Rectangular RF Smoker from Holland (Europe)

[Dutch_Erik]

First bit of welding practice happened last Saturday:

Might not be the prettiest piece, but it's got some strength at least:

Also practiced on some square tubing:

First uphill weld didn't go so well:

Last night I cut the square tubing for the firebox frame, which I'll hopefully start welding tonight.
All comments are welcome :)

 

[daveomak]

Looks like you may need some "reading glasses" to get the weld in focus... I wear 3.5 magnifiers so I can see what's going on in the weld puddle..

 

[Dutch_Erik]

Looks like you may need some "reading glasses" to get the weld in focus... I wear 3.5 magnifiers so I can see what's going on in the weld puddle..

So I take it there's some issues with the welds? I know the first test piece is all sorts of messed up, but is there a problem with the square tubing?

 

[daveomak]

Appears you couldn't follow the seam... and looks like the welds are just a bit cold... being able to see the puddle and how the metal flows is something, most folks don't realize, is critical to quality work... I taught myself how to weld, or so I thought, then some friends put the second helmet on and watched my technique... demonstrated the correct process, and it was enlightening... then I went to welding school......
Anywho... Not trying to be critical... just donating some critique that may help you out... from 8,000 miles away... pretty stupid huh ??

 

[Dutch_Erik]

Anywho... Not trying to be critical... just donating some critique that may help you out... from 8,000 miles away... pretty stupid huh ??

Not at all, it's really appreciated! I hope I haven't inadvertently indicated otherwise... Was never my intention to be rude, sorry if I have been :(
I haven't got anyone around here that can tell me what I'm doing wrong (I'm sure there would be lots to tell!) so I'll take any help I can get :)

I see what you mean, the weld isn't centered on the seam between the two pieces of tubing.

With regards to seeing what happens in the puddle, what should I be looking for exactly?

 

[daveomak]

Watch the weld puddle melt the surrounding parent metal... The parent metal should melt and flow into the weld puddle... There will be a small crater in the parent metal where the 2 molten metals join... Too big of a crater is called under-cutting...
Jody has some pretty good videos.. SMAW, MIG and TIG... the weld puddles are the same in each type of welding.. He explains stuff pretty good also...
https://www.youtube.com/user/weldingtipsandtricks/videos

 

[Dutch_Erik]

Some more practice and progress:

 

[Dutch_Erik]

Finished up the FB frame last week:

Today, we visited the steel supply shop and bought most of the materials needed to finish the smoker:

Then we spent the rest of the afternoon with the plasma cutter:

 

[Ugur Senturk]

Hi mate i just joined after seeing this. I was looking for tips/plans/ideas on building a rectangular smoker i have no welding experience but i have a welder that i got new 5 years or so ago only tried using it once with no success hope.to get more inspiration and ideas from your built thanks

 

[Dutch_Erik]

It's been a long time since last posting, mostly because the summer was way too hot to be spent in overalls. However, that doesn't mean nothing has happened since the last post!

Just in time for the new year, we moved this project from the garage, to the back yard!

It looks just like the CAD version, except mirrored with the FB on the other side to fit the side of the shed better:

Ofcourse, we couldn't wait to fire it up:

We have smoke!

And couldn't resist putting some meat on there:

Quite happy with the smoke ring on the fatty:

It ran beautifully right away! Took about an hour to fully heat up to around 225F (it was 41F outside), and ran between 225-250F the whole time with just adding some oak splits every 40 minutes and extra charcoal every 90 minutes or so.
I am especially thrilled with this, since neither of us had ever operated a smoker before, so if us two newbies can do it... :D

Hope you guys like the result :) I can't thank this community enough for gathering all the knowledge in this one, beautiful place. Special thanks to daveomak for the excellent smoker calculator, which served as the basis for the design on this one.

 

[daveomak]

I really like your wood/charcoal basket.... Cool and efficient design....