Well I took the plunge and decided to make a UDS. Unfortunately I only have after pictures. I wish I took some before. I did a bit of research trying to find out how I should make the UDS, and found a how-to on another forum and more or less followed it.
The hardest part was finding the drum. I knew a place that would give me one for free, but it would not be food grade and they were a little beat up. So I broke down and bought an open topped drum with a lid for $20 that was once used for honey.
I fired the drum last Friday using wood that I found from a construction site dumpster. That was fun. After that the liner and paint brushed off pretty easy with a wire brush attachment I have for my drill.
I am using 4 - 3/4 inch holes at the bottom. Three have plugs and the other has a valve. I originally planned on cannibalizing an old weber grill that I had for the grate and lid. But the lid was slightly too small. I ended up using a hammer to flatten out the lip of the lid and then put the lid on the drum and hammered the flattened lip around the lip of the drum. It now fits, but it isn't the prettiest thing in the world. The porcelain coating was chipping off like crazy, so if you try this be careful. Some porcelain cut my hand and some got in my eye.
I also made a lid using the drum lid. I plan on using the drum lid most of the time and using the weber lid when I am doing something big like a turkey. Plus eventually I would like to add a second grate or maybe a rotisseie and I would want the weber lid for that.
After that, I drilled the holes, painted it with automotive enamel spray paint, and assembled it.
I still need to make the fire box. I have a friend that is going to help me weld something together (hopefully this weekend). Does anyone have any recommendations for the size? I was planning on doing 16" diameter and 9" tall and sitting 3 or 4 inches off the bottom. Also I was thinking about attaching some kind of tray to catch the ashes, but is that overkill?
I was thinking about attaching castors to the bottom of the drum. Will they melt? How annoying would the castor's bolts be while cleaning it (especially if I don't use a tray to catch the ashes)?
Are there any other recommendations?
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