My UDS Build

[erik]

Almost finished. Just need to get the firebox put together and the whole thing painted.

Used the If a Redneck Built a UDS instructions.

Holes all drilled out:

Bolts, Temp Gauge, and Intakes all installed:

Ball Valve:

Rack sitting on the bolts. May need to cut down the bolts a bit so I can maneuver to the lower rack easier.

All put together:

Lid fit is sketchy, I'll have to play with it a bit to make it a good fit, any suggestions?

 

[pineywoods]

Looks like a great start

 

[meateater]

Welcome to the ugly club, you are gonna love that smoker!

 

[ak1]

Lid fit is sketchy, I'll have to play with it a bit to make it a good fit, any suggestions?

You betcha!

Flatten  the lip out with some pliers(It's quite thin). Then place it on the drum and bang it around to give it a nice fit. Use a rubber mallet.

 

[duck killer 1]

looks great! is that a stainless barrel? it sure is shiny in that one pic of the inside.

 

[rbranstner]

Your going to enjoy smoking on that baby. I also had to cut down the bolts so I could get stuff in and out easier. They don't need to be very long.

 

[erik]

I don't think the barrel is Stainless Steel, I got it for $15. They were advertised as steel, food grade, and already cleaned out.

 

[pandemonium]

Nice UDS there your gonna love it and great that the barrel is clean on the inside no liner.

 

[duck killer 1]

take a magnet and see if it sticks to the barrel, if it does then it is regular steel if it don't then it is a non ferrous metal and it could be stainless which means $$$. the reason i ask is if it was regular steel and had been cleaned out then i would think you would see some rust and it wouldn't be so shiny. 

 

[tom37]

Great Job Erik,

I gotta go with what AK says. bend the lip like he said or find ya a piece of board to hammer against, for sure with a soft face mallet of some sort. When you set the lid on the drum you want to bend the lid at 4 locations to make sure you are centered, if you start at one place and go around it may get off center. Here is a pic of when I did mine.

Good luck on the lid and can't wait to see smoke coming out of that thing.

 

[ak1]

Erik, here's a few pics of mine. I just used pliers to bend the lip straight, then put it on the drum and tapped it with a rubber mallet all around to get it to sit straight.

 

[ak1]

One more thing. Wear eye protection because when you're using the pliers little bits of enamel pop off like shrapnel. It doesn't hurt, but you wouldn't want to get any of those little sharp bits in your eye.

 

[erik]

Eye protection covered. I'm a bit accident prone, so I had already bought goggles for the drilling. I catch enough ribbing from the Wife as it is.

 

[thunderdome]

Looks like you're good to go!

You can also shave back the roll on the top of the drum with a grinder to slightly decrease the diameter