Make it out of stainless wire.lol

I have read through the entire thread at different times, I do not remember anybody talking about sandblasting (or whatever media works best)?
Has anybody tried to blast off the food grade liner (red stuff)? and would you still want to burn the chit out of it after?

I would only have access to a cheap sandblaster not a large comercial setup. could not blast with ball bearings like was mentioned about the drums used for the training class in Ohio last week.

Any information or ideas about this would be welcome.

Thanks
Steve

Steve:

The cost of professional sandblasting (etc.) would be prohibitive for most of us. That pretty much limits us to removing liners by the second best method of thoroughally burning out and then cleaning with wire wheels

On the last drum I built I used a citrus furniture stripper I found at Wal*Mart on the lid and let it set for about an hour. I used a wire brush to try and remove the lining but had no luck doing that so I resorted to doing it the old fashioned way. When I burned the lid the lining just peeled right off. I'm guessing it was from the citrus furniture stripper that I used. Its non-toxic, so I'm assuming you could just rub down the entire barrel with this stuff and let it set a few hours then do a burn. That should make it a whole lot easier to remove the lining with minimal sanding.

I am thinking a 6 pack will be good for right now. Now if only I new an artist who could paint the drums for me since I don't have that talent.

As for the rings...I am thinking of buying a large piece of lexan and CNC milling out the holes for the "beer cans" and then putting that on to look like the plastic "flipper killer" rings.

The company I got my first drum from did that themselves. It was included in the cost of the drum when I bought it.

You can always look in the phone book for a bead blast shop. Or search the internet. They are all over the place buddy!

A so it begins....
 

This is what Steve (aka) "Butts n Gutts" and I did for a good part of the 4th of July weekend. We acquire 3 food grade drums and started the construction of our first uds. There are 4 holes on the bottom an 1" in size, then threaded 3/4 in. pipe one will have a ball valve and the rest caps. The drum was burned with a weed burner and then the inside was started with the weed burner, but ended up burning some wood to get the bottom good.
Steve then took the wire brush attachment on a drill and went to down clean the inside and outside. After that was finished, we started the painting processes. Well the pictures, speak for themselves. The fire box was made with expanded metal on a weber charcoal grate attached with stainless steel nuts and bolts and large washers. The inside was seasoned with Crisco and is set for the first burn later this week. We also made some fatties for the firework party. These fatties have long grain wild rice, green onion, cranberries, olives, roasted red peppers and mozzarella cheese. The outside is coated with pecan rub.

Nice looking paint job on the drum, Mad Max. Get ready for a whole new cooking experience. I love my drum. It is easily my favorite cooker.

Thanks STX Que. I can't wait.

Looks like the lid warped on you. That happened to me when I tried burning the paint of to. So the next lids I did by hand with a grinder and they stayed nice and flat.

Thanks Barbarian. Definitely will keep that in mind.

Thanks for the tip on the citrus stripper. I will try that on the drum. my friend and I burned 1 last weekend. Just too much work and too hot for a fat guy to stay outside all day with a weed burner and a wire brush trying to clear it out. Now if we can just get a break in the rain (we need it bad but the weather is saying thunderstorms everyday for next week at least, maybe the drought might finaly be over).
I guess we will see how it turns out.

Thanks

We are planning out the paint job we are going to give it, and we were thinking about painting a logo on one side of the barrel. My question is, do you think ceramic paints would hold up to the heat?

Give it a try could be interesting.

duracolor engine enamel is a high heat paint that is available in many colors at automotive supply stores - kragen out here has the most selection of colors

That is what we used and they do have quite a few colors available, I was also told by the guy at Auto Zone that caliper paint is also high heat tolerable. Good luck!