My old back yard smoker finally burned out over the holidays and decided to have one custom built to my specs. The process started 2 weeks ago. It is not completed and still has a way to go. I went up to the fabrication shop today to help with the design of the grates, sausage racks and door latches and decided to take a few pictures. Unfortunately my spring latch design will not work; I will lose too much space on the smoking grates due to the banding required for the latches. Oh well.

It is pretty heavy, we weighed it and it tipped the scales at 872 pounds. That is without the grates and racks. Overall height as it sits now is 7’ tall but we are cutting a foot off the steel frame so I can access the top racks without a ladder. The chimney is a pyramid design to allow true convection current before the smoke exits the chamber allowing more even cooking (my design). Still have not completed the baffles, smoke stack and dampeners, they should be ready next week. I am still debating on the placement of the thermometers; it will have 3, just not sure on the locations yet.

I will update the thread as progress is made.

That's going to suck if you can't cook worth a damn. (Something tells me you probably know what you're doing. Helluva big thing you built there.)

Thanks LP, yeah I have been doing it for a few years. That is my trailer pit in the background, it is getting a face lift.

Yo Hawg....I got a little winter project going too in my shop. Not quite as nice as yours but I think it's gonna be pretty sweet. These are some older pics, I have the trailer and axels built and mounted now, still a lot of work to do. I also plan on mounting a propane fish cooker on the front somewhere also. I'm not the best welder around, but it's getting there, I do a lot of grinding. Keep me posted on your progress.

I'm finding that hinges and doors are gonna be my biggest problem to fab, you got any suggestions?

3/8" NPT nipples with 3/8" cold roll......bend the cold roll 90 deg and file the inside edges of the cold roll to smooth out the swing. Last a lifetime. Buy the nipples long enough to cut the threads off and only use the barrel of the nipple. You might take a piece of cold roll and fit check sch 40 or maybe a sch 80 nipple to see wich one fits best.

livinlife wrote:

3/8" NPT nipples with 3/8" cold roll......bend the cold roll 90 deg and file the inside edges of the cold roll to smooth out the swing. Last a lifetime. Buy the nipples long enough to cut the threads off and only use the barrel of the nipple. You might take a piece of cold roll and fit check sch 40 or maybe a sch 80 nipple to see wich one fits best.

Umm.....metal? Way too technical for me. I am but a novice.

I have been reworking my nephews BBQ pit and it needed new hinges. Go to a metal shop and look at small pipe that smooth round will fit snug into. I had some laying in the shop and built hinges for his pit. Those hinges will last and never get loose. Cut the pipe the length of your door and then cut it into thirds. Cut the rod the same length as the cut pipe, insert the rod and weld up the ends. Weld the ends to the pit and the middle to your door or vice versa.

I bought some pre fab hinges, looked too small. I'll build my own I guess.

You might check a trailer supply shop for the hinges or making your own would be pretty easy like mentioned earlier.

Docktrash wrote:

livinlife wrote: 3/8" NPT nipples with 3/8" cold roll......bend the cold roll 90 deg and file the inside edges of the cold roll to smooth out the swing. Last a lifetime. Buy the nipples long enough to cut the threads off and only use the barrel of the nipple. You might take a piece of cold roll and fit check sch 40 or maybe a sch 80 nipple to see wich one fits best. Umm.....metal? Way too technical for me. I am but a novice.

Yes....if you go with bought hinges they'll rust up in a year or bind up. I will post some pics of what I am talking about. Its the only really good way to build hinges for cookers......its the heat that wipes out the bought hinges.

livinlife wrote:

Docktrash wrote: livinlife wrote: 3/8" NPT nipples with 3/8" cold roll......bend the cold roll 90 deg and file the inside edges of the cold roll to smooth out the swing. Last a lifetime. Buy the nipples long enough to cut the threads off and only use the barrel of the nipple. You might take a piece of cold roll and fit check sch 40 or maybe a sch 80 nipple to see wich one fits best. Umm.....metal? Way too technical for me. I am but a novice. Yes....if you go with bought hinges they'll rust up in a year or bind up. I will post some pics of what I am talking about. Its the only really good way to build hinges for cookers......its the heat that wipes out the bought hinges.

Lets see some pics, the hinges I bought were pre fab BBQ smoker style hinges, I just think they are too small.

Docktrash wrote:

I'm finding that hinges and doors are gonna be my biggest problem to fab, you got any suggestions?

That is going to be a nice rig! Livin is right about the hinges although I am using prefabbed cold rolled 5" hinges on my unit. The chamber will have four hinges and the fire box will have three.

On your doors, what are you thinking as far as the layout? On mine I am banding 2" around the firebox door and reinforcing the door itself, same as the chamber. When completed I will brace the doors using 1" square and a steady bead in between to minimize flex.

If you have access to a plasma cutter you can cut the door out and not warp it alot. If you leave a few 1" tabs uncut until after it cools a bit then cut those tabs it wont warp at all.

You can do the same thing with a torch just skip around and drink alot of beer in between cuts.......

If I was paid for all of the cookers I've built I would be like Stew.......

I am working on some pics to show the type hinges I build......

you guys need to get on that BBQ pitmasters show.

HawgNutz wrote:

Docktrash wrote: I'm finding that hinges and doors are gonna be my biggest problem to fab, you got any suggestions? That is going to be a nice rig! Livin is right about the hinges although I am using prefabbed cold rolled 5" hinges on my unit. The chamber will have four hinges and the fire box will have three. On your doors, what are you thinking as far as the layout? On mine I am banding 2" around the firebox door and reinforcing the door itself, same as the chamber. When completed I will brace the doors using 1" square and a steady bead in between to minimize flex.

Kinda the same here, 2" flat strap around the edges. I would like to put a vertical cook box on the end of mine, but that's a lot more fab work. Mine still needs a ton of work. I got the trailer and axles pretty much fabbed up. I'm going to have a wood box on the other side of the cook chamber and a fish fryer up front.

livinlife wrote:

If you have access to a plasma cutter you can cut the door out and not warp it alot. If you leave a few 1" tabs uncut until after it cools a bit then cut those tabs it wont warp at all. You can do the same thing with a torch just skip around and drink alot of beer in between cuts....... If I was paid for all of the cookers I've built I would be like Stew....... I am working on some pics to show the type hinges I build......

I used a CNC for the door on the chamber and will use a plasma cutter for the fire box. I like the torch comment, if I did that drinking beer it would look like a jigsaw puzzle


Dave---no competition for me, that is too much work. I have been watching the show and it is pretty good.

A little more progress and some bling. Had to lower the frame, it was a little too tall, chopped about one foot from it.

That's amazing. I'm really impressed.

Thank you LP! It is coming along.

You owe me a chopped beef sandwich. No fat. no onions.

LP-1 wrote:

You owe me a chopped beef sandwich. No fat. no onions.

Consider it done!

Yeah how about you break that bad boy in on a lake shore and we all pull up in our boats and eat some BBQ. Ill bring my kayak....lol

That is a sweet looking rig, a little different set up than mine with your vertical cook chamber. Nice...

Daveg99 wrote:

Yeah how about you break that bad boy in on a lake shore and we all pull up in our boats and eat some BBQ. Ill bring my kayak....lol

Considering I will have to use the Gantry crane to load it in my trailer to get it home I will have to pass on that idea.

When I finish the rehab of my trailer pit that idea may be doable.