How to mark the opening

[cjordan]

I'm sure it's been discussed on here before, but I'm not having much luck finding it.
When marking out the fb/cc opening how do you do it? I would assume you could use a string and place it in the middle of the top line and use it as a compass, but not for sure.

Using these measurements
FB/CC opening has a rad of 14.813
24.458 width x 6.454 height

 

[cjordan]

When you cut the end out of the cook chamber to mount and weld the firebox onto the cook chamber. The bottom half is a radius, so I was just wondering how everyone is marking that cut line

 

[ahumadora]

http://planetcalc.com/5155/

Like this?    Suare or round firebox?   Tank or cylinder?

Fotos and a betterdescription would help.      map it out on graph paper if needed.

 

[cjordan]

It'll be a square firebox mounting up to the dome end of a tank. I'll see if I can figure out how to copy a pic over to show the portion I'm cutting

 

[cjordan]

image.jpeg

• cjordan
• Feb 5, 2017

Hopefully this works

 

[woodyg]

Haha hey that tank looks familiar. Here's how I did mine

IMG_0920.JPG

• woodyg
• Feb 5, 2017

Make sure the tank is level and I marked it like this. Just slide the stand across the floor and mark as you go. Hope this helps

 

[cjordan]

Thanks Mr.Woody, it should look fimilar lol. I've had your tank/post saved for a long time. I keep going back to that post and going through it. I haven't measure my tank yet, but I'm about 98% sure it's the same size as yours. The only difference is my fb will be 3/8" instead of 1/2" like yours.

I'm glad you responded to this btw. I was wondering after cooking on it for a couple of years, is there anything you would have done differently?

 

[woodyg]

I'm glad you responded to this btw. I was wondering after cooking on it for a couple of years, is there anything you would have done differently?

I'm not sure I would make any drastic changes. I'm really happy the way it turned out. Super easy to control the fire. Certain things I would make sure I did again though.
The upper air intake in the FB is one. One example why is I love smoked cheese. I close off my lower intake completely and open the upper to give the fire just enough air. This way I keep a flame for a clean fire without turning into a blowtorch with air coming in from underneath. Easy to keep temps at 75-80 if I have to.
I'm not sure where you live, but I'm really glad I insulated my FB. Being from MN, it gets pretty cold here sometimes! Really helps out a lot

One thing I would do different I guess is make sure at least 2 of my castors had brakes. An easy fix I know but wish I would have thought about it before lol.

Any more questions just ask. Tons of people here willing to help. Me included if I can.

Happy building!

 

[cjordan]

Good deal, I'm glad it's working out the way you planned it.
I'm going to try to get started on it here shortly. For the last year or so I've been going back and forth between smoker or smokehouse, then between using a tank I have versus using some pipe I have.
I have finally settled in on using the tank. I have to get the tank emptied so I can drill into it and measure the thickness, then I'll be able to get settled in on my numbers and get started.
I have a few questions, but I want to wait till I can get some numbers figured out before asking, and with any luck it'll be the same size as Woddys so I can use his numbers. [emoji]128556[/emoji]