Backyard cooking area and smoker build.

[Brokenhandle]

That's looking really good! Been fun following along on your build!

Merry Christmas
Ryan

 

[Winterrider]

Totally agree , beautiful build .

 

[Starwise]

Thank you for the compliments. It's been close to two years of building and now after 10 hours of cooking, this is the result of highly scientific test. In short, ended being maybe the best Christmas dinner ever.

 

[jnh2022]

Thank you for the compliments. It's been close to two years of building and now after 10 hours of cooking, this is the result of highly scientific test. In short, ended being maybe the best Christmas dinner ever.
View attachment 710086
View attachment 710087

Very nice! I have been following along with this build thread as well. It's been a nice build with the story along the way, and then ultimately the very successful test cook.

 

[Starwise]

I finally came together with a plan, sort of, for the grill section. Starting with raised sections on both sides to support firebricks one more round, just matching the back wall.

Then adding a layer of bricks in tight fashion. I need to get a new diamond blade for the skillsaw, these suckers are tough as.. well bricks made of stone.

 

[in. pred]

very nice build!

several very smart firebugs on this forum to learn from. https://donkey32.proboards.com/

 

[Starwise]

This was interesting, and challenging at the same time. I started calculating bend angles on a flat sheet, trying to count in all the relevant features. Then checking it over three times before I started cutting. You can kind of see the chalk lines marked for the 2" face edges.

I rolled over each edge 1/4" and hammered it tightly against the face on the inside. Then proceeded bending the long edges and ends. The form is coming together nicely. For the center line, I user a 2" rock chisel to score a starter bend so it would be as uniform as possible.

Slightly Fred Flintstone bending apparatus. It's not stupid if it works!

Quickly welded the corners and the end halves together, added 4" chimney starter, flapdisked smooth and painted with high-heat enamel. Hoisted up with some fancy chains and bands. No wood beams were harmed in the process.
The skeleton for the grill hoist system is pending for more work to be done.

 

[JBW450]

This was interesting, and challenging at the same time. I started calculating bend angles on a flat sheet, trying to count in all the relevant features. Then checking it over three times before I started cutting. You can kind of see the chalk lines marked for the 2" face edges.
View attachment 719435

I rolled over each edge 1/4" and hammered it tightly against the face on the inside. Then proceeded bending the long edges and ends. The form is coming together nicely. For the center line, I user a 2" rock chisel to score a starter bend so it would be as uniform as possible.
View attachment 719436

Slightly Fred Flintstone bending apparatus. It's not stupid if it works!
View attachment 719437

Quickly welded the corners and the end halves together, added 4" chimney starter, flapdisked smooth and painted with high-heat enamel. Hoisted up with some fancy chains and bands. No wood beams were harmed in the process.
The skeleton for the grill hoist system is pending for more work to be done.
View attachment 719438

Nice work!

 

[Starwise]

Here we go, a slightly over-engineered, Santa-Maria style inspired grill. The cooking surface is 22" x 33". The grate is in two pieces, held in place by little welded tabs on the inside of the frame. Will be easy to pop them out for cleaning and replace entirely with different kind. I'm already planning to make a second one with 3/8" round bars and then another if I can source a single piece of 1/4" or even 5/16" thick steel for a flat top.

Sourcing 6" chimney parts, especially the T, was the most challenging of this project. There seems to be only one manufacturer. Couple closeups on the ratchet arm and tooth wheel. This was the cleanest way I could control rotational force. Each tooth is 30º apart, giving me about 3/4" rise per click on the grate. You can just spot the cutting scribe lines on the closeup.

Detailed view how I made the wire swage ends. First encased it into stainless steel tube and hammered curve over 2" tubing. Drill 1/16" hole for a small nail to keep the eye-loop in place. This took far too much prototyping to figure out a cleanest way to attach the cable to the 2" mandrel.

This trick I knew from before, how to attach a smaller axle to the center of a larger mandrel. Get
a rubber washer the size of the axle, this time 5/8". Compress in between two nuts and turn the rough cut 'washer' on a drill press, whittling it to the internal size of the tubing with a file. I could only reach about 2" deep into the tubing with my MIG, but that was plenty. The mandrel has no wobble at all.

 

[Brokenhandle]

Here we go, a slightly over-engineered, Santa-Maria style inspired grill. The cooking surface is 22" x 33". The grate is in two pieces, held in place by little welded tabs on the inside of the frame. Will be easy to pop them out for cleaning and replace entirely with different kind. I'm already planning to make a second one with 3/8" round bars and then another if I can source a single piece of 1/4" or even 5/16" thick steel for a flat top.

View attachment 721453View attachment 721454View attachment 721455
Sourcing 6" chimney parts, especially the T, was the most challenging of this project. There seems to be only one manufacturer. Couple closeups on the ratchet arm and tooth wheel. This was the cleanest way I could control rotational force. Each tooth is 30º apart, giving me about 3/4" rise per click on the grate. You can just spot the cutting scribe lines on the closeup.
View attachment 721456View attachment 721457
View attachment 721458View attachment 721459
Detailed view how I made the wire swage ends. First encased it into stainless steel tube and hammered curve over 2" tubing. Drill 1/16" hole for a small nail to keep the eye-loop in place. This took far too much prototyping to figure out a cleanest way to attach the cable to the 2" mandrel.
View attachment 721461View attachment 721462
This trick I knew from before, how to attach a smaller axle to the center of a larger mandrel. Get
a rubber washer the size of the axle, this time 5/8". Compress in between two nuts and turn the rough cut 'washer' on a drill press, whittling it to the internal size of the tubing with a file. I could only reach about 2" deep into the tubing with my MIG, but that was plenty. The mandrel has no wobble at all.
View attachment 721463View attachment 721464

Very nice!

Ryan

 

[BigW.]

Grill looks great! How is the hood supposed to work?

 

[Starwise]

Grill looks great! How is the hood supposed to work?

Couple purposes for the hood. When I looked at the county regulations, they state that if an open fire grill has combustible materials above, a hood is required. Secondly, it will gather smoke and most of the rising heat. I'm hoping this will keep the discoloring of the Alaskan Yellow Cedar timber to a minimum.
I need to get couple more 90º pieces and continue the pipe left of the T-section, raising it well above the Suntuf roofing.