grosen84
Is lookin for wood to cook with.
Hello all, 1st post, long time internet user :loco: I have an affinity for building more than anything (1950 Ford in the garage, various AK's and AR's in the safe, crown molding around the custom master closets...etc.), but I also live in the SF Bay area, where we definitely lack good Q. For me, second to building is eating, and I recently discovered the magic of the Ugly Drum Smoker after doing some shopping for a Traeger. Combine the internet + a closing OSH nearby + a free drum = my first UDS build.
I read various posts online regarding the closed/sealed head barrels, and never found a really good thread showing how to actually take the lid off but keep it usable, so I figured that would be a worthy endeavor to try and add to the online hive-mind. And 20 minutes ago I just finished it.
The heads are just crimped on over a lip on the drum, so I knew if I could some up with a way to remove the lid metal and retain the drum lip, I'd have an edge left over I could seal with a gasket (or not even, maybe) that should be more than sufficient to keep a good seal on the top of the smoker. After a stop to OSH to raid what was left of their discounted tool parts, I returned home with a 40grit flapper wheel and a metal grinding disc for my 4.5" angle grinder. The flapper wheel was all it took, and less than 10 minutes later i was rewarded with a now 2 piece, and seemingly completely usable UDS starting base.
The key is to not remove so much material that you're disfiguring the drum lip, you want to get just to the point of grinding away the lid material. Luckily the lid has a very obvious way of telling you you're done. As the metal for the lid thins out near being totally eliminated, it starts to heat and leaves you with a little black streak. 1 more pass with the grinder to remove the streak and you've successfully separated the lid from the crimp lip on the barrel.
All it takes is light pressure, and a short 2" stroke back and forth with the grinder held at the appropriate angle (check your flapper wheel for instructions) and you'll have the head off your barrel in no time...and you can actually use it again! I started with the right side of the flapper wheel (so the grindings shot towards the ground) and moved, with the grinder basically vertical, to the left 2" then came back until I would see the black streak. One more pass and the black streak is gone, and you can see the faint separation from the lid and the barrel. Moving the grinder to the right from starting felt choppy and rough for some reason (don't know if it was the flapper wheel or just my old grinder) so I'd suggest working clockwise around the barrel with the right surface of the grinder doing the work.
A slight tug on the vent hole and off she came. I still need to blunt the edge on the lid, so I don't lose any appendages while cooking, but that's basically it. I also may try to come up with a way to cut the remaining lid material off the drum, as it will allow for moisture to collect and will eventually separate and look ugly. If I were to notch for a rotisserie, I'm sure I'd be able to just take it off, but I don't see an easy way that would still leave 100% of the drum lip intact. I'm happy it worked out as well as it did, because there's a winery nearby selling a closed stainless steel drum for $100. I think that will be my permanent device, as the salt air is brutal to metal out here. Next time I'm going to try to hold the grinder on an angle as close to the barrel as possible, to try and preserve as much lid material as I can. This method should work out fantastic with those trick stainless steel lid hinges that are out there.
I read various posts online regarding the closed/sealed head barrels, and never found a really good thread showing how to actually take the lid off but keep it usable, so I figured that would be a worthy endeavor to try and add to the online hive-mind. And 20 minutes ago I just finished it.
The heads are just crimped on over a lip on the drum, so I knew if I could some up with a way to remove the lid metal and retain the drum lip, I'd have an edge left over I could seal with a gasket (or not even, maybe) that should be more than sufficient to keep a good seal on the top of the smoker. After a stop to OSH to raid what was left of their discounted tool parts, I returned home with a 40grit flapper wheel and a metal grinding disc for my 4.5" angle grinder. The flapper wheel was all it took, and less than 10 minutes later i was rewarded with a now 2 piece, and seemingly completely usable UDS starting base.
The key is to not remove so much material that you're disfiguring the drum lip, you want to get just to the point of grinding away the lid material. Luckily the lid has a very obvious way of telling you you're done. As the metal for the lid thins out near being totally eliminated, it starts to heat and leaves you with a little black streak. 1 more pass with the grinder to remove the streak and you've successfully separated the lid from the crimp lip on the barrel.
All it takes is light pressure, and a short 2" stroke back and forth with the grinder held at the appropriate angle (check your flapper wheel for instructions) and you'll have the head off your barrel in no time...and you can actually use it again! I started with the right side of the flapper wheel (so the grindings shot towards the ground) and moved, with the grinder basically vertical, to the left 2" then came back until I would see the black streak. One more pass and the black streak is gone, and you can see the faint separation from the lid and the barrel. Moving the grinder to the right from starting felt choppy and rough for some reason (don't know if it was the flapper wheel or just my old grinder) so I'd suggest working clockwise around the barrel with the right surface of the grinder doing the work.
A slight tug on the vent hole and off she came. I still need to blunt the edge on the lid, so I don't lose any appendages while cooking, but that's basically it. I also may try to come up with a way to cut the remaining lid material off the drum, as it will allow for moisture to collect and will eventually separate and look ugly. If I were to notch for a rotisserie, I'm sure I'd be able to just take it off, but I don't see an easy way that would still leave 100% of the drum lip intact. I'm happy it worked out as well as it did, because there's a winery nearby selling a closed stainless steel drum for $100. I think that will be my permanent device, as the salt air is brutal to metal out here. Next time I'm going to try to hold the grinder on an angle as close to the barrel as possible, to try and preserve as much lid material as I can. This method should work out fantastic with those trick stainless steel lid hinges that are out there.
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