HVanorden
TVWBB Fan
Well, my awesome wife got me a tamale steamer for Christmas, so I finally started my Mini WSM build today. Please let me know if you have questions about my build. Hopefully it will help you with yours!
I picked up a SJS from craigslist a few weeks ago for $8. I had literally been used one, you can see on the grill grate that he put two chickens breasts on for it's only cook. The rest of the grill grate is still shiny chrome. So I'm pretty happy about that.
The tamale steamer is a IMUSA 32 QT pot. It fit the bottom perfectly but the top was a little too big. I made it work, more on that later. Here is a list of supplies I bought:
1/4″, 3″ long stainless steel bolts (3)
1/4″, 3/4″ long stainless steel bolts (6)
1/4″, stainless steel locking nuts (9)
12″ terracotta base
Extra 14.5 inch grill grate
Started by marking all the drill holes for the grates and diffuser. My measurements were taken from the bottom of the lip on the lid.
Here's the hardware i used for the grill grate mounts:
Measurements:
Installed with flat side of nut up for the grill grate up:
Acorn on the outside for a nicer finish:
All hardware installed:
I used the steamer insert that came with the pot as a template to drill my holes in the bottom. Not sure if it will be enough or not, but I will find out soon enough.
Drilled:
Everything fit very nicely. The bottom of the clay diffuser sits about 3/4" from the bottom of the pot. and There is roughly six inches between the two grill grates and the top grill grate has roughly 6 inches between it and the SJS lid. I felt that these measurements would be pretty versatile for what I want out of this little guy.
The lid fitment was an issue. The lip on the pot was just too big. I very slowly and carefully grinded it off. I ended up having to grind the rolled lip completely off before it would fit good. I think it will be just fine since it seems to seal very nicely. But it would have been nice if it just fit like it was supposed to. Here's how it turned out:
I'm buying a Thermometer on Amazon tonight and I'm still deciding on how to paint it. I'm leaning towards keeping it all black with a weber logo on it like I've seen other do here. But I'm open to suggestions. I'm also still trying to come up with how I want the vent handles to be.
I'm not the only one excited to get this project done!
More to come on this build:
I picked up a SJS from craigslist a few weeks ago for $8. I had literally been used one, you can see on the grill grate that he put two chickens breasts on for it's only cook. The rest of the grill grate is still shiny chrome. So I'm pretty happy about that.
The tamale steamer is a IMUSA 32 QT pot. It fit the bottom perfectly but the top was a little too big. I made it work, more on that later. Here is a list of supplies I bought:
1/4″, 3″ long stainless steel bolts (3)
1/4″, 3/4″ long stainless steel bolts (6)
1/4″, stainless steel locking nuts (9)
12″ terracotta base
Extra 14.5 inch grill grate
Started by marking all the drill holes for the grates and diffuser. My measurements were taken from the bottom of the lip on the lid.
Here's the hardware i used for the grill grate mounts:
Measurements:

Installed with flat side of nut up for the grill grate up:

Acorn on the outside for a nicer finish:

All hardware installed:

I used the steamer insert that came with the pot as a template to drill my holes in the bottom. Not sure if it will be enough or not, but I will find out soon enough.

Drilled:

Everything fit very nicely. The bottom of the clay diffuser sits about 3/4" from the bottom of the pot. and There is roughly six inches between the two grill grates and the top grill grate has roughly 6 inches between it and the SJS lid. I felt that these measurements would be pretty versatile for what I want out of this little guy.

The lid fitment was an issue. The lip on the pot was just too big. I very slowly and carefully grinded it off. I ended up having to grind the rolled lip completely off before it would fit good. I think it will be just fine since it seems to seal very nicely. But it would have been nice if it just fit like it was supposed to. Here's how it turned out:

I'm buying a Thermometer on Amazon tonight and I'm still deciding on how to paint it. I'm leaning towards keeping it all black with a weber logo on it like I've seen other do here. But I'm open to suggestions. I'm also still trying to come up with how I want the vent handles to be.
I'm not the only one excited to get this project done!

More to come on this build: