn, that's gonna make it a lot harder to weld in... I'm thinking the BP is going to have a drain in the middle and both plates sloped a little bit towards the drain. Do you think I would get a hotspot if I tucked my FB just to the edge of my CC so that no food would be on top of the FB part? That'...

Still haven't made a single cut, I know I'm overanalyzing a bit, but... What are the advantages of mounting my firebox lower and extending the baffle plate all the way to the end over the FB versus mounting my firebox higher and welding the baffle plate to my firebox? I already decided to mount my f...

They said you can also cure it at 400 for 3-4 hours. Even that's probably pretty hard to do, getting the air inside to 400 shouldn't be a problem, but the entire tank outer surface...

I guess I'll still use it, get it as hot as I can and hope for the best

Hi, I have cheap local source for high-temp paint rated for over 1400F. However the specs say it should be cured one hour at 750F. Any idea how to do that? Wouldn't getting the walls that hot even warp the metal? I asked them if the curing process could be done at a lower temperature for longer time...

8-) Yeah that's true, I'm just concerned how a "wild" cut-out would affect cooking. Or am I fine just by cutting out something almost uniform with around 50% open area...? I guess it's not so important in indirect... I marked my doors today, used existing welding seams on tank to measure straight li...

Good idea, But not nearly big enough ;) Is there any disadvantage to cutting my CC door bigger than 1/4 of the circumference? I'm thinking I want my first rack exactly at the center, so I'd either need to make my door bigger or make it further down than 3 o'clock position. That would leave me around...

Thanks for all the great advice, especially that tip for marking the door, never would've thought of that myself #-o My tank is actually 25.6" in diameter, probably a typo on my part previously. I checked the reverse flow plate by drawing it in Sketchup, the width seems to put it at the correct heig...

Hi all, After almost a year of hunting suitable tank, I found this: http://imageshack.us/a/img14/6803/c2m2.jpg It's around 160 gallons and measures about 6' long, diameter is 24.5". Everything is 3/16" steel. I'm planning to make it into a standard reverse flow design with two slidable racks and eve...

Hi, I have a really hard time finding a suitable tank / pipe for my first bigger smoker build (we don't really have propane tanks in Finland). Now I'd have an access to a huge spiral welded 3/8" pipe for reasonable price... Am I right thinking it wouldn't hold its shape after making the door cut? Ho...