Red's Santa Maria Build - A Custom Grill for JIMSMOKES!

[schlotz]

Another enjoyable read Red. Still amazed at all the facts you've thoroughly thought thru.

 

[seenred]

Another enjoyable read Red. Still amazed at all the facts you've thoroughly thought thru.

Thanks Matt! Being an old retired guy, I have plenty of time for thinkin things through lol! In fact, I'd say it's my main pastime!

Red

 

[seenred]

Quick update - I've gotten a bit more done this week on Jim's grill.


It was time to mount the cooking grate truss. So far, I just have this tacked in place. Don't want to weld any of this stuff solid until I get the grate fabricated and see how everything fits and works...just in case I have to make adjustments.

I also wanted to see the fly wheel and the ratchet/paw setup in place. Again, none of this is welded in yet.

A little closer look at the wheel, ratchet and paw, and the axel.

Then I started work on the cooking grate. Got the frame put together and a couple tracks (or channels, maybe) for the grate to slide up and down on the truss.

And a couple shots of the cooking grate frame in place. It's just sitting on a couple of clamps here until I get some fine-tuning done...but this kinda lets you see how the grate will ride.

I'm not sure when I'll get back in the shop to work on it again. Apparently Winter has decided to set in. We have a major winter storm blasting in here tomorrow that the weather nerds are saying will last 4-5 days. And I may have mentioned once or twice...I'm a fair-weather fabricator!

But overall, this project is progressing nicely! I'm starting to think I'm not too far away from having it ready to paint. Since I'm well ahead of Jim's schedule, I have plenty of time to finish the fab work at my leisure. Even if it were finished in a week (which it won't be), I'd still wait for warmer spring temps before I paint it.

Anyway, that's all for now...thanks for following along!

More to come...
Red

 

[JckDanls 07]

Dude... You Rock...


SO let me ask a question about using/start up. For start up do you build a fire in the main box and let burn down to coals and then feed it from coals produced in the brasero ?? Or do you just start burning in the bresaro and fill the main box ??

I'm thinking it would be initial fire in main box then feed it...

 

[Winterrider]

She's looking like a beauty Red

 

[JLinza]

Thats lookin great

 

[schlotz]

Hmm... looking at my smoker, then looking at this master piece, and looking at it again. Probably a good thing my deck doesn't have anymore room otherwise you'd already have another project waiting on ya Red. This Santa Maria is going to be wonderful.

 

[JLinza]

Hmm... looking at my smoker, then looking at this master piece, and looking at it again. Probably a good thing my deck doesn't have anymore room otherwise you'd already have another project waiting on ya Red. This Santa Maria is going to be wonderful.

Thats no problem, you just need a bigger deck...I saw my shot to be an enabler and I took it

 

[seenred]

Dude... You Rock...


SO let me ask a question about using/start up. For start up do you build a fire in the main box and let burn down to coals and then feed it from coals produced in the brasero ?? Or do you just start burning in the bresaro and fill the main box ??

I'm thinking it would be initial fire in main box then feed it...

The kind remarks are much appreciated Keith!

Now, keep in mind - I've personally never used a burn box, but my thoughts are a guy could do it either way if the mood struck him. However, I think you've got the idea - seems to me the efficient way to do it is to built a nice hot coal bed in the main chamber, then keep feeding it from coals created in the brasero.

Red

 

[seenred]

She's looking like a beauty Red

Thats lookin great

Hmm... looking at my smoker, then looking at this master piece, and looking at it again. Probably a good thing my deck doesn't have anymore room otherwise you'd already have another project waiting on ya Red. This Santa Maria is going to be wonderful.

Thank you, Gentlemen!

Red

 

[civilsmoker]

Dude... You Rock...


SO let me ask a question about using/start up. For start up do you build a fire in the main box and let burn down to coals and then feed it from coals produced in the brasero ?? Or do you just start burning in the bresaro and fill the main box ??

I'm thinking it would be initial fire in main box then feed it...

The kind remarks are much appreciated Keith!

Now, keep in mind - I've personally never used a burn box, but my thoughts are a guy could do it either way if the mood struck him. However, I think you've got the idea - seems to me the efficient way to do it is to built a nice hot coal bed in the main chamber, then keep feeding it from coals created in the brasero.

Red

I happened to screen cap this the other day……the use of the brasero is for pure wood coal cooking….most peps build a monster fire in it and then move over pure coals to the other side. Jim will have this option or he can also cook over the flame or he can cook it down. If he gets a large dome then he can indirect roast as well. Just cooking for what mood you have

Oh I will note that with an open brasero you get heat spill over with the separated one you get clean radiant coal heat…..it creates very clean bbq, it’s the TBS of BBQ because the only real smoke is the vaporized juice…..

Oh and the flame cooking is more “dirty” or rustic cause you get the char and harsh smoke…..

No mater how you drool over the cooker Jim is going to have some good Q!!!!

 

[civilsmoker]

@JIMSMOKES

These caps are from my library of build research….. this is Jim’s soon to be new world….

The open flame cook I mentioned above….

This is coal and open flame…

The separate brasero…..just gonna say Reds build looks nicer than the commercial one….he made some nice improvements all around!

In a build in

PS Amazon has tons of stainless meat hooks for hang cooking…..

 

[seenred]

Afternoon Friends! Time for an update! That brutal winter storm made it impossible (for me at least) to work in the shop - but our weather has returned to very mild the last few days, so I got some work done.


So after I posted the last update, working on the cooking grate, Jim asked if I could invert the grate frame, basically making the grate modular, with the ability to remove all or part of the bar grate, to drop in other things (like a griddle, for example). No problem - he's the customer! So I made a trip to the steel yard to pick up some more 1 1/4" angle iron to build the main frame. Here it is, with a little more robust track channel on the ends - it's twice as much steel as the original grate design, so I figured I'd beef up the support too.

I'm still using the original grate for the actual cooking grate - just had to cut it down by a little so it would drop in the outer frame.

With the cooking grate assembly tacked together, it was time to work on the lift assembly - ratchet and paw, flywheel, and lift cables. Got the ratchet and wheel welded to the axle, and the cables clamped in place.

A moment of truth: seeing if the whole lift assembly will work as it's supposed to, and raise and lower the grate.

YES - it works!

So the finished grate will drop as low as the firebrick channel in the main pit, and raise as high as this - almost 3 feet above the fire.

So that's where I'm at now. I suppose I'm about ready to start cutting up round bar to fabircate the cooking grates. Gotta be out of town til Sunday for one of my grandson's birthdays, but I'll be able to work on it again early next week.

More to come!
Red

 

[Winterrider]

That's looking like one heck of a cook'n machine Red

 

[pineywoods]

That is looking awesome

 

[JIMSMOKES]

In the voice of Rick Flair! Whooo! That's what I'm TALKIN BABY!

 

[pc farmer]

I am a fabricator. Well farmer fab work. Lol

That looks great Red.

 

[seenred]

That's looking like one heck of a cook'n machine Red

That is looking awesome

I am a fabricator. Well farmer fab work. Lol

That looks great Red.

Thanks Gentlemen!

Red

 

[seenred]

In the voice of Rick Flair! Whooo! That's what I'm TALKIN BABY!

Thanks Jim! Won't be too long til this sucker's ready to go to it's new home!


Red

 

[civilsmoker]

Very nice getting the cable bolted even is a thing! This is Jim’s future….