Clay Dawon
New member
Hey Crew,
I did a MiniWSM build over the weekend, pretty much following the plans other's have posted here.
Here's a photo:
You can find all the photos at:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/10439875@N00/sets/72157647590424159/
Instead of the blow by blow description of what I did here are some lesson's I learned doing this project:
1) No one at HD knows what Expanded Metal is, but if you give them the SKU for it, they can find it
2) Brass Nipples used for probe ports can be found in the plumbing section
3) Nuts for the Brass Nipples can be found in the lamp section
4) The pot I used was extra thick (I'm guessing, because I was NOT cutting the sides or the bottom of this pot with tin snips <period>)
5) If you use a jig saw to remove the bottom of the pot, use a blade made to cut metal (carbide blades will not work - I learned this by ruining 3 carbide blades).
6) Don't use an L-Head grinder to remove the bottom, it will work, but will take a LONG time. I did mention jig saw and metal cutting blades, right? Go there and be done with this job in minutes.
7) Do use the L-Head grinder to cut a slot in the top of the pot to let your upper grate probe wires exit the smoker.
8) The pot I used was a perfect fit for the Smokey Joe lid and the taper at the bottom of the pot fit the bottom of the Smokey Joe perfectly also. The taper at the bottom of the pot supported a Smokey Joe cooking grate about 1" above the bottom of the pot. I didn't have to add nuts at the bottom of the pot to support the heat shield.
9) I started with the bottom grate resting on the heat shield, I'll drill holes for nuts to support the bottom cooking grate about 2" above the heat shield.
10) When you mark the hole for the temperature gauge, be sure the hole is at least 1/2 the width of the nut that holds the temperature gauge above or below the cooking grate. I had the the hole for the temperature gauge 1/2" below the upper cooking grate, but after I put the gauge in I couldn't put the cooking grate in. Luckily the nut that holds the temperature gauge was soft material and I used a sander to make the nut thinner until the nut didn't interfere with the cooking grate. Saved me having to drill a new hole.
Enjoy,
Clay
I did a MiniWSM build over the weekend, pretty much following the plans other's have posted here.
Here's a photo:
You can find all the photos at:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/10439875@N00/sets/72157647590424159/
Instead of the blow by blow description of what I did here are some lesson's I learned doing this project:
1) No one at HD knows what Expanded Metal is, but if you give them the SKU for it, they can find it
2) Brass Nipples used for probe ports can be found in the plumbing section
3) Nuts for the Brass Nipples can be found in the lamp section
4) The pot I used was extra thick (I'm guessing, because I was NOT cutting the sides or the bottom of this pot with tin snips <period>)
5) If you use a jig saw to remove the bottom of the pot, use a blade made to cut metal (carbide blades will not work - I learned this by ruining 3 carbide blades).
6) Don't use an L-Head grinder to remove the bottom, it will work, but will take a LONG time. I did mention jig saw and metal cutting blades, right? Go there and be done with this job in minutes.
7) Do use the L-Head grinder to cut a slot in the top of the pot to let your upper grate probe wires exit the smoker.
8) The pot I used was a perfect fit for the Smokey Joe lid and the taper at the bottom of the pot fit the bottom of the Smokey Joe perfectly also. The taper at the bottom of the pot supported a Smokey Joe cooking grate about 1" above the bottom of the pot. I didn't have to add nuts at the bottom of the pot to support the heat shield.
9) I started with the bottom grate resting on the heat shield, I'll drill holes for nuts to support the bottom cooking grate about 2" above the heat shield.
10) When you mark the hole for the temperature gauge, be sure the hole is at least 1/2 the width of the nut that holds the temperature gauge above or below the cooking grate. I had the the hole for the temperature gauge 1/2" below the upper cooking grate, but after I put the gauge in I couldn't put the cooking grate in. Luckily the nut that holds the temperature gauge was soft material and I used a sander to make the nut thinner until the nut didn't interfere with the cooking grate. Saved me having to drill a new hole.
Enjoy,
Clay
