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Thanks DT and Cole. The hardest part was bending all the eyes. 1/2in sqr is stout but the 5/8in rnd was about all the Hossfeld (and me) would handle cold. Might add a steak grate yet from #9 Expanded.

Ok with the Covid lucky me is 50% furloughed. So I've got some extra time on my hands and took a trip to the steel yard. Ended up at 20inTx22inDx48inW. Sides are 10ga, pins are 5/8in, pot supports are 1/2in square, It all pins together and breaks down for transport. Also made a 1/4in plate false bot...

I do a ton of Dutch ovens cooking but no experience with a unit like that. Not much cooking space till you get a big skillet on it. How big a group does he feed? He's got 5 kids and a wife, so 7 in his bunch. Then his brothers family goes along quite often. Hell you can feed 10+ people out of a dis...

I have 2 straight walled carbon steel UDS. Got the barrel and the parts from Frank Cox who runs smokerbuildermfg since he's local. Its been about 4yrs now sitting outside year round on the patio. Need a new coat of paint, but so far no rust issues. I put a $20 metal22in water heater pan in the botto...

Most I've seen are 14in diameter. I made 1 for my folks that size since its just the 2 of them. Works great for shorter smokes, chicken, etc. You are a bit limited with the size so a smaller fire basket means shorter smoke times. The Weber Smoky Joe mini kettle grates fit and are $10. I picked up a ...

Ok, a friend of a friend wants me to make him a portable wood/charcoal fired cook box in the chuckwagon style. They do rodeo events and he has a passel of kids but can't do 3 squares in a restaurant for 7 when on the road because he'd go broke. They usually "camp" in the same spot for a week+ so it ...

Great Job. What did you charge for it? Not enough. I had $250+ in materials and 30+ hrs in labor. I charged him less than the $1250 I had in the used Hossfeld Bender I bought. I could not have done the job without the bender. So I made/lost money depending on how you look at it. It forced me to get...

I did learn how to use it in this project. I'm dreaming up some new ideas to use the Hossfeld on. I bought a Hossfled used and it came with a bunch of angle iron dies. All of it has been siting in a pile for almost 2yrs and I've been meaning to get it figured out. My 2nd Amendment Supplier buddy ask...

I think mine is 22in with a diving board. I actually think it is too big for just the family, but it works fine on a standard burner. Diving board could be a bit warmer maybe? h2orescuemedic made a big one from a shallow dished tank end and it is a beast. Maybe 26in range Too heavy for convenience, ...

The basket from UDS Parts is about 12x12x12 and is raised off the bottom 3in or so with an integral ash pan of sorts. Not a real big pan, but does the job. I put an aluminum water heater pan in the bottom to make cleanup easier too. The basket had enough ash internally that it was snuffing out the c...

So I'm very happy with my UDS for everything I've cooked so far. Chicken, Ribs, Butts, Pizza, etc. No problems on the less than 10hr smoke sessions. But I did a full 17lb packer brisket over the weekend and about 12hrs in and the fire was dying out. I am running the square basket from UDS Parts and ...

I’d like to find a couple of those barrels.....no luck so far. These are an approx 14in diameter drum, 24in tall, and 15/16 gallon in size. The ones I found had peppermint oil in them from an air freshener factory, but I bought them off Craigslist. This size is also popular for grease/oil drums so ...

14 in Mini UDS finally finished up for Dad's day!! I've had the pieces forever. Less than $150 to build. Could be done WAY cheaper if you wanted to scrounge. The only thing you use from the MiniGrill is the hinged domed lid and the grill grate to hold the diffuser. Handles are $3 corner angle bracke...

I'm most likely in if its a weekend. Huzzah or wherever is fine by me. I live real near Chris/H2O the OP, but I'm in Stanton, MO. - JP

All that food porn!! Some fine looking grub!! Sorry we did not make it. Family got back from the UK LATE LATE Thurs and were too jet lagged. We went to Meramec Springs Sat morning to feed the fish and the plan was to cruze on down Hwy 8 and see you guys in the afternoon, but the kids and wife were d...

I "may" be in for Sat and bring the wife and kids. The "may" part is the Mrs and Holly have been in the UK since June and get back LATE on Thurs the 18th. Jet Lag might be an issue. Highly possible that me and the boy make it down to say hi regardless. Kids had a blast at the Spring Gathering. The M...

For quick and dirty coping use a bandsaw, chopsaw, etc. Slice a 30º cut from both sides of the tube "about" a 1/3 of the diameter in from the edge. Then clock it 90º to fit the fish mouth up against the other tube. You have to play around with the depth of the slice. But really if you are using a MI...

Looking good!! Thats ALOT of fish mouths and coping. Knowing you you will TIG it too!! For your grate pivot the slickest setup I saw used a junk side wind round tube trailer jack. Where the tube just has pressed in grooves/knurls on one side. You could turn the grill to the side, raise it to the des...

The bottom pic is our personal one. The cobblers kids finally got some shoes. Someone would always show up desperate the week of Halloween, I'd be out of stock, and then buy ours. So I specifically built ours non-standard. Its from an OLD tank, is a dished not domed head, and might have been an ingr...

Chris this is how I do most of mine. If you want the ring to be more of a guard for kids mount it high. For a footrest about 12in off the ground works well. Make it high enough you can still get the mower deck under it!! To build flip the bowl upside down on your table with the ring. Then measure th...

So I'm happy with my full sized UDS. But I had some barrels and parts and thought I'd make a smaller based of a 15gal drum. These have an approx 14in diameter. This would be good for the shorter cooks like yardbird wings, legs, etc. The bonus is it would nest inside the larger one for storage. So I ...

My Fam had a great time at the gathering. My kids had a blast running around Sat afternoon/evening. My 8yr old Henry REALLY enjoyed the Burgers so much that he ate 2. He has been pestering me about them all day today and wants to know when we can go again. He can't understand that it was not a resta...

Campground is in a no cell service dead spot. Its happening . . .

I'm coming Fri for sure, maybe Sat as well? Frank please Tell/Assign me something to bring? Or I can just throw $$$ into the food kitty? H2O, you sold your truck, damn!! Not sure if it will fit in my Ford, but I could haul your smoker down? My goose is full but it could be emptied? Or I've got a UDS...

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Mr-Bar-B-Q-Pack/1000024561
Specs at Lowes say 25.75" and also this is plated steel. Could be good for a cowboy cooker, etc too. - JP