It's time.

[JKalchik]

I haven't built one of these yet but I know that when I can't figure something out it sometimes helps to read ahead in the directions. If that doesn't do it you could always call Frank for assistance.

I know I can call.... but in an awful lot of cases, the answer is right in the PDF. I make it a point to read forwards and back a bunch before I start on something like this. It makes PMs in the office a bit nuts when I tell them it'll take me 3 days just to make the first pass through the documentation on a new project.

@Rodcrafter, yeah, I know about the slope for the drain. The graphic on pg. 5 isn't all that clear about how sheet B mounts, but between pg. 2 and the dimensions, it's now pretty obvious.

I still have some pretty serious cutting to do. I need to trim the C-channel back, one of the half inch plates is about 3/8" too long, and I need to cut the taper on 2 of the quarter inch plates. I'll probably set my 4x6 power hacksaw up for vertical operation, it's got a pretty good bi-metal blade, so I make the long straight cuts (and keep some piece with the neighbors, it's a pretty quiet compared to a recip saw or a cutoff wheel in a grinder.) After that, back to horizontal operation, but set for 45 degree miter cuts for the door curbs and doors. And weld up the firebox. That's not all getting done in a day.

[JKalchik]

That gent you mentioned is correct. I welded my 1/2” fire box with 1 pass and the same machine.

Holy sheep dip, Batman!

I chamfered all of the edges, squared up the plate, tacked the corners, verified it was still square & true, then went to town. I was undercutting the fillet welds on the inside with ease, and the backside got awfully hot. I don't doubt for a second I could have burned through with a little more wire speed (and I still have some left.)

[JKalchik]

And back to pg. 15.... I have SOMETHING wrong, dimensions just aren't matching up, as I'm considering cutting the flue opening in Sheet F (interior firebox side skin.) Guess I'll finish welding up the firebox/ash drawer/flue assembly and hoist it in for a test fit before I cut the sheet.

[Frank_Cox]

hey buddy, I just tried to call ya back. we can cover this in a phone call

[JKalchik]

Tag! You're it! <runs away>

This having to work for a living just plain gets in the way of building stuff.... oh, wait. I'm talkin' to the wrong guy about that, ain't I?

Either I'm completely off base, or I've got something built wrong. I need to get the burn assembly built up and hoisted in before I cut that sheet and tack it in place. I'll take a couple of pictures with a ruler once that's done, probably Saturday the way things are looking at this point (fixing operating system provisioning problems that have reared their ugly little bug heads over the last couple of weeks.)

[JKalchik]

I don't think I'm in as bad shape as I thought. These pictures are from the first drop into the frame. After I took them, I jockeyed the burn assembly around and got the flue C-channel to butt neatly against the left hand skin. I think I'll only need a small shim under the C-channel, over the frame member, to support the main weight of the burn assembly. I have clearances for the charcoal chute door curb and the ash drawer door curb.

[JKalchik]

Quarter inch spacer on top of the cross member underneath the flue coming out of the firebox, and I cut a hole in the sheet about a half inch lower than the plans call for. All indications are that I won't have any other problems. Adding a spacer is a lot easier than patching a hole I cut wrong in the sheet.

Geez.... still a BUNCH of stuff to get done. 95+ degree (F) temps aren't helping.

[JKalchik]

Started mounting the cook tray rails, and gave up for the day after the 4th (96 degrees.) I'm going to have to cut it out and reweld it, it's just not quite square. Fortunately, I have some really good cutting wheels.

After I finish the rails, I'll flip it up on its end and mount the interior top sheet and the exterior bottom sheet (easier to weld vertical than upside down) before I mount the burn assembly and the final frame members.

[JKalchik]

Removable firebox grate is almost an essential. If you get a flare up in the chute you want to be able to drop the charcoal load right sharpish.

Something else crossed my tiny little brain over the last couple of days. I use lump hardwood charcoal, and have had some..... let's just say "non-burnable" material show up. In my grill and current smoker, that's really not a big deal, other than taking up space (one chunk was a well over a lb, and a few inches in diameter.) With a fixed grate, that would be a steel plated bugger to get back out, with a removable grate, just let it drop into the ash box for removal. Yes, I am going to have to be rather more careful when filling this smoker, I won't be able to just blindly dump in a bag.

[Rodcrafter]

[JKalchik]

Sir, I will wear that badge with pride & honor. Besides.... it pays the bills.

[JKalchik]

Right tools for the job.....

The cutting, grinding and flap wheels I've been getting from my LWS, Pferd-USA brand, have far outlasted any other brand I've picked up. They sure appear to be worth the 25 mile drive each way. I was dreading cutting out the tray rail I mounted a little crooked, the Pferd cutting wheel buzzed it right out with a minimum of difficulty, and reduction in diameter.

[JKalchik]

Opportunities.... I continue to create them.....

As a result of modifying the legs (extending the posts down) and mounting the foot pads way too early..... the notched exterior bottom skin just plain won't fit past the foot pads. <multiple expletives deleted> I had the skin sheared in two, I'll just butt-weld across the bottom, that appears to be the best solution. I really didn't want to cut the foot pads off and weld them back on, I'd never get back square, flat & flush, with my luck.

[Rodcrafter]

I understand that, I have welded something on then realized it was backwards and cut off to only weld it right back on the same way and have to cut it off again and weld it on again. Then I step back and asked myself what the heck was I doing?


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[JKalchik]

Making progress. Finally have all of the interior skins mounted, the burn assembly in and the bottom skin in place.

In spite of not being able to build anything square & true, it looks like the door curbs for both the ash box and the charcoal chute will mount perfectly and mate nicely to the skins with a minimum of adjustment.

The afternoon fiddly bit is building the HeaterMeter enclosure and passthrough into the cook chamber. All of the sheet has been sheared or bent, need to cut a piece of 2" tube, and drill a couple of 1.25" holes.

Any reason to use a taller stack as opposed to a stack that just clears the top skin?

There is light at the end of the tunnel, I just hope it's not the oncoming freight train.

[ajfoxy]

Stack can be short, no problem at all. Just make sure it is tall enough to stop rain ingress.
Don't forget to put some insulation between the chute/firebox and the HeaterMeter enclosure.
Other than that it is looking really good.

[JKalchik]

Well, yeah, rain, that can be a problem. I was thinking no shorter than 2" over the exterior skin, no more than 6". I'll probably stick with the shorty stack.

I did manage to get the front exterior skin & pocket built & fitted this afternoon, including patching a misdrilled hole for the air inlet & redrilling.

About your sig line.... here's a related one: "Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement."

[JKalchik]

More questions....

I'm looking at the Kason 58 slam latch. Have I misplaced a spacer plate? There's a punched hole that protrudes through on the bottom plate where the interior egress push rod would go. That's not going to let it mount flat, and I really don't want to drill a half inch hole in the door for a quarter inch deep recess. How are you mounting yours?

And because I apparently can't build this thing square & true, the burn assembly sits about an 1/8" to a 1/4" high, and about the same out the ash door end. The designs call for the door curbs to be mounted, then the exterior skins mounted around the outside of those. I haven't notched the skins yet, I'm tempted to mount the skins (1/8" sheet) to the charcoal chute & ash door area, and mount the door curbs just barely proud. I can lay a bead all the way around the door curbs onto the sheet in jig time and touch it up with a fillet flap wheel. Any reason to NOT go this route? The outer edge of the curbs will still be sealed to the skins against the elements.

[mp4]

I took a grinder to the latch so it would lay flat...

[JKalchik]

I took a grinder to the latch so it would lay flat...

That's kind of where I wandered 'round to as well. There's something wrong with taking a grinder to a nice shiny new piece of somewhat precision hardware. The base plate doesn't appear to be structural, about the only reason I can come up with for the punched out protrusion is to locate the ISR hole. The ISR feature won't be use so that's not a problem.

[JKalchik]

Nuts. And I just realized that the rivnuts I ordered (10-32) are only good to depth of about 0.130". They'll work for the slam latch, but won't work for the striker screws, or for the other 2 door latches either. The strikers & smaller door latches will be going through both 1/8" sheet and 14ga tubing.

Crud. The latch really calls for 1/4"/6mm screws. Guess I'm ordering new rivnuts this morning, for both the through skin and the skin & tubing variety.

Edit: I'm smokin' somethin', or I *SHOULD* be smokin' something. And I'm not talking about brisket. The ash door and charcoal chute latches just go through the tubing, not tubing & skin. The only place where I have both skin & tubing is where the latch striker mounts. I might be farther ahead to just weld a 1/4" reinforcing place on the skin, the striker looks like it's a 1-3/4" to 2-1/2" adjustment (and the 1/4" gasket should cover things...)

[JKalchik]

And I'm back in the other boat.... now I know why the 1/4-20 rivnuts aren't spec'd, especially for the smaller latches: no room. I can use the 10-32 rivnuts on the small latches. And for the slam latch, I can weld a quarter inch reinforcing plate inside the door and thread that for 1/4-20 (or 1/4-28 fine thread,) just as the striker plate on the other side, except that plate can be hidden on the inside.

I have a pile of pop rivets and a good riveter in the garage, but those are all aluminum. Not about to use those, especially on the ash door.

[JKalchik]

Progress.... exterior left side and back skins have been mounted. Here's a teaser. This is the lifting eye, fully welded up & assembled. There's a 1/4" Sch40 pipe used as an anti-crush sleeve through the skin (ground flush) and the tubing, and a 2" x 4" reinforcing bracket with a tacked nut on the inside. I think it's stout enough for use as tie downs and lift points (one at each corner.) The forces should be transferred by compression into the frame and not carried by the bolt itself. I shouldn't have any surprises.

TBD: top skin & stack. Right side skin. Front side skins under the door seals. Door curbs and all of the doors. Cook trays.

I do think that I'm going to mount the top and right side skins before I mount the door curbs... hey..... wait.... 1/8" sheet. That's already fairly stiff. I'm going to fully weld the curbs down to it anyway, I don't need a close fit to the charcoal chute or to the ash drawer, I have 2" to play with.

[JKalchik]

Closer. Door curbs are built & test fitted. Cook chamber door is half jigged, plan to weld that up tonight, and build the ash & charcoal chute doors as well (yeah, right.... best laid plans o' mice & men.) Last skin on the ash door/firebox side still has to be notched & fitted.

It's gonna be a huge amount of fun balancing that cook chamber door on a jack and clamping it down, before welding those bullet hinges. I'm trying to decide if I want to weld the hinges between the curbs & the small doors before welding the curbs on smoker.

[Rodcrafter]

I think that is a great idea.


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