Finished My Hawkeye Mini WSM!


 
A Carver

A Carver

New member
Just finished up the only difficult part of my Mini WSM build, the paint job. Everything else went smooth thanks to all the great info on here and help from other posters. I decided to go with the Smokey Joe Silver.

I cut the bottom out of a 32 qt IMUSA pot using one of our dinner plates as a template. Then I cut down an old rusted Smokey Joe cooking grate to fit below the rib indent in the pot.
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Next step was adding what I think (not around it to measure) was a 9" x 2" deep aluminum cake pan as a diffuser. First cooking grate rests about an inch above the diffuser and sits on the rib indent from the pot.
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Added stainless screws for two more cooking levels about 4.5" and 1.5" below the lid of the lip.
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I added a threaded rod to use as a lower vent handle. Right now have washers at the end and they seem to work well at dissipating the heat. Both ends capped with threaded nuts. All pieces here are zinc plated as I don't believe temps will get high enough for concern.
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Finished it with a few Hawkeye Stencils and a couple coats of black and yellow high temp paint (as recommended here). Our dog wasn't impressed.
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Lastly, I sanded down the old handle off a Smokey Joe, threw some stain and finish on it and put it on. Like the beat up wood look vs the dark plastic. Next step will probably be adding a top vent handle and touching up a few paint peels.
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Thanks again for everyone's help, this has been a great project and she will be putting in a lot of work for the Rose Bowl! Go Hawks!
 
Looks great!

Are you going to make a charcoal basket and an ash deflector? I would recommend both, especially if you're not going to add side vents.
 
CaseT said:
Looks great!

Are you going to make a charcoal basket and an ash deflector? I would recommend both, especially if you're not going to add side vents.
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Thanks! Have already made the ash deflector, seems to work fine although have not really done a long cook yet. Waiting on the charcoal basket mod for now. Might lay a sheet of expanded down soon to keep smaller pieces from falling through. It did great it's first 3-4 hr cook, I'll do a longer one and see if I want to make the change.
 
Van DeWald said:
Did you have to crimp the top of the IMUSA pot for the lid to fit?
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I did, not very much though. Wrapped a pair of pliers with electrical tape and squeezed very gently and went around the pot once. Left a minor impression, but i figured it is always hidden on the outside by the lid and the inside isn't going to look great after a few cooks anyway. The lid now fits perfectly.
 
Nice lookin mini there bro! How much of a lip did you leave on the bottom of the pot, and also did you have a terra cotta dish wrapped in foil? Looks like a 18.5" grill grate with the ends cut off on the very bottom too? Sorry for so many questions here, but I'm also building a mini and I'm full of questions!!
 
Mark I said:
Nice lookin mini there bro! How much of a lip did you leave on the bottom of the pot, and also did you have a terra cotta dish wrapped in foil? Looks like a 18.5" grill grate with the ends cut off on the very bottom too? Sorry for so many questions here, but I'm also building a mini and I'm full of questions!!
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Thanks! I want to say the lip I left on the bottom was maybe 2-2.5", so about a 9.5-10" plate is what I used. The dish is just a $3 Walmart aluminum pie pan that I wrapped for easy cleanup. I had heard others say that the terra cotta is prone to cracking due to thermal expansion or moisture. I might get one just to have if I do a long and slow cook that I might want a heat sink for. The bottom grate that sits on the bottom is an old rusted out cooking grate for the 14.5" Smokey Joe. I cut both ends and with a little pressure will fit below the pot indent/rib. Good luck on the Mini, with the rest of the people here you will be in good shape when it comes to making one.
 
Awsome!!! Is the pie pan a 9" one, because I just bought a 12" pizza pan from Walmart and I'm thinking it will be too big?.?.?
 
Mark I said:
Awsome!!! Is the pie pan a 9" one, because I just bought a 12" pizza pan from Walmart and I'm thinking it will be too big?.?.?
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I believe it is a 9" by 2" deep aluminum pan. It doesn't quite cover the cut I made in the pot bottom which was around 10". The 12" might work fine for you, as long as you leave enough of a gap to not cover the pot bottom cut (and defeat the purpose of the open bottom). If your pan was anywhere as cheep as mine, it might be worth trying a couple different sizes and see what you like.
 
Great job. I am getting ready to build my 2nd mini when I can find some time. I have just about everything I need. It's going to be a FSU mini.
 
Mark I said:
Hey A Carver, how did the mini work for ya this weekend? Anxious to see/hear about it!!
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Decided to not get it wet as it rained all weekend. Most likely will try again next weekend. First cook was done two weeks ago, did some chicken wings and brats. It held temps at 250 for the 2-3 hrs I had it going. Might pull diffuser out next time I do chicken wings, but they turned out pretty good, although I should have charred them a little more over direct at the end.
 
You will love it .........had mine for years. Use it more than eve since there is just the two of us.

ROLL TIDE !!!! lol
 
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