Second build - 40" Propane tank offset

[SheffSmoker]

Been a while due to other commitments, but made a start on my 2nd build. Propane tank 40" long and 15" diameter.

Picked it up for next to nothing cost wise, around $20US.

Got the door cut and gave it a bit of a burn out. Before this was left stood with soapy water inside for 2 months. Without a pump to get rid of the water I just drilled a 5mm hole right at the bottom and let it pee out for a while.

Spent a good while getting the paint off the outside, and an odd very hard black coating on the inside which seemed to hold the smell of gas under it.

After taking the valve assembly off , the guard and the base, it was time to grind back and close the hole up left by the valve.

A circle of scrap cut out from one of the old gas bottles to fit snug inside the hole left.

Welded in using my new MIG with flux cored wire - it's an absolute joy to use after the old ARC buzzbox. This is after I ground back so it's all nice and smooth.

Got the legs cut ready for mounting - 30mm box section. Realised I didn't have a set square or 45 to scribe the cuts so just broke out the kids protractor and got creative with the scribe. Don't have the luxury of a bandsaw or anything with a set angle so this is all hand cut with the grinder and cutoff wheel.

Slow progress so far, taking my time with this one as I want it to be spot on.

[dacolson]

Can’t wait Sheff! Great looking start. Congrats on the new mig, too. Makes life so much easier when you have the right tools.

[Dirtytires]

Nice progress.

I think we all started out cutting box tube with a grinder and cut off wheel. Not the easiest method but it does get the job done. I found that it forced me to be accurate in my measurements and cuts as I didn’t want to have to do it again. Welding is a hobby where you can get started with just a grinder and a welder and then add convenience tools as you progress.

Probably would break down and get a small carpenters square tho.....lol!

[SheffSmoker]

Cheers Dave - spent a few quid on some fresh steel this time so should make life a bit easier.

You're not wrong DT - I do have a few but unfortunately not with me here so I'm just going to buy another cheap one!

Next task is the firebox. The smaller gas bottle come up too small in the calc (80%) so I'm going to do things the hard way again and lengthen it using the other spare one - cut a section out and weld it in.

[dacolson]

Glutton for punishment. Love it.

[SheffSmoker]

The weather has been rubbish here, putting paid to my outdoor welding.

Only had time to get the legs temp welded together just using a bit of angle for now to keep the shape. Will take them off and square up better once the CC is mounted on them.

Measured one set up then just laid the others square on top and welded more angle on. Not an exact science but works for me.

There was some raised lettering on the outside of the bell, I ground it flat the other week. After cutting the door and seeing inside I noticed it was actually stamped in from the inside, meaning the bit where I'd ground back was woefully thin. Fixed that by tracing the lettering with the mig so it's all uniform thickness again. Photo of outside.

Earlier before the heavens opened I was laying the CC on top of the legs ready for welding, but realised I needed to find TDC of the CC to mount it properly, as cut the door 1" above centre and 1" below 90 deg as per all the advice on here. I don't have a centre head square so as I was rained off I decided to design and 3D print one.

Very simple design, just a 90 deg square with an intersecting bar with one side as the 45 diagonal centre. I'll just stick my level to the edge and bingo. It's on the printer right now.

[dacolson]

Cool. I’ll send you my address. I’ll beta test it for you [emoji51]


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[SheffSmoker]

Ha! I'm sure you have an array of shiny tools that do the job properly, Dave

Just finished printing so tested it on the CC with the level held aside it, works well

[SheffSmoker]

Slow progress again due to a big old storm blowing it's way through, plus our clocks have changed for Winter now so it's dark by 5pm.

Got the CC mounted on the stand, forgot to take photos of that, will get some tomorrow.

Made a start on the door flanges. As I got quite a bit of warpage last time seam welding them, I decided on plug welding these - I also really like the look of it, like rivets. Drilled and countersunk the holes, started welding in the middle and worked round until it was just past flush with the CS and strap.

Without a ring roller or any posh tools, I freestyled it using an old cylinder, clamped and bent it by hand. I rushed the first so it had a couple of flat spots in it (it was about to chuck it down with rain), but the second came out near perfect. Hoped the clamp and weld bit by bit would pull the non perfect one in.

Both sides welded on and test fit on the CC. Bum. The non-rushed side is almost spot on, but the rushed one has tweaked the door in the corners quite a lot.

After a "Where the hell is that?!" argument with myself in the garage I realised my trolley jack is 200 miles away, and I don't have any heavy enough chain. I then remembered reading a method thejm used on his door, welding the inside to shrink it back. Worth a shot...

Well, bugger me. It only bloody works! I ran two beads vertical and one horizontal, let it cool and then test fit. Still not 100% but a load better than before! So, thank you - thejm - for that great titbit of knowledge.

Hoping to finish tweaking the door back tomorrow, get the top and bottom flanges on and then make some hinges. I'm using flat bar with M10 bolts, so I'm going to mock some up in CAD and 3D print them out so I have a template to work from.

[Dirtytires]

Looks like some good progress. Don’t get frustrated on the doors as they do take some time to get right

[dacolson]

I like those plug welds too. I Pre-bend my flanges by hand in a vice to get it as close as possible. And I’ll jump back and forth welding the plugs to spread the heat out, avoiding hot spots. Doors are tough. I do as much as I can to avoid adding any stress in the process.
Looking forward to seeing how the build progresses.

[SheffSmoker]

Cheers both. I did spread the welds out and give time to cool between each, just seems this one is fighting me somewhat. Now noticed the bottom of the CC door aperture is bowed inwards at each end slightly, which is not helping with the door fit obviously! I've got a few options there - lay some fat beads down and grind back to try and bring it square again, or just throw my tools in the air and run a thicker gasket than I was planning.

With no indoor shop or a nice friendly flat surface to work on I'm freestyling a lot of this. As much as I plan stuff out a lot doesn't end up working or lining up. I don't mind really, as I'm more of a visual hands on person than hours of blueprints and millimetre precision. Good job I'm not building a ship.

Just one photo today, from a few days ago - CC stood on it's legs. They are actually straight - fisheye effect from phone camera making them look wonky Both me and the wife are quite tall so raised it up so we're not bending over loading it up. The rails need re-doing straight and level for the shelf, they were just tacked on to keep the legs square whilst fitting to the CC.

[SheffSmoker]

On another note, the more I use this new welder the more I love it. Admittedly, with the flux cored wire it spatters like crazy from the flux, and the de-slagged welds take on a kind of blackened appearance, but the strength of them has been gorilla tested by me, and penetration is fantastic. I'm also finding it much easier to see the weld pool with the gas shroud nozzle removed - also helps getting into tight corners.

It also came with a stick torch, and a flip of the switch on the front changes it to a live torch MMA setup. Had a play with that and compared to my old AC stick welder it is an absolute joy to use! It is kinda weird though how silent it is stick welding, just the sizzle of the weld and no Frankenstein's lab 20,000V buzz.

[Dirtytires]

You don’t need the gas Shroud if you are using flux wire. My machine came with a separate, smaller cup to use with flux wire. If working without it is a problem, you might see if they make one.

[SheffSmoker]

It's not a problem at all, DT - makes life so much easier without it!

[SheffSmoker]

Made some hinges out of flat bar today. M10 bolt with a washer between each piece.

[SheffSmoker]

Been a slow few days. Done a lot more prep on the FB - the cylinder I have was 4" too short in the calcs, so chopped another 4" section out of another spare cylinder I have. Did a lot of umming and ahhing about how to proceed with the door - either a top loading style or an end loading door. Round door won, cut it quite deep onto the flat part so I can seal it up with some flat bar bent round it - fingers crossed.

Not welded together yet, but you get the idea.

Inside the door - you can see what I meant about the letters stamped in from the inside. These have now been filled in with weld so it's back to full thickness.

Before I weld the FB together, decided it's a good time to cut out the FB-CC mounting hole. As before, loads of head scratching trying to get the two domed ends to marry up with the correct throat size once together, so erring on the side of caution. Slowly slowly, catchee monkey. Bit more to grind back on the bottom, about half inch should have it but I'm doing a touch at a time and retesting fitment each time. Should be done tomorrow, but run out of daylight again.

[Big T]

Better safe than sorry so I don't blame you for taking your time.

[dacolson]

You’ve got a lot of patience my man. Nice work so far.

[Dirtytires]

Starting to look like a smoker!

[SheffSmoker]

Cheers all.

Good bit of progress today. Finished off the CC opening to a point I was happy with, less than 1mm gap in some places and snug in others. Next it was time to weld the sections of firebox together, and then get it welded to the CC,

Given the tight internal angle on this, and my lack of experience with gasless MIG wire I was chuffed with this weld.

You can see what I was dealing with - two rounded ends - headache and a long time of grinding, test fit, grinding, ad infinitum. I've taken a paper template of the eventual shape of the throat in case I do one of these again - which I really don't want to again in a hurry! Need to finish the weld round the side and underneath, but will flip the entire thing over to do it easier. my welding upside down days ended 15 years ago, and I still have the scar on the back of my neck to prove it.

Overkill I know, but ran a bead round the inside of the CC too - messy this one as it was going dark, and couldn't see where I was going half the time, but it's inside the CC so no one will see. Shh. Will cut the throat out from inside the CC with the template I have drawn up from the pitcalc.

Almost gave myself a hernia lifting it back inside the garage, so need to get some wheels on one end of it at least, and another short leg under the firebox as it's getting a little bit FB end heavy, so don't want it to topple over.

Forecast rain for the next few days so progress going to slow to none. Need to work out a FB door hinge with what tat I have laying around, so will probably do that tomorrow.

[Big T]

[dacolson]

The finish on the tanks is cool. Are you going to clear coat, linseed oil or paint?


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[SheffSmoker]

The finish on the tanks is cool. Are you going to clear coat, linseed oil or paint?


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I've given that some thought too, as well as discussing it with the wife. Even though it looks nice and shiny in the photos, up close there's still a load of flap disk swirls and small bits of old paint ingrained in some imperfections which would take days to get it to a state I'd be happy with. We've decided on paint, already bought a tin of VHT spray to see how it goes on.

As the weather is horrendous for the next few days I'm going to sketch up some ideas for the FB hinge, and a removable fire basket. I ordered some 3mm rod to make the cook shelf with (expanded steel is stupid expensive here!) and to my favour they've accidentally sent out 6mm rod, so have an absolute ton of it to make a basket with now.

[SheffSmoker]

Rustled up a FB hinge using a bit of box section, flat plate and an M10 nut and bolt.

Need to make a latch of some sort, already made a start on a handle for it.

Cut a length of curved strap to make a seal for it but the curves are proving a bit troublesome - get it snug near the hinge and the opposite side binds, and vice versa. May just piece a few bits internally, not too worried about the door being airtight anyway when there's going to be a pair of vents too.

Got the throat cut (Yarr me hearties!) inside the CC, which was fun. Won't be doing that again in a hurry. 1" grease dam at the bottom of it.

Some of you chaps use shadow plates. I didn't bother with the last one, but wondering if I should on this one. Across the top of the throat, horizontally? 45 degrees up? 45 degrees down? Bottom of throat 45 degrees upwards? My stack is going to be between the centre of the CC and top, so wondered if angling it down from the top of the throat would help with "swirl"?