Finished my first tonight. Powder coated it in black bronze illusion. Not trying to spam but if your in sw Michigan and want yours powder coated give me a shout.
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swbill
"Finished my first tonight. Powder coated it in black bronze illusion. "

Nice finish !

Nice job BenCA, I am about to finish my second with two more drums in waiting. :thumb:

it was a weber genesis 1000.

Last week I completed drum however did not have everything to complete the charcoal basket. I wasn't about to let that stop me so I emprovised and used my turkey fry basket to do my first smoke. I used Kingsford blue briquets with three large Pecan chunks and a small handful of hickory chips tossed in for good measure. After allowing the fuel to steady, the temp to come up, and the smoke to thin for about an hour, I added 4 racks of St. Louis ribs my kids and I prep's the night earlier. To experiment, I mixed up 2 batches of rub I had found on the web and paired them with like sauces I also made from recipes found. I did 2 racks in a St. Louis rub, and the other two in a memphis style. After reading about perfered cooking methods, I thought to play it safe and start by using the 3-2-1 method and had good results. The ribs had a bit more fat left on them than I would have liked but did not trim them at all which I was told later I should have done a little bit of. Also, I did not trim the strip of meat on the inside of the racks which I was also told I should have done. All in all, for my first smoke, I thought it was a success and I learned alot from it as well. Here are a few pron shots I took of the experience to share and document my results...

Cheers!

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Thank you to all who have contributed to making this the best resouce for BBQ and UDS builds on the net!

So, I picked up my drum last week. It was used for storing coconut oil. I picked up most of the parts for assembly yesterday morning... I say most because I am sure I missed something and will have to make a trip to the store. :wink:

I drilled my holes and did the burn yesterday and plan on sanding today. After that, I'll have to see how much time is left in my day. It is Sunday and I believe there may be a game or two on today!

I do have a question... I noticed that my lid does not sit flush with the top of my drum. I flared out the lip and it helped some, but not a nice flush fit. I do not know if the barrel is misshaped or if that is just normal. Any ideas or guidance is appreciated.

Thanks!

Christopher

Did you burn out the drum yet? I know when I burnt out my drum yesterday, the lid warped, and now I will need a new one. Side note; since your drum contained food product, beware the dreaded liner, as most food drums have a real PITA red or tan liner that can drive you nuts.

I burned it out... No red liner on mine. It is (was before I burned it out) gold color. I am looking at picking up a Weber lid today from a Craigslist contact. So, it may not matter for much longer...

I picked up the Weber for $15! Lid fits like a glove!!! Going to press with the drum over the next few days.

Wish me luck!

Great score, now get it smokeing.......

The first drum I burned out I warped the lids as well. The 2nd time around, I put the lid over the barrel for a few 4 or 5 minutes as soon as the paint started to turn, I took it off for 10 minutes then put the other side to the flames until the paint started to turn.

After cooled, wire brush and wire wheel easily did the rest with no warp. This is a lesson we all learn the hard way. :doh:

Take care!

Ray

Holy cow. I was told a few minutes and a match would at least get the glue out of the drum. Nope, and the black smoke, WTF. :shocked: I had to smother it out today and need to bring it out into the country to finish.

Question to the people who welded theirs. Can you mig it or can you tig it? If you can mig it, how did you set it up? Thanks.

I mig'd all mine. I have a couple small Lincoln's a 100 and 140.

I've used .020 and .030 wire on mine. Depends on what you're welding to the drum. Around the side boxes of the BUFORD's I've built, I spot welded the cover plates to the drum and then filled in the seams with Rutland RTV.

Mig here too. .023 wire, clean the paint off where your going to weld just like any project, clean the paint off for the ground and have at it. I -welded on 2-2inch pipe elbows for the inlets. I didn't take the time to make it look real nice, as I was in a hurry and who cares, it's a UDS.
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I used to deal with these folks when they had a hardware store, they had the best selection of ss hardware in the area, great source for bolts.