Welcome charlie2tight! sounds like you're off to a good start!
And on the eighth day God created barbecue …. because he DOES love us and he wants us to be happy.
Current smokers: Egor (trailered RF) and Easybake (tabletop pellet drive)
Well it all started with me getting a Esab caddy210i welder..Then i made a cowboy wok. It is made out of a plow disk and 1 1/4" flat bar with some trick handles. Then i got the air compressor tank from work(FREE) . Got it home stripped it down and sold the motor. I found some gate supports and welded then together to start my trailer. I foung a long piece of 3/8 angle iron and made a skid to mount the tank.. Looked around and a friend had a trailer house tonge sitting so i got that to weld to the trailer... I cthen narrowed it to fit.. Then i started serching on the interwebs for firebox ideas? Found the bbq pit caluator and went from there. Started on the firebox. Then cut the pie out of the tank and slide in the plate. i didn't get a pic of that . Made the firebox door and welded it up!. Lets see if you can find the state i am from on the door?. buddy dropped off a HUGE pipe and i cut it down and stabbed it in.. Here is a weld i did on the pipe.. What do yall think? good or bad on the welds? Then i moved around to the side and layed out the door and cut it out and made a sliding rack inside and placed expanded metal in and around the whole tank.. Made a handle out of scrap and welded it up.. the handle is a small cylinder!! Piut on flat bar on the out side of the door to seal it up, also on the inside upper top on the door too. . This is were i am at as of last night. I need to figure out a latch on the forebox door and a damper handle. I have the damper made to go on the inside of the pipe. I am thinking aof using a ring gear and cutting it in half and welding it to the damper and the use a plantertary gear 3 of themand weld at the bottom. Hope it makes sence? I need all the input i can get so yall don't hold back. Thanks for all the welcomes. Oh and my user name is what my buddys call me because i am a tight wad! hahaha.
The only way to make those welds better is if they were on MY cooker...
Nice job - you'll be puttin' out smoke in no time ... should be ready to do Christmas dinner on....
And on the eighth day God created barbecue …. because he DOES love us and he wants us to be happy.
Current smokers: Egor (trailered RF) and Easybake (tabletop pellet drive)
Thanks guys . I have been working on it for awhile now. I just started to pick up the pace allittle here recently. Yea the lift comes in handy. I put that in my shop about 6 months ago. Since then and my friends found out it gets used pretty often. My shop is my man cave . Well last night i worked on it some. I bend up some 3/8 round rod and welded it to the slide out rack.. What did yall do to make the latch on yalls firebox? i need some creative ideas! I am having a brain fart on the damper up top also. . Friend had a axle out of some sort of utility trailer he gave me yesterday.I don't think i will be using it thou. What do yall think? is it worth it or scrap it. It needs the hubs and bearings.. I'm getting to the point that i need to place a axle under it soon. I will be redoing the tonge also. The trailer house tounge is a booger to crank. Heres a better pic of the handle. The door is open.. Thanks all for the kind words Feel free to post pics of yalls door latches and ideas. I need to gather up some more material and finish this out. I will be sand blasting it first then burning it out.
Some guys use slag hammers for the handles. I think it looks pretty sharp. Can you just cut the (I know haha) jack off and weld in a new one? Instead of redoing the whole tongue. That axle looks a little shady to me. Scrap it and get ya a new one. Just my $.02.
I see the slag hammer think alot. I'm just trying to be creative. The stack is HUGE! but by the bbq pit calucator says it is spot on. My buddys say i am tying to conpensate for something . I was think the same on the axle. It needs alot of cleaning up and i wouldn't trust it. Ebay has some good deals on axles delivered. Probably going to get some more material this weekend and try and complete the details minus the axle and tongue. I don't like the trailer house coupler on it. Its froze-up and it's 2 5/8 i think. I soaked the jack in oil for about a week to free it up. I moves but you got to want it to!
Ahh. It all makes sense now. Don't know if you have any trailer builders around you. A lot of times, they can build you an axle and would have couplers in stock. Or even a Tractor Supply Store.
Thats were i am heading on saturday. I need to look at tractor supply. They have what in need in the form of an axle but i was trying to do it on the cheap. I will purchase the axle, don't want to loose what i have! Thanks for the props AR_Senior. Oh the stack is 10" round.
Ok, i put the big smoker on hold till i get a axle and lttle things. I am thinking of totally redoing the trailer. So in the mean time my buddys and i said lets make a mini smoker and call it 2.0! It is a reverse flow also. hear is the material..Its a 14" pipe and is 1/2" thick . Welded a end cap on and smoothed it down. . So we decided to make a little trailer for it to pull with the riding lawn mower, . Its 18 gauge galivinze tube. Made some up rights and mounted the pipe.. We were taking a break in that one. . Last night i got the fire box welded on to the pipe and cut the damper. I still need to mount the hindges on the fire box door and seal the doors and make the adjustable damper. .... So what do yall think? I will be trying to finish it this weekend and i will post up the finished results. Oh i still need to weld on the door handles. In the pics it is just a temp handle.