The Iron Maiden Gets an Upgrade...

[BBQ Engineer]

BECAUSE IT'S ON! Yup, the 4th of July is upon us, and that means blowout party around here. I wanted to add a few things to the Iron Maiden that I have never gotten around to during the initial build.

1. Drop Down Step
2. Pull out shelves

These two things will aid me greatly in cooking massive quantities of BBQ.

I design criteria that I incorporated into the shelves was to be as low profile as possible, to pull out without coming out or tipping, and also be completely removable. Here's how I did mine.

I mounted angle iron for shelf brackets. At the rear of the brackets I cut out a profile that would receive a tab from the shelf.


On each side of the shelf I mounted a tab made from angle iron that would captivate the shelf into the shelf bracket.


Here it is grabbing the shelf bracket as the shelf is slid out.


At the front of the shelf bracket I welded a hard stop on each side so you can't pull the shelf out the front.


Here it is with all the shelves extended...I just need to clean everything up and tack the expanded metal on the shelf frames.




I also added a drop down step that folds up for travel.





Because it's on...hell yeah, our independence day party is definitely gonna be awesome.








I'll try and take lots of Pics this year and let everyone know how it played out.

[SMOKE FREAK]

Nice work Dana...
I wish I had your skills...
And your smoker...
And about a fourth of your fireworks...

[HawgHeaven]

So, I'm taking this as an invitation... bags and cameras PACKED!!

Nice mods Dana! Me thinks you have this engineering thing down brutha!

[Mark R]

Dana, those pull out shelves in the cooker. All the ones I've ever seen that pull out like that were made out of angle iron for support. You sure they not gonna bend under weight???

BTW, nice werk!

[barkonbutts]

Looks pretty good to me!!

[BBQ Engineer]

Dana, those pull out shelves in the cooker. All the ones I've ever seen that pull out like that were made out of angle iron for support. You sure they not gonna bend under weight???

BTW, nice werk!

Mark,

The 1 1/2 x 1/4" metal bar stock I used for the shelves is very rigid at the distances that they cantilever over the front of the shelf bracket. You would be hard pressed to bend these. They are also supported by 2 1/2" angle.

I know in my pictures they look small and light compared to the massiveness of the smoker, but they aren't. They are solid and tight.

Also on the step, I used massive hinges since the step acts as a huge lever arm.


I also Gusseted the 3"angle I used for that with 3/8" plate steel.




I built this step super solid...I am a big guy...NFL linebacker big. I would hate for this thing to drop me on my head so I made sure it would handle the stresses of a big cook.

[Mark R]

Mark,

The 1 1/2 x 1/4" metal bar stock I used for the shelves is very rigid at the distances that they cantilever over the front of the shelf bracket. You would be hard pressed to bend these. They are also supported by 2 1/2" angle.

I know in my pictures they look small and light compared to the massiveness of the smoker, but they aren't. They are solid and tight.

Looks great!

[chefrob]

nice job dana..........as usual it's gonna be a great 4th on yer block.........

[Fishawn]

Nice work! Party on 🍺

[THUMPERRRR]

looks good to me,,,
enjoy!!!

[WALLE]

to ya Dana! Love the slide out shelves....been contemplating those for WALLE. HUGE fan of steps.

And finally - Good Gawd Man! That maybe you biggest pile of sky bombs yet! Love it.

You Gotta take pictures....and if I remember right, get that gurl band back!

[Slanted88]

Chow & Fireworks! Ya done Iron Maiden up good!

[BBQ Engineer]

Finished up my project this AM...looks pretty good. I've gotta finish shining it up and then a quick pressure wash and season for the grates. I did use some new grates and recycled a couple that I have to hit with a wire brush on the angle grinder, but this is gonna make it nice and I'll have much more useable rack space.

[BBQ Engineer]

to ya Dana! Love the slide out shelves....been contemplating those for WALLE. HUGE fan of steps.

And finally - Good Gawd Man! That maybe you biggest pile of sky bombs yet! Love it.

You Gotta take pictures....and if I remember right, get that gurl band back!

Thanks Tracey. Yeah, that step is really going to make a difference. Usually I pull a stump over or a block or whatever. Half the time I'm stepping over and it is wobbling and about to dump me on my head with a pan of hot 'Que...and after a long cook, I'm beat from just climbing over the rail. This is definitely going to make a difference in my world.

[Mark R]

Cool Beanz