Red's Newest Build: A Direct-Heat Smoker/Grill

[DRKsmoking]

Yeah, I do like to take my time! The beauty of it being a hobby and not a job!

Red

Exactly.
And as it should be.

David

 

[civilsmoker]

Very nice!!!! I can just imagine a basket full of coals with some small cherry wood splits burning and active flame searing a couple of filets!!!!!

 

[realdocBBQ]

Coming right along, @seenred, I'm glad to see the progress! Strong work, brother!

 

[crazymoon]

SR, You are going to have one sweet smoker !

 

[seenred]

Very nice!!!! I can just imagine a basket full of coals with some small cherry wood splits burning and active flame searing a couple of filets!!!!!

Shouldn't be long, and that'll be coming true!

Coming right along, @seenred, I'm glad to see the progress! Strong work, brother!

Thanks Danny!

SR, You are going to have one sweet smoker !

Thanks Brother...I think it's turning out real nice


Red

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

How are you cutting out the pinwheel parts? Plasma? Laser? Union alien labor?

They look really clean.

 

[speedmetal]

Looks like a purchased part. Hard to tell from pictures but I imagine that is laser cut. There is etching on them in the photos as well. I think they are from LavaLock? A little hard to make out the lettering while squinting at my screen.

 

[seenred]

How are you cutting out the pinwheel parts? Plasma? Laser? Union alien labor?

They look really clean.

Looks like a purchased part. Hard to tell from pictures but I imagine that is laser cut. There is etching on them in the photos as well. I think they are from LavaLock? A little hard to make out the lettering while squinting at my screen.

Good eye, @speedmetal That's exactly what they are. They're much cleaner than any I could cut out with my plasma hand torch. And a very affordable alternative.

Red

 

[Rafter H BBQ]

Very nice craftsmanship as per usual my friend. Really liking seeing that cooker come together. You’ll be firing it up soon… I can’t wait to see it in action.

 

[seenred]

Very nice craftsmanship as per usual my friend. Really liking seeing that cooker come together. You’ll be firing it up soon… I can’t wait to see it in action.

Thanks Justin! It's been a fun project so far!

Red

 

[sandyut]

Looking real nice!!!

 

[seenred]

Looking real nice!!!

Thanks David!

Red

 

[pineywoods]

Awesome build and looks like it's gonna be a great cooker both smoking and grilling. How about a plate for it so it could also be a griddle lol

 

[seenred]

Update:

Man, this build is gettin' close!

I got the cabinet and the base all welded together a few days ago, then turned my attention to doors and hinges.

First up, I welded bullet hinges on for the FB access door.

While I was working on the FB door, I went ahead and fabricated a handle and latch with a cool-touch spring handle on it.

Since the plate I started with was bowed some from the steel yard, there's the tiniest bit of bow in the cabinet panels. I worked pretty hard to take as much of that out as I could when I was welding the box together...but still just a little. But even with the slight bow in the front panel, the door and hinges fit pretty good. I compensated for a little more of the bow by building the latch with a little spring tension in it...so all-in-all, I'm pretty happy with the fit.

Next I worked on the hinges for the main access door. This door is heavier than I anticipated, so I didn't think the bullet hinges I purchased would be beefy enough. I happened to have a pair of strap hinges made of 1/4" steel that were a little big for this application...but I cut 'em down a little and they turned out pretty good.

Also got the cool-touch handle I built last week welded on the front.

I plan to apply Nomex adhesive gasket around the door's interior...so I cut a few short tabs and stuck them in there before welding the hinges. So now there's enough of a gap to allow for the Nomex gasket to fit properly without binding the hinges.

Hinges work good!

So unless I'm forgetting something (and I usually do LOL!) here's what I have left to do before it's ready for a test burn and for paint:

1. I need to weld some kind of a stop on the back of those big strap hinges to hold up the door in the open position. I'm just thinking of a couple short pieces of 3/16" angle iron welded to the bottom straps.

2. I need to cut a hole for the exhaust stack in the top of the door, then fabricate a damper and weld the stack in the top. I'm using a short length of 4"x4" square tubing for the stack.

3. I want to fabricate a work table on the left side of the cabinet. Haven't decided yet whether to weld it solid, or come up with a hinged setup that will make the table foldable. Technically, this step wouldn't prevent me from going ahead with the test burn...but I figure I might as well get it done while I'm still fabricating.


Depends on how the next few days in the shop go...but I can see it being ready to cook on by next weekend!

Thanks again, Y'all, for checking it out!

Red

 

[912smoker]

Another epic build Joel and really enjoy the updates!
I took welding/shop in HS some 50 yrs ago. Seems like we caught the curtains on fire .
But you are a craftsman!

Keith

 

[Astralogics]

Coming along really nicely Red! Getting more excited for that maiden voyage!

 

[pineywoods]

Looking good and your welds sure look better than mine

 

[seenred]

Awesome build and looks like it's gonna be a great cooker both smoking and grilling. How about a plate for it so it could also be a griddle lol

That is a real good idea! I have a Blackstone that I griddle on most of the time...but I could definitely see me adding a griddle plate at some point.

Thanks Jerry!

Red

 

[seenred]

Coming along really nicely Red! Getting more excited for that maiden voyage!

Me Too!! Thanks Buddy!

Red

 

[seenred]

Another epic build Joel and really enjoy the updates!
I took welding/shop in HS some 50 yrs ago. Seems like we caught the curtains on fire .
But you are a craftsman!

Keith

Thanks Keith! LOL yeah I'm pretty sure that happened in my HS welding shop class too!

And I really appreciate the compliment, but I can't say I'd call myself a craftsman...I definitely have limited skills, and try to learn as I go. A real professional welder/fabricator would put me to shame lol! I really enjoy doing it though!

Red