I have a stack damper!
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I have a stack damper! -
Now it just needs paint. Or oil. Or... whatever I'm gonna do.
Internal vertical baffle:
You can see the slots there for it... I made it removable, I want to play around and experiment and see temp changes with it in place and out.
Played around with a couple ideas, I tried putting 'feet' on the plate itself, that didn't work, it wouldn't stay upright, and I realized if it's on any kind of incline, it would make it worse. So I think this works ok - but holy F, it was a PITA trying to get my arm inside, upside down and backwards to weld blind on the backside of a couple of those tabs. Sheesh. I remember practicing suturing with video from behind a sheet in school - this is worse than that. Stupid.
Here's how it all looks assembled with the grate in place.
Now it needs paint and oil finish.
Oh crap... ok, I said fab was done. Sheisse. I forgot, I haven't put a drain in yet. So... maybe it's NOT all done. lol The drain will be here later in the week. THEN it'll be done!
I think I'm gonna paint the legs and then do salt water and vinegar to make it rust and then oil over the top of it. We'll see how it comes out!
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Who cuts out those beautiful hinges and door handles for you? Do you know someone with a CNC plasma table?Comment
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Yes my friend down the road has a Plasma Cam table and a Hypertherm 85XP. Someday... -
I have the official NRA small bore rifle silhouette target patterns. Would I be able to pay him to cut me out two sets of targets. If so I would like to get with him on price. Once he gets them programmed into his machine you should get him to make you a set. They are a hoot to shoot. Itโs all done with 22 rifles. There are small chickens at 40 yards, small pigs at 60 yards, turkeys at 77 yards and rams at 100 yards. Itโs so cool when you hit one and it falls over. A great way to relax.
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Just a quick update - I have my drain and pipe nipple, I'll probably weld those in tomorrow.
I've sprayed it down a couple of times with vinegar and salt water.... why, you ask? Well... to promote rust, of course!
Why have it sandblasted and THEN try to get it to rust??? WTH is WRONG with me???
Here's what rust looks like on my old tank:
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And HERE'S what it looks like after I coat it with Boiled Linseed Oil and get it hot to bake it in:
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So... I sprayed it with distilled white vinegar and saltwater, and after an hour - had turned GREEN! Yes, GREEN! Like ARMY GREEN! Which, surprisingly, was actually a cool look - I painted the legs a dark brown, in anticipation of the coffee color above, but then, with the green and brown, it was like an Army theme! Pretty cool, actually! lol
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Not sure how that would look when oiled down... but... after a couple of days and several coats of vinegar and saltwater, it's much more predictable in appearance.
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It's gonna look awesome when it's oiled. Probably slightly lighter than the big tank - I think it'll come out looking like nice saddle leather. Gonna be sweet!
So, it's gonna be complete this weekend and ready for delivery. I do have one person at work who has expressed an interest in it - it will actually be kind of hard to 'say goodbye' if she decides she wants it. lol
Funny how I can get emotionally attached to something like this - but this is the first one I've built not specifically for ME to keep, so it's kinda like... I dunno... raising someone else's dog? It's not like giving up a kid, but maybe like raising puppies for sale? Do those of you wo have done that feel attached to puppies when you hand them off at 8 or 10 weeks or something?
Anyways... my wife has already indicated, another smoker in my backyard had better be big enough for me to SLEEP in... so... yeah. This one will be going somewhere else to live!
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Very cool!Comment
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Well... she's done!!!!
Got 'er all rusted up with salt water & vinegar, then this afternoon put in the drain, the thermometer and the door handle.
Decided it was time to season 'er up!
Just used a few 8oz cans of WalMart canola cooking spray, inside & outside. One can did the firebox and a little of the cook chamber, 2nd can finished the cook chamber, collector and stack. 3rd can did the outside shelf, inside all over and inside rack. Used a 4th can while she was heating to do extra areas and touchups and put some more on the firebox.
I think she came out pretty nice, overall!
Made it up into the 600ยบF range, none of my welds popped, so I think she's good to go!
I wouldn't call myself a professional, by any stretch, but I'm happy with this little backyard cooker! She flows well, holds some heat and can run a good while on a single small split. Should be easy to cook on and easy to pull around, as well!
Thanks for all the encouragement from my friends here!
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Looks very nice!Comment
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Thanks for sharing this journey. One helluva project and the results!!!Comment
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A job well done.Comment
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Outstanding work. So now youโre a Pitmaster AND a master Pit-builder!!
๐๐๐Last edited by Jfrosty27; March 2, 2024, 08:02 AM.Comment
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Wow, that came together so quickly and easily (says me as I sit at my computer doing bupkis). Seriously though, it's a wonderful hobby for you, and you do it so well. Congrats on doing such a beautiful job.
KathrynComment
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Thanks! This one did come together fairly quickly, considering the time I had doing the previous builds! Of course, finally acquiring all the right tools and having some time to work on it this month, and weather that actually cooperated (for February!) is a big part of it. Once you learn the basics and get the tools accumulated, things can move fairly quickly.
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Looks Great! Thanks for sharing.Comment
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This looks great!Comment
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