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bzarcherThese are the sections of expanded metal that I'm using as cooking grates in the smoker. $18 at home depot, and I think much more successful than the attempts Dave and I made at modifying gas grill racks to fit.
What matters about them to me is that I did this on my own, no assistance needed, measuring and cutting them down, which feels bad-ass and totally raises my rank in metalworking by 5 points.
The smoker itself is about as far as I can take it before final assembly. The top is actually 99% there - we're just going to need to sawzall out a diffuser plate from some of the cutoff barrel metal (already measured out, just need the sawzall) and that's that.
The bottom has both legs attached, but since the bricks, dampers, and fire door will add about 60 pounds or so to it, I'm waiting until we anchor it to the pad before I assemble it. Once that's ready, we'll attach, and it's time to season up and get cooking. :>
The only casualty of the night is the chimney cap I originally bought. It was supposed to be stainless steel...and I noticed the "GLV" stamped into the side that actually means it was galvanized.
Galvanized = not safe for high heat applications, and even though I know it'd be going on the output side, I'm not taking the risk. I'll see how it drafts without a cap, and if it looks good (probably will), we'll just leave it as is.
What matters about them to me is that I did this on my own, no assistance needed, measuring and cutting them down, which feels bad-ass and totally raises my rank in metalworking by 5 points.
The smoker itself is about as far as I can take it before final assembly. The top is actually 99% there - we're just going to need to sawzall out a diffuser plate from some of the cutoff barrel metal (already measured out, just need the sawzall) and that's that.
The bottom has both legs attached, but since the bricks, dampers, and fire door will add about 60 pounds or so to it, I'm waiting until we anchor it to the pad before I assemble it. Once that's ready, we'll attach, and it's time to season up and get cooking. :>
The only casualty of the night is the chimney cap I originally bought. It was supposed to be stainless steel...and I noticed the "GLV" stamped into the side that actually means it was galvanized.
Galvanized = not safe for high heat applications, and even though I know it'd be going on the output side, I'm not taking the risk. I'll see how it drafts without a cap, and if it looks good (probably will), we'll just leave it as is.
