Easiest Way to Cut Tamale Pot


 

Pat G

TVWBB Emerald Member
So I'm going to put together a Mini WSM real soon. I picked up another SJS for $5 the other day, so now I have two. Time to make me a smoker.

What is the easiest way to cut the bottom of the tamale pot? By this, I mean which tool does this job the best?

Thanks in advance.
 
I'd use a jigsaw with a flexible, fine tooth metal cutting blade for cutting thin sheet metal.
Cut inside your line and fine tune with sandpaper wrapped onto a fat (1-1/2"), wooden dowel.

I haven't done a mini yet, but I'm a carp and that's what I'd use.
Aluminum cutting presents a special problem....it can clog the threads of your saw blade.
Use low speed, so if you get a clog, it doesn't mess up your cut.
We use stick wax on our blades to minimize the problem.

Any food-safe lubricant would be better than a dry blade.
 
I drew a circle around the bottom of the pot about 1" in from the edge. I then used a 3/8" drill to make a starter hole and used a a jig-saw with a fine toothed blade to make the cut. I strongly recommend wearing eye and ear protection!

When you have the cut nearly finished, you'll want to support the "disc" to keep it from trying to fall inside the pot and binding your cutting blade. A block of wood does a decent job of knocking off the big burrs and can be followed up by a file or sandpaper. A V-shaped, hand held, knife sharpener (destroyer) does a pretty decent job of removing the rest of the burrs including the ones inside the pot that are hard to file.
 
In Addition to Phil's advice with the cutting, i have seen some instructions that say do some relief cuts through the circle. If I had done this I think it would have been easier when I was finishing up my cut. It jumps around a bit (the piece that was being cut out).
 
In Addition to Phil's advice with the cutting, i have seen some instructions that say do some relief cuts through the circle. If I had done this I think it would have been easier when I was finishing up my cut. It jumps around a bit (the piece that was being cut out).
That is the "blade clogging" mentioned in post #2.....it manifests as a "jump" because suddenly the blade is thicker than the "kerf" (width of cut).
The only way to reduce that effect is to lubricate the blade and keep the motor RPM low.
 
The tamale pots are thin and soft enough to be easily cut with tin snips.
Using tin snips (aviation snips) properly is almost an art form.
You sheet metal workers know what I'm talkin about.

A newb trying to cut a radius on a pot with straight cutters is probably not going to get a good result if a clean cut is important.
 
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Using tin snips (aviation snips) properly is almost an art form.
You sheet metal workers know what I'm talkin about.

A newb trying to cut a radius on a pot with straight cutters is probably not going to get a good result if a clean cut is important.


Mine's definitely not clean :) I hit the rough edges with a grinder afterwards.


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I had to crimp the edges too (not pretty either), to get the lid to fit. I remember wishing it was stainless when I was putting it together, but that'd really be a project.


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