Not SO Mini Smokehouse Build w/Pics

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jarjarchef

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
Sep 30, 2010
3,155
117
Central Florida
I had started this thread to answer a few questions I had....

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/130723/mini-smoke-house

This thread is my Daddy Daughter Day for our build!!! We ran into some issues and other obligations coming up that were not planned, so we did not get finished. However we did get a lot of it completed......

I did not really want to make as big of one as we did, but after looking at potential needs down the road I decided to go larger.... I wanted to be around 24"x 24"x 48", but we ended up with 24"x 35ish"x 60". I wanted to be able to put 2 hotel pans side by side on each shelf. In order to move it around later I may add some wheels to it, but that is later........

Materials List: I will update as I get more written down.....

4ea           3/4" Plywood Sheets

10ea          8' 2x4's

2ea           4"x8" Air Vents

1ea           2#  1 1/2" Exterior Deck Screws

????          1 1/2" Brad Nails (Air Gun)

????          3 1/2" Framing Nails (Air Gun)

More To Come......

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 Yes, I have listed plywood......... I did look at doing tongue and grove boards. I talked with a few people on this site and outside the site about the risks. Based on the conversations and what others who have built with plywood have had to say. I made the decision for my build to use plywood. If you decide to build one of your own, I would strongly suggest you do the research and make the decision you feel is best for you.

OK, so now onto the good stuff.......THE PICTURES!!!!!!

So I was kind of making up the design as we went along. It took a lot longer this way, but I was able to get my daughter (Cassie) to have a few learning experiences along the way and that was what was important to me....

For ease of mounting the shelf brackets I decided to build from the inside out. We made a skeleton of all the insides first then added the outer skin. 

I cut 10ea 2x4 to 17" length

4ea were used for the bottom firebox area.

6ea were drilled with 1 1/2" paddle bit and the ripped in half on table saw.

I lay-ed out the 4ea 2x4 for the edge, squared it up and then marked 72" on one outer edge and 69" on the other outer edge.Ran a chalk line from one mark to the other to mark the cut angle. I saved to long scrap for the top support, only had to cut once since the angle was already done.

Tacked them all together with brad nails......


I cut 6ea - 30" 2x4's and attached with framing nails.

Front view w/ burner 


Side view.....


I cut 2' off the end of a sheet of plywood, then ripped it in half. Marked the 69" and ran a line to the corner to trim for the angle on both pieces. I took the 2' piece I cut off and trimmed it down for the bottom piece. Before we mounted the sides we cut out the holes for the air vents.....I used factory cuts to square up the sides and bottom......

Part of the experience for Cassie was for her to be very hands on. A couple years ago I built a 16'x24' shed and she helped nail the siding on with the framing gun. She really liked the brad nailer........not as much kick 
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.....


I was not feeling well and needed to get some meds. When I came back this is what I saw......


I cut a second sheet to the dimensions needed. I used two factory cut edges to square up the smoker.

Ran the chalk lines for the doors. I drilled 1/2" starter holes in each corner......


She cut out the air vent holes and before I was done drilling the starter holes, she was ready to cut more. So I let her have at it!!!


I attached a couple scrap pieces of wood to the door, so it would not fall through and help for removal.


I was not feeling well and my other daughter came over and dropped an unplanned obligation on my lap. So in the scramble to get cleaned up I did not get any more pictures.....

Still to do:

Clean up the door cut outs and holes

Mount back panel

Make a roof from the scrap pieces (going to cover with a roofing material)

Paint

Trim

Mount hard-wear (latches, hinges, handles, lower vents and stack)

and anything else that I find out I have missed........
 
Looks like you're off to a great start man! It's nice your daughter worked by your side to do this as well 
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  You're on the downhill side of things now as far as getting it done 
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  Looking forward to the rest of the build. Hope you get to feeling better too man!
 
Thanks Jeramy, I'm really trying hard to keep the smokehouse build out of my head and here you are posting pictures of what I keep seeing in my head and trying not to!!!

But seriously, it looks Great! I don't know how you get your daughter to help but it's Great!!! When mine was that age she was too busy with the world revolving around her to help me with anything!
 
Looks like you're off to a great start man! It's nice your daughter worked by your side to do this as well 
smile.gif
  You're on the downhill side of things now as far as getting it done 
thumb1.gif
  Looking forward to the rest of the build. Hope you get to feeling better too man!
Thank You....Yes mostly little stuff. Unfortunately I may have to finish without her. I have to work today and after fix my wife's car. If time we will work on it again tonight.
Great start Jeramy....   where did you get the expert help....   I like the plan...    Dave
Thank You for your help as well.
Jeramy.....looks great! Cant wait to see more. Hope you are feeling better!
Thank You... yes better...
Thanks Jeramy, I'm really trying hard to keep the smokehouse build out of my head and here you are posting pictures of what I keep seeing in my head and trying not to!!!

But seriously, it looks Great! I don't know how you get your daughter to help but it's Great!!! When mine was that age she was too busy with the world revolving around her to help me with anything!
I have had this in my head for some time......let it out it is a fun experience....it was her idea, that is how I got her out there. I involved her and allowed her to make decisions......
Looking good so far, very well built.

al
Thank you. I looked at yours many times for ideas and inspiration...
Looks great so far but you need to provide a breakfast Mac and a large coffee for the help.  
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Thank you. That was at around 1pm....she said she was faking, but I was able to walk up and take a few pics before she woke up...
Hope you getting well . I'll be watching for more when you do.
Thank you...feeling much better now....

Thank you all for the compliments. It has been fun and a very worthwhile experience that will stay with both of us.

Thank you all for the well wishes. It was kind of my fault. I was focused on Cassie and the build and ended up not eating or drinking much and got sick from it. All is well after a meal and a ton of liquids.

Cassie has always shown an interest in smoking. She really loves Fatties, especially the Beef and Mac ones wrapped in bacon. She asked me one day when we would make her a smoker for her moms. Well that would not go over great with mom and it would not get used much. So I told her we could make one for my house and she could help. We set a date and that is all I have heard about since. We even went out to lunch one day and picked out possible hardware for it. She has really gotten into it. The next thing she wants to do after making some fatties in it is make jerky....hey I 'm game for it!
 
It has been couple weeks since my last work day on this. We tried for a Father Daughter Valentines Date to work on this last week. Well the weather had other plans and I had to drive 2 hrs one way to get a playground set for my wife. That is a whole other adventure...... but that is a story for the long over night smoke and a few to drink by a fire..... 

Day 2:

We sanded a bit before we had to leave for the Playground Adventure.....


Day 3:

I was cutting some trim down to the size I wanted for the doors.  For the past couple weeks I have been having these bad thoughts of my shelves falling when loaded. So I was going to cut some corner supports out of some scrap. Then I has these little strips left, so I figured a bit of glue and some brad nails to hold while it dried. Looks like they will work..... time will tell.


Just a couple shots of the sides as we were filling some large missing spots...... I did have to re-cut the vent holes to be larger.... I changed what I am going to use....more on those later....



I like to paint the trim before I install it. Saves time by not taping in my opinion. Besides it gave her a job she was all in charge of.....this was while I was able to work on the roof....


I really did not want to cut down another sheet of plywood for the roof with all of the scraps I had. Since I am going to cover with metal roofing I figured 2 pieces would be fine..... The one piece would have covered it with no over hang, but I wanted to have an overhang..... I did a 5" overhang on front and back, sides I did a 4.5" overhang......



I ended up withe a bit of an odd angle, but the trim will cover it and you will not notice when done.....


While Cassie was painting the smokehouse and the doors, I started to work on the rods for the shelves and hanging rods. I am too cheap to spend the crazy amount what they wanted for wood dowels...... sooooooo I figured i have a table saw and some 2x4's. Well I decided to rip them down to 1.5" x 1.5" and then cut the edge to make octagon dowels.......





Cassie was working hard to get the first coat of paint down.


Tomorrow we hope to get the second coat down. If it dries in time we will start to put the trim and hardware on....

Cassie is doing a great job and being very patient.... she is chomping at the bit to make fatties in this. But we still have a lot to do, but her mom is on board with her doing this and has told me I can have her anytime to work on this. So we should see that beautiful TBS flowing sometime this week if all goes well.

This whole process that Cassie and I have gone through with this has been priceless...... I would recommend this type of project for anyone who has the tools or access to them. Another one that would work and is a bit faster would be a UDS......

Thank you for taking the time to read this.. we have truly enjoyed ourselves....

Jeramy and Cassie
 
I think this is the best project for you guys!  Love seeing the progress.  Keep us posted.  Want to see the fatties and her smiling face when she gets to do those!

Kat
 
Jeramy you and Cassie are doing a great job I like all the pictures. I can's wait to see it finished and smoking.
Ronnie G.
 
So we are for the most part done. Only a couple little things I want to add to make life easier when in use (shelf for remote therms, hangers for tongs and a bit of touch up paint). The only thing stopping me from using it is a stupid fitting for the gas line...... I am using the gas line for a fish fryer that has the regulator and needle valve. I am adding a 10' extension to it and the end are different and having to get creative for the adapters due to the threads being different.....but I will get it going tomorrow i hope.....

Here is where the build is at.......enjoy!!!!

It was time to give the smoker a bit of trim......






I had planned on using vents with dampers, but when one broke I figured it was time to go with a better plan. I put one on each side of the smoker. This way I should have plenty of air flow with just one. So if the wind is blowing too hard I can cover the vent with a magnet sheet. I will be placing the AMNPS on a riser in front of the open vent on the inside of the smoker. I think there will be enough air flow for the AMNPS and burner. Only time will tell....... I put some wire mesh under the vent to help keep the bugs out.....


This was the first look I tried for the mount for the latches.....it was not clean even after some paint, so I scrapped it and went with cleaner look....


I like this look better, much cleaner...... I removed the red plastic handle and the adjustable screws to paint them and the hinges black......


What I used for the hinges. I made them a little shorter so when the door closes it will give a bit of pressure.....


A few shots of the overall smoker in the works.....we painted the bottom for protection, had a brush dirty with purple so there it went.....



She took this shot while I was fitting the metal for the roof....



Vent hole..... I used a 4" exhaust.....


Covered with wire mesh for the bugs....


I am planning on using remote therms, but for now I installed a dial therm for back up. The thread were not long enough for me to go through the 3/4" plywood, so had to recess it and lock in with a washer. I like it....


Since I will not be using the 3 valves for flame adjustment, I am placing it in sideways, so I have an easier path for the gas line. I am going to run the line through the floor and mount the needle valve to the side of the smoker for ease of access and use....... need to get the paver to sit it on........


I a few more of it standing waiting to be burned out.......



I hope you have enjoyed it.....I know we have and will.....
 
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