UDS Weber Top Mod Pictutorial. Pr0n Heavy

Here is what I did today. Took drum #1 and added a Weber Top.

Here is the sacrificial Weber Bar-B-Cue circa 1985. $5 Craigs List find.



Step #1 Cut off the handles. I used a jig saw.

Before



And after



Drill a pilot hole about 1 3/4" from the bottom of the lip.



Using the a fore mentioned jig saw, and the bottom of the rim of the kettle as a guide, cut off the upper portion of the kettle. I kept the legs on up to and including this step to make handling the work easier.



I then put the cut off ring in a vise to grind off the handle stumps.



The diameter of the drum was too big for the ring so I used some 1/8" x 1 1/4" aluminum strips to fill the void.



Using some clamps to get a nice tight curvature.



The complete circle.



Needed two aluminum rings to make a tight fit. The aluminum sits 1/4" above the lip of the drum. It is screwed in place with some 1/2" self tapping screws that I've had kicking around for 20+ years. Screwed through the drum into the aluminum and then used the grinder to remove the points on the inside of the drum. A wire wheel buffing and wiping with some lacquer thinner gives up a nice shiny and clean surface.



Some high temp red silicone to seal things up nicely. Slide the Kettle ring into the drum and affix with 4 screws through the ring and into the rolled edge of the drum and you're done.



And finally, the old Kettle Top has a nice new home.



This drum has not been used in about a year because !redruM works a bit better and has two racks. Now a second rack can be added to this one and with some minor mods to the intake, I'll have two perfectly functioning drums. Thanks for watching and Happy Smokes to ya!

Johnny_Crunch said:

Nice work, too bad you had to sacrifice the kettle and not be able to use it.

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Well Johnny, That was a $5 kettle. Came with an almost new Weber chimney and a grill brush. I have a $40 Performer with stainless top from Craigs list and another Weber Silver that was a freebee. This old one with the three wheels for bottom vents was either going in the trash or being reborn in a UDS. I do believe it is happy.

stglide said:

I too have the solid top, so this helps me understand how I may approach my build.

Was it a possible fit if you just used the aluminum, and the lid, since the lid should sit over top? Or does that leave it too loose, thus the lower kettle rim give it a more secure fit? My kettle lid fits fairly well over but didn't seem to be that tight. I'll light up a fire in it and see how it does....

Great post!

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With just the aluminum strip the top was way too loose. Using the kettle bottom makes for a nicer seal with less wiggle room.