48” Octagon RF - First Build

[dacolson]

Started building this a month ago. Mostly building it from cut offs and scrap from around town. Couple of Craigslist finds. I started welding a year ago on small fire pits, portable camp stoves and rocket stoves. Eager to graduate to a big smoker since we rented one for my daughter’s grad party last summer. I’ve been smoking meat on my Big Green Egg - which I still love - but the experience got me hooked. I don’t have a ton of pics from the start but here is the process so far:

Welded up the CC. 8 48x10" sections all welded at 45 deg.

Welded on the FB. 24x18x18". Will add the ends after I cut the opening into the CC.

Welded on the legs. 4x4" square tubing. Will add cross supports and a shelf for storage. Building wagon wheels out of 10" pipe.

Cut the door, added hinges, and welded on 2" flat stock flanges around the edge.

Added door stops. Can you spot my mistake? Damn it. Should be a simple fix.

Cut the hole for the opening beween the CC and the FB.

Welded in the RF plate. At 3/8", it was too heavy to put in place. Had to cut it into 3 pieces. Have to grind the welds up a bit to make sure it drains well to the end.

Finished the FB. Started the door cut and added the hinges. Framed up the door w/ 2" straps. Drilled and connected 2" holes for the lower vents and 1" holes for the upper vent.

I wanted to keep the outside of the door clean so I put the sliding vent covers on the inside to keep the look clean.

[dacolson]

Alright, Sorry about that folks. Post is fixed. Feel free to mock my posting skills, welding skills and messy shop. Please let me know if you have suggestions. I will post as I further complete the build. Stack, wheels, racks, prep tables up next.

[towtruck]

Looks great!

[dacolson]

Looks great!

Thx Towtruck. Added a refreshment measure to the FB latch. Gotta stay hydrated!



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dacolson]

*feature


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[towtruck]

Nice......Mine is on the far left on the storage box.....

[Big T]

[dacolson]

Built the smoke collector and mocked up placement with the stack.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dacolson]

Here’s the smoke collector by itself. Happy with it.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dacolson]

Nice......Mine is on the far left on the storage box.....

Nice rig! Is that a pig cooker? Very cool.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[towtruck]

Nice rig! Is that a pig cooker? Very cool.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
[/quote]

Nah, just a 2'x4' bbq/smoker. The main smoker is in the middle of the trailer.

[dacolson]

Nice rig! Is that a pig cooker? Very cool.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nah, just a 2'x4' bbq/smoker. The main smoker is in the middle of the trailer.
[/quote]

"just a 2'x4' bbq/smoker." Hilarious. I just spend an hour reading your build thread. That was a huge project! It looks awesome. Very creative. Still loving it?

[towtruck]

Nice rig! Is that a pig cooker? Very cool.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nah, just a 2'x4' bbq/smoker. The main smoker is in the middle of the trailer.

"just a 2'x4' bbq/smoker." Hilarious. I just spend an hour reading your build thread. That was a huge project! It looks awesome. Very creative. Still loving it?
[/quote]

Yes, I still love it. The new bbq/smoker is great and works better than I had hoped. I am having an issue with the paint not sticking so I will have to take some of it apart and sand blast then paint again. Other than that is is working as designed and now that you brought it up I could cook a smaller whole hog on it if I wanted.

The main smoker I have dialed in and can turn out great pulled pork, brisket , ribs, chicken and just about everything else.

The weather has been wet so I have not used it as much as I should this month. I did pull it onto the carport and smoked and bbq'd all kinds of food for the wife while I was out of town. She ate like a queen for two weeks off of what I made. I am about ready to do that again just to put pre cooked food in the freezer again.

[dacolson]

Lucky lady.
Really nice build. Impressed by your ingenuity.

[dacolson]

Welded up the smoke collector and stack. It’s a real smoker now!






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[towtruck]

Looking good!!!!!

[ajfoxy]

[dacolson]

Thx tow towtruck/ajfoxy. Super eager to put some fire in it. It's way to heavy to move out of the garage w/out wheels for a test burn. Guess I know what step comes next!

[dacolson]

It took me a few days to figure out how I wanted to attach the wagon wheels on the front. Came up with the plan in the pics to follow. By doing it this way, I didn't have to lift the smoker off the ground much. I just jut a 10 1/2" gap into the legs for them and ran the axel through. Worked well. Still waiting on the casters for the back. It's mobile enough to move now so I figured I'd roll it out for a test burn. Man, is it heavy! Just about gave myself a hernia.

Lit easily. Burned well. The draw was great. Made thin blue smoke very quickly. Super pleased so far.

[dacolson]

Couple more pics:

[Big T]

[McBroom]

Couple more pics:

IMG_0667.jpeg

IMG_0670 (1).jpeg

Love it! Beautiful smoker I hope the grandkids get to cook on it someday.

Claud McBroom

[dacolson]

Thx gents

[dacolson]

Just calculated the weight. Without racks, shelving or the fire basket, she is weighing in at 900#s. Ooof. What a pig.

[Dirtytires]

It doesn’t take much to make these thing heavy....