Good news, just found out I have a food grade drum waiting for me. My uncle was able to get me one from his work that prev. had molasses in it, he even washed it out already. Not sure if it has a lining or not.

Anyway my question is, how hard is it to drill the holes into this thing. I am in the market for a new drill anyways, so just wanted to get some suggestions on how powerful a drill I will need. Is there anyway to get around using a step bit, those things aint cheap.

Trust me brother...buy the step drill bit! :biggrin: Life will be better.:wink:

I bought a new 1" holesaw for my cordless drill and got 3 drums worth of holes (9) before it wore out. that size hole accepts a 3/4" pipe thread perfectly!

Use a bit of 3 in 1 oil, I have gotten at least 20 holes from mine.

I will be doing a drum this weekend, have to look in my basement to see if I have any old rotobroach bits. then I won't have to worry about wearing drill bits out.

There is more truth to this than you will ever know. I went through 2 in my drilling life which was a total of 6 holes before the step down bit. You can find them reasonably at sears hardware.

Harbor Freight also sells the import unibits which are holding up pretty good for me so far. They go on sale once a month for $8.99/3pc set. I think the regular price is only 12.99/set which is still cheaper than buying a single original one. I do feel the originals are sharper and are made out of a better tool steel than the H.F.'s but you can never have too many tools.

I got a step bit off eBay for $6.00. May not be the quality of the one at sears, but my UDS didn't know the difference. Buy the cheap one, it will work well for a while if you like it, then go with the $40 one at sears.

Fastenal carries all grades of step bits and hole saws. Check there and you may come out with on you prefer. I buy the higher quality hole saw, and it has served me well. Just keep your hole saws for either metal or wood. Interchanging the material will shorten their life.

IMHO go with the step bits they worked great and I have built 5 UDS and 1 UDG. The one we used is still in great shape. Harbor Freight for that bit.

I'm using the same holw saw I have has for eight years the trick is to use cutting oil and not force it. Remember adjust the drill bit no further than 1/8 of an inch above the holesaw or you wil break it. Those drums are fairly thin so no need for a massive drill but I would buy a quality one with plenty of torque and it will last you for years.

Not to get off topic of the UDS, but would a quality name brand drill, i.e. DeWalt, would a 12 Volt cordless do the trick or do I need something more powerful. I am somewhat new to having my own tools(lived w/ roommates for years that had plenty of them, so no need to buy)

I was able to find a 13/16 hole saw bit for under 10 bucks, which should match up to the 1/2 inch pipe nipples I was planning on using. This board is great, thanks for all the advice.

De-Walt is great as is just about any other brand including a K-Mart special when it comes to drilling a drum.

Lets put it this way, if you took a hardened nail and a hammer you could pierce a drum like these, it's not thick material.


BTW I use a cordless Black and Decker for just about everything.

Stainless bolts are in and set eight inches from the top of the drum.

http://i26.tinypic.com/fbvozd.jpg

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http://i29.tinypic.com/2npov6.jpg

I drilled my holes, 2 inch intake and exhaust, with a 1/2 bit and then sawzall. Cleaned up the holes with the dremel. I thought about using my Rotozip but didn't.

If you had your choice between the step bit and a 13/16's hole saw bit, which one would you choice. I was planning on going with 4-1/2 inch intakes, but thinking about taking it up to 4-3/4's intakes.

On another note, I need a drill to get this project going, the sales guy at Lowes was trying to get me amped up on a 18 vold Dewalt drill, just so happens the wife walked up at the perfect time as he was pitching the complete 18 volt combo kit, and agrees that it was a great deal, looks like I may have some sweet tools in my future, pluse a sweet UDS as well, picking up the drum tomorrow!

A step bit would be like an all in one tool. For one that does not need to drill many holes very often it is a good choice. Just got to be careful and drill slow and check the hole size as you go. Nothing like saying I drilled the hole 3 times and it is still to big.

18v Dewalt a good choice, try and get a back-up battery.

Combo kit has 2 batteries.

Anyone still reading? lol

http://i28.tinypic.com/2yyw61c.jpg

Are you kidding? This thread is the reason I joined here :lol:

Hahahahahah no skipping pages though.:grin:

Quick question... I used a few small galvanized pieces at the base for the air intake. Do you think this is a problem? I didn't think so but wanted to ask.

It took some time, but I've read through the entire thing probably twice :lol:

Bandit- I can't give you and informed answer but my opinion says you should be alright as long as they don't get near any heat. I try and stay with stainless due to weather issues and my lust over it but black pipe is the way to go.

Someone in the know please chime in.

I would agree on this too. One question, are the galvanized pieces on the inside or outside of the drum? Are they galvanized pipe that threads into the holes? Reason I'm asking, air passing through the galvanize into the drum shouldn't hurt as long as the galvanize isn't heating up enough to emit fumes. If they are outside the drum & below the heat, I can't see how a few very small pieces could be a problem but I'm no expert.

The health risk is minimal at worst. Different story if your welding the stuff all day. Even if you work in a zinc plating factory, OSHA deosn't require any protective gear for fumes. Attached is a PDF that explains these risks.

Question-
Who was it that built the UDS upside sown? After cleaning mine this weekend having a removable bottom is a MUST for me! That or find a way to absorb the drippings that miss the coals.

I went on ebay and spotted a 18'' pizza pan but in keeping with the idea of lowest cost I passed on it. Any other ideas?

I remember seeing the upside down drum somewhere in this thread. My next one (notice I haven't even gotten the first perfected yet and I'm already thinking about the second :lol:) will be like that. I tried using a 16" terra cotta saucer (the kind that just goes under a flower pot) with the charcoal basket sitting on top of it, but I think that's hindering airflow a little. I could raise the basket a little & that might work.

I considered the pizza pan idea too - still may go that route, or may make an ash removal tool out of a hoe. The upside down drum with removable bottom has to be the way to go. Remove the bottom & you can even take that to the carwash & hit it with the pressure washer.

Yeah my feeling was it was safe. They are on the outside and dont come very close to the heat. Ok, thanks i feel better now!

KY:

I believe Norco made the first upside-down UDS. I have a short inner barrel in mine. It's easy to lift out and it doubles as a table top grill.

I NEED to see that man!!:razz:

See:

Looks like the perfect size for what I need.

I believe 1" is correct. If you're using a step bit you can always drill it to a size that's close than try a nipple to see if it fits, then go from there if you need to make it a little bigger.

That's correct.

So... you CAN have too mich pipe?!
lol



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Just 'cos you've got a long pipe you thingk we all want to see it?!?!?!:eek::-D

.. and ya like my BV too! lol

Ahhhh, but there's a galvanised fittign between the BV and the lid!!!!!!!

HERETIC!!! BURN HIM AT THE STAAAAAAAAKEE!!!!:-D

Drill to 7/8th first. But Kenny is probably right. Step bit is the only way to go.

It's just for show.lol


The rain & winds over here are very strong at the moment and i'm having a bit of trouble keeping the temps up. I'll try ramping them up with opening the valve all the way. Ant other suggestions?

OK, I'm trying my second trial run on my UDS to see if I got all the bugs worked out. It appears that the culprit causing my temps to drop and not go back up was the charcoal basket sitting directly on the terra cotta ashpan. Air was not able to get to the charcoal from below at all, so when the stuff on top burned and started to form a little ash the stuff on the bottom was unable to ignite. There were probably 18 - 20 unburned briquettes underneath the burned.

Got rid of the ashpan all together and raised the charcoal basket about 3/4" to make sure I'm getting good airflow. Now I only have 23-3/4" clearance between the charcoal grate & bottom cooking grate, which should be fine.

Anyway, I put another 9# bag of briquettes in the basket and poured 1/2 chimney of lit coals into the cavity in the middle. Took 3 minutes to get up to 225* and it's now coasting at 229* for about 15 minutes with one 1/2" inlet completely open and the 1/2" ball valve cracked open about 1/3 of the way.

Just put a piece of cardboard over the lid and watch the temp climb.

This ashpan may help. My UDS is now upside down, I cut the bottom out so that I could get to the ashes for easy cleanup. I used the lid from a donor and made a ashpan. I cut is about 1.5" smaller then the drum so the drum would be easy to lift over the charcoal basket and ashpan and set on the stand. After several cooks I think I am having a little trouble controlling the temps due I think to some air intake where the drum meets the stand. Nothing major, but I am going to weld two rings to the stand for the drum to fit into. I will put stove gasket between the rings so that it should be pretty airtight around the bottom of the drum allowing me more control with the intakes.

Just a curious question for Carrsvillesmoker, why 5" nipples?

And step bits are the way to go. They are so much better then reguluar bits I cannot describe the difference. After being in on 6 builds I would never go back to regular drill bits on a UDS or UDG.

I ended up going with 4 inch long nipples. The instructions I had originally received called for 6 inch ones. I am still trying to decide on a charcoal basket. I have an old 18 inch weber that I picked up on Freecycle that I might try to turn into a charcoal basket. I remember seeing something similar on here with an 18 inch weber.

You got it bro, just kick it once an hour to drop the ashes and she'll run there all day long!!! :biggrin:

what do you mean upside down? pics? Did I miss something?

Hey everybody been reading this for 2 days to get thru it all. GREAT STUFF, just got a Harbor Freight ad and the step drills are on sale with a coupon $8.99 for 3 different ones.

Well, unfortunately it didn't work out that way. All my charcoal burned out in the middle of the basket, failing to ignite the unlit coals and burn outward. It looks as though giving the drum a good whack let the ash fall through the basket and the lit coals may have lost contact with the unlit.

I left all 4 inlets and the exhaust wide open with the temp at 205* and just let it go. When I got up this morning I saw that the charcoal had burned out, leaving about 3/4 of it unburned. I think next time, instead of making a cavity in the middle of the unlit and pouring in the lit, I'm just going to pour the lit on top and let it spread out a little. I see that many just light there's in the basket with a weed burner and this would be similar.