First ~160 gallon build starting in Finland

[rikun]

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 edge for the FB to CC cut-out somehow.

Also cut the hole for smoke stack, it's a bit loose fitting. Welding is going to be challenging, I'd imagine.





On the upside, the cnc plasma works perfectly, going to start cutting out firebox pieces soon

[Big T]

Those rough edges will clean up fine.

[SmokinFF]

If you weld flat stock on your doors for trim, you won't even see those cuts. No worries!!

[bluecatfish]

They used to tell me when I was planting cotton you could get more cotton on a crooked row! Maybe you can get more meat in a smoker with a door with a crooked cut! A little trim and a little paint on the door and no one will ever know about the crooked cut.

[rikun]

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

[rikun]

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

[Gizmo]

My last build was only 18", Edgar was 20", Eli was 13", Earl was 10.5", Barbie was 5" (okay she's just weird)
I don't think there is a minimum/maximum just what you like. As long as it still hits the correct total volume - that's what matters most.

[Rev.Mike]

[rikun]

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 and I tried to align smoke stack exit dead center on the ground. I then used a flat bar as a guide, leveled it on top of the cylinder and measured my segment height from there to center and sides. However when I connect the dots, they don't line up at all.

edit: I think I got it, used a highly technical tool to scribe the line: pen taped to a straightedge

But I think I didn't cut the doors low enough, I'm a bit short on the vertical space inside...

[Gizmo]

Now you got ME confused …..

[SmokinFF]

I was gonna try and throw and answer out, but all I could think of was...?

[Rodcrafter]

I have a question, when you showed us the picture of the plasma cut. What was that half moon cut for? I say that because it is too small of an opening for the throat from the FB to CC considering the size of the CC. As for the question you asked about cutting the notch, if I understand your dilemma correctly, I would say set your tank up right (top dead center), make a mark to indicate that position. Then using a wrap a round or cloth measuring tape measure down from that mark both sides to the point you will set your BP, mark the front and the back. This has set the top of your FB as well, next decide how far under the CC you are going to place your FB if at all.

jm2cw

[rikun]

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 light outside. It's not completely straight or smooth, so I guess I'll need to do some grinding when I'll weld the FB on.

The plasma cut picture was just a small test piece to see if the machine could pierce 0.4" thickness. The real half moon cut out will be pretty much 110.40 square inches as the calculator suggests...

[Clover Ridge Smokers]

Glad it worked out. I too was confused and at one point was starting to think you were building something other than a smoker.

[Rodcrafter]

[rikun]

I think this post on another site explains the difficulty of marking the cut-out pretty nicely:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/1214 ... w-build/20

Got the trailer to my place yesterday, did some calculations and it should work even though it's pretty short. I calculated the center of gravity of my finished smoker in Sketchup with a handy plug-in, looks like it should just fit.

I'll get started on the firebox and grates next

[rikun]

Here's a pic of the notch cut out (it's still a bit intact).



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...?

[rikun]

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 welding it to the firebox side.

Do you think it would reduce potential hotspot? I could also leave very little air (around 1") between the FB top and RF plate, but would so little help at all?

Going to get started on the racks now, that should be interesting since I've never MIG welded before

[Big T]

It will definitely help with the hot spot, even with a 1'' air gap.

[rikun]

Thanks,

I'll make it all the way to the end then and leave an air gap between the FB

[rikun]

Finally got something done,

Cut all the FB plates with the plasma cnc, it worked pretty well



Today I'm going to cut out everything that doesn't belong to the tank, and then start welding the FB.

[Rodcrafter]

Nice work with that plasma cutter. I would have to agree with Big T on the 1" gap making a difference. As for the hole, if you couldn't just have a local fab shop run a piece of plate through their rolls, I would take a piece and tack one end of it to the outside of the tank, heat, hammer and tack it into shape. Then cut it it off and cut it to fit the hole and tack and fit it in place. I know it sounds like a lot of work and it is, but it is doable. This picture is a collar of pipe I needed but din't have so I made one like I mentioned. Yes it was easier than your piece.

[rikun]

Thanks,

That's exactly how I imagined patching the hole, although I was delusional enough thinking I didn't need to get it rolled elsewhere. Now that I've tried to bend that patch myself, I'm sure I need someone with a roll

The problem is with the heat, it's really hard to get it hot enough with a weed burner, I think I would need oxy-acetylene or a big forge. Or a really calm day, I can't use the weed burner anywhere inside.

I have around 1" of gap as of now between the FB and BP. I could've had even more gap by lowering the FB around an inch, but I though I'll mess up with the throat anyway so I needed some leeway

Got everything cut from the tank today that didn't belong there, I'm really glad 99% of the cutting is done. Now I can start putting things together

[Rodcrafter]

Yes, there is no way a weed burner could get it hot enough. It wouldn't be easy with a torch and a rose bud. But it could be done.

[rikun]

Finally got back at it after a long hiatus and managed to get some work done in last few weeks. I've had my fair share of problems with the tank, it had many big holes to patch and at some point the whole tank popped outwards in the center. Got an awesome tip on how to get it back to correct radius:



Got the huge hole somewhat patched, a kind guy rolled me a plate to match the tank. Well, almost. Had to do some fine-tuning to get it to match (radius and pretty big gaps to fill). Also filled the small gaps without too much problems:





I got the big gaps barely filled with my mig, but when I ground down the welds for good appearance, there wasn't enough material and few small holes appeared. They are microscopic and I can see through them with bright light pointed from under the weld seams.

Do you think I'll have operating troubles with my smoker with these small air leaks? Should I just run a bead over them and think function over form?

Also got some work done on the firebox, I ran a 1/8" 6013 (we don't have 6010 here in Finland) at 125A first for good penetration. Well, actually I had to redo a lot of it because I needed some practice. I think I got decent penetration, this is the best one shown from the inside (welded from the outside open corner joint):



The other seams aren't that good, do you think I should weld them from the inside also? Personally I think it'll hold since we are not building anything structural... I'll run a a few passes of 7018 over that 6013 also to build up the weld seam and to provide better appearance. Are there any negatives if also welding from the inside?

The welds probably aren't 100% sound, since I had a few "small gaps" to fill. I'll post some weld pics afterwards, but here's what I had to begin with:



I also got to a point where I could test fit the FB to the CC. Well, some more gaps on the underside. I think I'll try to re-cut the notch a bit better, can't deal with big gaps all over again



Next I'll finish the FB and weld it to the tank. Everything is going way more slowly than I imagined, I hope I'll get it done on time.