Been Doing Some Fabricating (Pic Heavy)

[MacEggs]

I was inspired by a number of threads. The first one is from another forum (The Smoke Ring).
Hogsy's post in the 2nd thread regarding the chimney starter.
The third and fourth deal with charcoal baskets.

http://thesmokering.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17750

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/weber-kettles-accessories/recommend-a-floor-mat-or-pad-please-i-damaged-3-or-4-deck-composite-boards/

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/food-pr0n/wife-has-been-complaining/

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/food-pr0n/pizza-and-california-tri-tip/new/?topicseen#new

I put my thinking cap on, and went to it planning it out. I fabricated some of it out of cardboard for use as a template.
Making a piece for the Weber chimney starter was a challenge, too. As it has that cone-shape of wires in it.

I am not an experienced welder. I took a course last year at a local college, so I learned some there.
But, I haven't done much since last summer. Thought, I got to give it a try. I have a POS flux-core wire welder. It does okay. 

The main reason that I did this, is because I want to start using lump more in the kettle.
So many small pieces. I usually only use lump in my 2 UDS's.

I'm not sure of the longevity of these pieces. Time will tell.

The first pic is of a Smokey Joe. The rest are for the 22.5" kettle.

[Bman]

THAT's thinking with your dip-stick, Jimmy!

(reference to bad, older radio commercial)

[G$]

If I could give you more than one "Thank You" I would.  Nice work.

[Winz]

Excellent work!  I love the fact that you thought to modified the chimney starter as well.

[1buckie]

Pretty dang neat & orderly there,Mark.....

Got a lot of different items taken care of with a few short strokes.......

If you happen to have pics of the baskets out of the cookers, that may be instructive to I & others......

i thought of doing a "ring" one kinda like that, but with two uprights, to then keep the charcoal off the wall of the kettle ( like we were talking about in the porcelain damage thread.....)

[LightningBoldtz]

That is awesome work, nicely done

[Peaspurple]

Nice work. I may try a couple of the myself.

Thanks

[Chasing_smoke]

Those are very clean Mac! Looks awesome!


"my kettle is more powerful it will do almost anything."

[mike.stavlund]

Great work, Mark!  Thanks for sharing the details.

[Duke]

Very nice work Mac!

[Troy]

Badass!  I love the chimney mod! !

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[sunsanvil]

Pretty dang neat & orderly there,Mark.....

Understatement!

You've culminated in one thread all my wishes for my OTG as I too have a predilection for lump and am remiss to find so much go to waste in the ash pan.

What sort of mesh material is that you worked with?

[Hogsy]

VERY VERY IMPRESSIVE!!!
I love the the versatility and improvements that you can do with a kettle all it takes is an idea a bit of know how and some experimentation
Can you explain the set up with the third photo.....is that to setup a snake method type cook?

[colin.p]

Thanks, that will give me something to work with and modify for my specific needs. I don't have access to welding equipment, but I would imagine using wire or nuts/bolts/washers would also work. Maybe a little crude looking, however, I don't expect my "butts" to be too concerned.

BTW, if I do use wire, what is the best material to use?

[Hogsy]

Any wire that's not galvanized should be sweet