My build...

[Tee2]

I started a thread over here and wanted to move over to the Homemade section for the build.

I figure if I keep a journal on my progress some of you guys and gals can nudge me to keep working until it's done. Use you imagination on what nudge means.

I got some great advice in my other thread from this board and am going to pick up from there.

I went to the two scrap yards that I have used in the past. The first one is around 50 miles away and is organized and generally has better stuff but cost more. Their scrap price is $.50 per pound. Second is about 10 miles away and is more fun to go to. They will let you walk around out in the yard but can't climb on the plies. They will have everything brand new to rusted old junk. You can some times find nicer stuff in the yard than in the warehouse. But the price is lower, $.40 for scrap and $.65 for new. My plan is to see what was there and then plan the smoker around that. I have learned that if you see something you want, buy it then, because if you come back a day or two later it might be gone.

This is the first place, I went to. I was thinking I would need to buy this new but there is a big pile of it. 1"X 1" X 1/2" channel for the door rope insulation.


There is a good selection of bigger angle iron, 1x1x 1/4 and bigger in like new shape.


The square tube selection was on the small size and on the dirty side. But a lot of 3/4x3/4" and 1x1". I was looking for some 1x2" but didn't see any.


I did find some 1x1x1/8" angle but only about 20 pieces. I will only need a few but last time I was there in the August the pile was at least 4' wide and 3' tall stacked tight. And it was like new.


Here are the sheets they had some clean 3/16 60x120" and some dirty 1/8" 60x120". Some price per # for the two. Also some nice 12ga and 14ga.


I got to the second yard just before noon so didn't have a lot of time in the yard and a guy didn't like me taking pictures.

Believe it or not I found some good angle in this pile but mostly bigger stuff. I didn't find any good sheet steel in the yard but did find some 10ga. 60x120" sheets inside that where clean and new. About $190 per sheet. I am going to try to get it all out of one sheet if I can. There was a drop off of the same but I didn't measure it.


You'll never know what you'll find here. Need a bulldozer? The G40 in the background is what they use in the yard and is probably in worse shape than the dozer.



Now to sit down with some paper and see what I come up with.

I have a few calls to some people I know about getting some of the metal sheared and bent. If that doesn't work out I'll just cut and weld it. I'm still checking my options on cutting.

Thanks for looking.



.

[Two Bears]

I started a thread over here and wanted to move over to the Homemade section for the build.

I figure if I keep a journal on my progress some of you guys and gals can nudge me to keep working until it's done. Use you imagination on what nudge means.

I got some great advice in my other thread from this board and am going to pick up from there.

I went to the two scrap yards that I have used in the past. The first one is around 50 miles away and is organized and generally has better stuff but cost more. Their scrap price is $.50 per pound. Second is about 10 miles away and is more fun to go to. They will let you walk around out in the yard but can't climb on the plies. They will have everything brand new to rusted old junk. You can some times find nicer stuff in the yard than in the warehouse. But the price is lower, $.40 for scrap and $.65 for new. My plan is to see what was there and then plan the smoker around that. I have learned that if you see something you want, buy it then, because if you come back a day or two later it might be gone.

This is the first place, I went to. I was thinking I would need to buy this new but there is a big pile of it. 1"X 1" X 1/2" channel for the door rope insulation.


There is a good selection of bigger angle iron, 1x1x 1/4 and bigger in like new shape.


The square tube selection was on the small size and on the dirty side. But a lot of 3/4x3/4" and 1x1". I was looking for some 1x2" but didn't see any.


I did find some 1x1x1/8" angle but only about 20 pieces. I will only need a few but last time I was there in the August the pile was at least 4' wide and 3' tall stacked tight. And it was like new.


Here are the sheets they had some clean 3/16 60x120" and some dirty 1/8" 60x120". Some price per # for the two. Also some nice 12ga and 14ga.


I got to the second yard just before noon so didn't have a lot of time in the yard and a guy didn't like me taking pictures.

Believe it or not I found some good angle in this pile but mostly bigger stuff. I didn't find any good sheet steel in the yard but did find some 10ga. 60x120" sheets inside that where clean and new. About $190 per sheet. I am going to try to get it all out of one sheet if I can. There was a drop off of the same but I didn't measure it.


You'll never know what you'll find here. Need a bulldozer? The G40 in the background is what they use in the yard and is probably in worse shape than the dozer.



Now to sit down with some paper and see what I come up with.

I have a few calls to some people I know about getting some of the metal sheared and bent. If that doesn't work out I'll just cut and weld it. I'm still checking my options on cutting.

Thanks for looking.



.

HOLY MOTHER LOAD !

I wouldn't have left the first place that you wwent to. They have everything that you need. Well almost, where is the tank ?

[Zeeker]

Dang. I'd be like a kid in a candy store at that place...

[Tee2]

HOLY MOTHER LOAD !

I wouldn't have left the first place that you wwent to. They have everything that you need. Well almost, where is the tank ?

No tank on this build, I'm going to build one like a Backwoods Smoker. The second place it where to find tanks. There was a spot out back that had 20-30 nice sized tanks. I didn't get back there this trip but last time anything from 20-30 gallon to 1000+ gallon. The problem is finding the right size with a good wall thickness. When you find a good size it will have a wall of 14ga or it will be 5/8".

[Tee2]

Dang. I'd be like a kid in a candy store at that place...

Zeek,

It's a cool place. Fun to see what is there. Next time I go back I'll get some more pictures. I took in some cast iron radiators a few weeks ago and in the back of the yard there where railroad box cars in a pile three high.

There where some nice stainless lockers that would make a great smoker. Size around 18"x36" x 70" with two doors. They probably used the grapple to unload them and just trashed them. This one had a divider but the others where open.



My brother told me he saw some stainless expanded metal, 3-4 4x8's. I was looking for them and think I found it under a pile of stainless junk. No way of using it now.

[Slanted88]

Awww....Hell...Now ya got all the Metal Heads all Jacked Up! That is a cool place...

[Meat Hunter]

Oh man, I'd be like a kid in a candy store there. So much metal, so many ideas, so little time and money

[aczeller]

it's always cool to walk around places like that and let your imagination run wild... i usually get myself into trouble in those places. my wife hates it becuase I will come home with a truck load of stuff with every intention of actually using it, and it sits on the side of the garage for a couple years. lol

in all honesty though, i would check prices at the actual metal supply houses around you. we get our galv. steel (which is usually more expensive than mild) for $0.45 per pound, new, wrapped and palletized. granted, we order in bulk, but even when i order for my own welding company, it is pretty cheap compared to your prices there... I got my last sheet of 1/8" steel, 4'x8' for about $100 or $120 if I remember correctly. I'm sure i have the invoice out in my truck.

the other thing to try is bartering with those guys... give them some scrap stainless, walk out with some rusty mild steel? it's worth a shot. think about it... they pay $0.05 per pound for guys bringing it in, then charge $0.45-$0.65 per pound to pile it half-assed and let you grab it? for some reason, i think they have a significant profit margin. lol

Later,
Andy

[Tee2]

it's always cool to walk around places like that and let your imagination run wild... i usually get myself into trouble in those places. my wife hates it becuase I will come home with a truck load of stuff with every intention of actually using it, and it sits on the side of the garage for a couple years. lol

in all honesty though, i would check prices at the actual metal supply houses around you. we get our galv. steel (which is usually more expensive than mild) for $0.45 per pound, new, wrapped and palletized. granted, we order in bulk, but even when i order for my own welding company, it is pretty cheap compared to your prices there... I got my last sheet of 1/8" steel, 4'x8' for about $100 or $120 if I remember correctly. I'm sure i have the invoice out in my truck.

the other thing to try is bartering with those guys... give them some scrap stainless, walk out with some rusty mild steel? it's worth a shot. think about it... they pay $0.05 per pound for guys bringing it in, then charge $0.45-$0.65 per pound to pile it half-assed and let you grab it? for some reason, i think they have a significant profit margin. lol

Later,
Andy

I went to the big supply house today to check prices. I called a friend that buys a fare amount from them and asked if I could use his name but pay cash, and he gave me the OK. New sheet price was $.66 per pound. And they had big selection in stock. From 4'x8' to 8'X20' I will probably get it here because it is in Indiana so the tax is cheaper.

1/8" is close to 11ga., 11ga weighs 5# per square foot, 4X8 = 32 sq. ft. = 160# per sheet. $100/160 = $0.625 per pound. Close to what I'm paying.

This place looks at selling scrap as a service to the people that are looking to buy. They would rather not do it. They are in the scrap business and could care less if they sell too. A few years ago I was looking around and saw around 30 soda kegs. While checking them out I noticed they where full of pop or soda take your pick. I called a friend who is a home brewer and asked if he wanted any. I went to the office to see how much for a few. He said $20 each. Much higher than buying at scrap price. I asked if I can save him some money will he give me a deal? Told him he was paying out stainless prices on 5 gallons of pop. He gave me one for free.

[aczeller]

.

1/8" is close to 11ga., 11ga weighs 5# per square foot, 4X8 = 32 sq. ft. = 160# per sheet. $100/160 = $0.625 per pound. Close to what I'm paying.

sorry about that. i tend to put my foot in my mouth too often. lol. I actually put down 4x8 on accident... mine actually was a 4x10 (our plasma table at work is setup to run 4x10 sheets, so that's typically all we buy). so 40SF*5.1=201 lbs. $100/201=$0.498 per lb.

now that I do the math, out galv. sheets are actually cheaper... 26 ga = .906lbs/SF and cost us around $25 or $26 per sheet.

Later,
Andy

[Richtee]

Well...whatever ya build, I don't see a material shortage in the future ;{)

[Tee2]

Today I went to a big steel supply house to get some prices on new steel. On 10ga sheets it was $.66 per pound. And they had a big selection on sizes in stock from 4'x8' to 8'x20'. I even went out to the warehouse to see what they had in drop offs. Good selection there too. But for the same price per pound as a full sheet. This place is in Indiana and the tax rate is about 2.5% lower than IL so the little bit higher price is off-set. And it is new and clean compared to the scrap yards. But I'll still go for scrap to get the square tube.

They really get you on cutting charges. A rough cut (shear) within an inch was $7, and an exact cut was $13. That could add up fast.

My plan was to check at a local welding store that has demo equipment to see if I could demo a plasma cutter. I was going to to be straight up with them and let them know I would not be buying in the near future but have a big project to try it out on. And even offer to pay a rental fee. But hope they wouldn't charge it. But I might need too.

I called a friend who owns a trucking company about using his account at the supply house but pay cash. He said that his repair shop is working 3 to 11 so the shop was empty most of the day and I could use his plasma cutter or whatever else I needed. He has a good size ironworker but the shear size is only 12". So that is the plan now.

I have been trying to make the smoker to use the most out of a sheet of steel. But it keeps getting smaller than I want. So I'm going to make it the size I want and may have to wait to finish it when the funds come in. Even though steel is cheap it adds up fast.

I hope to have a drawing by the end of the weekend so I can start buying some steel.

Todd

[Richtee]

AMEN it adds up fast. Sure ya can't use a tank and adapt? Prolly ALOT cheaper. Don't HAVE to be square eh?

[aczeller]

My plan was to check at a local welding store that has demo equipment to see if I could demo a plasma cutter. I was going to to be straight up with them and let them know I would not be buying in the near future but have a big project to try it out on. And even offer to pay a rental fee. But hope they wouldn't charge it. But I might need too.

I don't know how they operate over in your neck of the woods, but i know that if you even tried asking for anything like that here (without being a regular, BIG client), any reputable welding supplier would just laugh. Linweld and AirGas have small shops in the back to demo some equipment, but I have never heard of them letting you walk out the door with a unit unless, like i said, you are a BIG client that orders new equipment all the time (which is obviously pretty rare).

I have been trying to make the smoker to use the most out of a sheet of steel. But it keeps getting smaller than I want. So I'm going to make it the size I want and may have to wait to finish it when the funds come in. Even though steel is cheap it adds up fast.

I hope to have a drawing by the end of the weekend so I can start buying some steel.

Todd

that is my problem... i have tried thinking of ways of taking a single sheet and cutting it up to make a single smoker/grille, and can never seem to make one of significant size. i can get the "chamber" done, but after that, there is never enough metal left over to bend for legs, shelves, etc. i can easily build one out of a sheet and a half, or 2 grills out of 3 sheets, but making a single, decent sized unit out of a single sheet is damn near impossible as far as i can tell. lol

maybe a 4x10 sheet? i think i need to re-visit my previous ideas.

Later,
Andy

[Tee2]

sorry about that. i tend to put my foot in my mouth too often. lol. I actually put down 4x8 on accident... mine actually was a 4x10 (our plasma table at work is setup to run 4x10 sheets, so that's typically all we buy). so 40SF*5.1=201 lbs. $100/201=$0.498 per lb.

now that I do the math, out galv. sheets are actually cheaper... 26 ga = .906lbs/SF and cost us around $25 or $26 per sheet.

Later,
Andy

Wow that is cheap. I guess there is one reason to move to NE.

Just joking, I would move out of the nations arm pit in a heart beat if I could. I've been through NE at least 20 times and I can only remember one time during the day. It's always the middle of the night.

The two places I worked at had coil lines. During the mid 90's they would get 2-3 semi loads of coils a week. My boss told me the price per sheet was less the half from what they where paying. Only ran 24, 26, and 28ga. I hear now the duct machine only runs one to two days a week now.

The other place I worked, I didn't work in the shop but they ran Alu, stainless, galv and black iron from coils. Galv and black up to 16ga. It was a cool shop had a press break that would bend 10 foot, 1.25" at a 90. I was run like a sweat shop from what I hear.

Thanks for your help.