So I have a few questions, and thank y'all for the encouragement. My OCD is killing me with this door haha.
Im not really wrapping my head around how hinge placement will make a difference...
What thickness and width flat staple is best for the flanges?
Do you gap the flat staple off the door when mounting it?
If so with what?
With the hinge point at or over the door, when you lift the lid the edge of the door moves downward contacting the cook chamber. With the hinge point behind the door and over the cook chamber the door edge lifts away from the cook chamber the instant you lift the door.
For a visual....Hold a pencil horizontally in the middle and lift one end of the pencil...the other end drops.....hold it at the end and lift the other end...the whole pencil lifts....
Thank y'all for the help and kind words. I got some more done this morning on the FB door and I think it turned out real nice. All I've got left is the vent holes and the latch.
Thanks guys. Are y'all bracing the back of the FB door?
So I'm getting to the point where I'm fixing to need to do the stack. I originally was just going to square tubing flush mounted to the CC, no particular reason other then I liked the look. Now that I've seen the manifold style like Franklin's I'm leaning more towards that. There's just not a lot of topics on that style. Any info on how to size the opening or pros/cons of this style?
Thanks guys. Are y'all bracing the back of the FB door?
So I'm getting to the point where I'm fixing to need to do the stack. I originally was just going to square tubing flush mounted to the CC, no particular reason other then I liked the look. Now that I've seen the manifold style like Franklin's I'm leaning more towards that. There's just not a lot of topics on that style. Any info on how to size the opening or pros/cons of this style?
Yes to the bracing. Inside the door or out.
I built a manifold for the stack. I made mine the whole width of the CC and the same height as the diameter of my stack. In my case, 24" by 6". I placed it at the same height as my bottom rack. Here are a few pics of how I put it together:
Most guys do the like dacolson has his with the wide collector but I've seen them with the stack turned 90 degrees into the cook chamber. The only ''rule'' is that your collector is equal size or larger than the stack opening, you don't want any restriction.
Ok cool, I'm going to give it a shot. I decided to work on the CC door and cut the hinges off and flanges off. I tried to heat them up and tweak them but didn't have much luck. So, we'll see how that goes. Here are a few pics of the FB. I ended up getting the holes in the FB door cut out on a CNC table.
Well its been a few weeks since I have posted but i didnt have much progress to post. It took some time to rebuild the CC door, but i got it done and it closes much better. I also finished up the FB door and got the wheels and legs completely done. So its getting there, I hope to have the CC door handle and chimney done by the 4th. We’ll see
Thank you, I’m happy with the way its turning out so far for my first attempt. I got quite a bit done yesterday. I’ll get to work on it again Saturday, hoping to get it done then!
What size strap are y'all using? Are you shimming it off the cc door? 
