New Clone build started

I have strarted the build. As we have gone along the design has changed a little.

We started out making the ashbox out of 1/4 in plate and the lower part of the coal chute out of 8 inch square tube. But my buddy has a bunch os stuff lying around so we began peicing together what he had before we went and spent any money. He had a 4 ft section of 6 inch square tube, but I really wanted 8. But we talked about making the bottom portion out of plate, then transitioning it to the 6 inch tube. All we could find was 1/2 inch plate. That works. But the plate was 10 inches wide, so to save time and effort we just made the lower section 10 inches. He didnt have any 1/4 in plate for the ashbox, but found some 3/8. That will work too. He didnt have any 3x5 tube for the heat transfer, but had some 4 inch. Did the math, its pretty close. So after a days work we have this:

This my buddy cutting the hole for the transfer tube.



Looking the at the dimensions that I had origianally set, cooking space was 24 d x 28 w x 40 tall. After talking, I think I am going to increase the width to 48 inches. Any chance I could fit a small hog in that one?

A couple questions before we proceed though. Is the 4x4 transfer enough to handle that size cooker? Did we really screw up by making the bottom section of the coal chute 10x10? I know I will burn more fuel that way, but will I be able to get the temps down to smoking range without choking the fire? We are going to ditch the wheels in favor of solid legs. He has a skid steer to get it to the back porch so we are good there. The overall dimensions should come out at about 5 1/2 ft wide and 5 ft tall. I know some of this is trial and error, but since this is our first clone build, if someone had greater knowledge please chime in. Also, what size exhaust? And what length?

We have a good bit of weight already there, much more than I anticipated. But it is solid, and should never burn out in my lifetime.


BTW, this is my first time weilding the welder, and I had a blast. I am looking forward to getting started on the frame and getting a fire going.

Yeah we are building a stumps clone. The specs started out 24x28x40 for the cooker. We have overbuilt and expanded now. As it stands now, we are going 24dx48wx40t. It will be a big cooker. But the plan is to cook for my sis-in-law's wedding next summer. Her fiance is the one helping with the build. He keeps saying "I sure would hate for you to want it to be 6 inches wider when we get finished." Its going to take an army to get into my backyard though.


Dont know why the pics wont show. I see them fine.

The great thing about this cooker is all of my crappy looking welds will be covered by sheet metal skin. :-D

I would have put these up yesterday, but after a 14 hour day in the shop, I was just too beat to mess with it. We made some serious progress though.
Here is the frame being completed.

Skins starting to go in. We had a a little issue with this. I'll explain below.

Where she stands right now. Inner skins done. Slides are in.


Well, we learned that a full piece of sheet metal is actually a little more than 4 feet wide. My buddy has a large break, so we measured the inside and was going to break it so the walls were one continuous piece. WE measured all three sides, but when we made or marks for teh breaksm we just measured in from each side, expecting that waht was left was the right length since the sides are 2 feet and the back is 4 feet. Well, since it is acyuallycloser to 98 inches, the back was too long. We fixed it, but next time we will know better. Other than that, everything is going pretty smooth. I have to still get the insulation, I finallhy have a couple leads on some. And I need the door gasket, ordering that tonight. I also decided that since we widened it I am going to add another therm to the fromt door. I'm ordering that tonight as well. Long day yesterday, but we are trying to get it finsished up before Labor Day. It's always great to have a deadline.

Nice, subscribed!

The chute is a product of what we had laying around. I though the 6 inch square was a little light and could have burned out over time. Plus I wanted a little bigger tube in the burn area. I'm glad I did. I think I would have had trouble getting this size pit up to temp with just 6 inches square burning. This size is very close to the Stumps platinum line, and he tapers the chute at the bottom on those pits. I'm not sure the dimensions though.

As far as the exhaust goes, the suggestion I keep getting is to make it a little bigger than you think you need. It can always be baffled down, but it is hard to make it bigger.

Philly-QueMaster said:

Looking good so far. Did you mean to say you were hoping to get it finished before memorial day? Labor day is still a few months away .

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Yeah, I think I inhaled too much welding gas. Memorial Day is the deadline.

Fibrex and Roxul are the two that I have found that most people have used. Anything over 1000 degree rating should work.

Here is the progress today. I built the racks and got the door for the coal chute done.. Here are picks of the racks. Still have to do tippers and then put some angle around the racks to make them a little nicer. I'm somewhat of a perfectionist. Headed back out tomorrow to work some more.





Thinking about putting these on one end to help move it.

Philly-QueMaster said:

What size angle iron did you use for your cooking rack runners? Also did you frame out your cooking racks using steel tubing? What size?

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We used 1.5 inch for the runners. Overkill probably, but that isnt a spot that I want the steel to fail. Yeah, we built the racks out of 1 inch tube. I was afraid that the angle would sag since we are spanning 4 feet across. I was planning on bracing it, but I can sit on this rack with very little sagging. They are stout.

worthsmokin said:

Looks Good! Are your inner and outer skins 3/16" steel?

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Inner skins are 16 ga. The outers are going to 18 ga powder coated aluminum. My buddy races IMCA modifieds and that is what they use for the outer body of the car. Plus you can get it any color you want. WE are going to do the body in black and the door in brushed chrome.

We go big in Texas.