Had to do a repair on one of my custom built smokers yesterday.

[realdocBBQ]

This was the part I had to repair:


The handle on the pinwheel damper got broken off this pit. This is the 250-gallon Mk48.2 I built for #HogmollieBBQ. I wasn't on hand when it happened, but it might have had something with a very large man trying to level himself out of a chair with it. Maybe. So... I told them I'd fix it up, so they pulled the pinwheel damper and dropped it off. Yesterday was the first really nice day (76 degrees! almost a record!), so I was glad to be able to get back out into the shop!

Here's how I did it.

First, I drilled a hole in the pinwheel damper plate.


Then I cut a piece of 3/8" rod and ground down the last 3/16" or so to fit in the hole.



This then fits in the hole. Front side and back side pics:




You can see above, the backside is still just a tiny bit recessed into the hole.



So this part^^^^^ got plug welded nice and hot, then welded around the base on the pinwheel as well - also nice and hot. This is a pre-weld pic, just to show position.


Then I added a new spring handle and plug welded the top of that to the steel rod, then tacked the bottom as well, then lightly ground the plug weld on the top down to smooth it out.

Finished repair:



Now that I look at that last pic^^^^, I think that is before I ground it down to smooth it.

So, I felt kinda bad that this snapped off (even though it wasn't the intended use), so I did this repair for free. Not a big deal, and it got me back out in the shop for a little while, so I was pleased.

[realdocBBQ]

Maybe some better finished pics:

Backside plug welded:



Hard to capture the end in focus.




It feels pretty good in the hand, though. Should do fine, as long as no one tries to do a handstand on it. lol I told them it's only 3/8" rod, so it may bend if you really torque on it, before it breaks off again.

[Oak Smoke]

Beautiful repair. That piece is some great CNC cutter work too.

[realdocBBQ]

Oak Smoke if you want a new MIG machine, I can help you - personally I think Primeweld is the absolute pinnacle right now for price/quality/customer service. For most home guys, the MIG 180 is a perfect machine, if you're gonna do TIG, the TIG 225 (or 325 for heavy work). I have the MIG 285 which is a freaking beast, and at $1k is head and shoulders above anything else on the market in its pricerange.

[Oak Smoke]

realdocBBQ Thank you! That’s exactly what I had in mind. If it’s a good machine with all the accessories that come with it, it’s a steal. So much better than the Lincoln’s I was looking at. That spool gun for aluminum has my complete attention. I machine a lot of aluminum, it would be great to be able to weld it too. That welder will help me up my stainless game too. I want to build some custom stainless grates.

[realdocBBQ]

The Primeweld group on FB is a great place to check out the stellar customer service. I'll warn you, though - while the MIG 180 CAN do aluminum, if you're going to do a lot of it, the advice IS going to be to get a TIG 225 or 325 (for heavy stuff). I haven't gotten into TIG yet - only tried it a time or two, but it looks interesting - but no need for aluminum welding for me. YET...