# Hello from California with my Mini WSM



## radioyaz (Sep 10, 2014)

New to the forum and glad to be here.

I am in Modesto, CA. and built my Mini WSM in July.  (build video)

I am a novice to smoking, but no novice to bbq, grilling or eating! I was going to buy a smoker but found this forum and a few videos on building a mini wsm. I had a very old smokey joe (20+ years) that I only used for camping trips. Spent a Saturday buying parts and BAM... $60 later I have been smoking basically every weekend since. 

Here are some pics of the build and my first tritip....I look forward to being a part of the club.













mini wsm 020.jpg



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mini wsm 018.jpg



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mini wsm 019.jpg



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## dirtsailor2003 (Sep 10, 2014)

Welcome! Great job on your Mini-WSM and your first smoke!


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## GaryHibbert (Sep 10, 2014)

Hey

Welcome to the Smoking  forum.   You’ll find great , friendly people here, all more than willing to answer any question you may have.  Just ask and you’ll get about 10 different answers—all right.  LOL.   Don’t forget to post qviews.

Gary


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## cmayna (Sep 10, 2014)

Radioyaz,
Welcome to SMF.


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## radioyaz (Sep 11, 2014)

Thanks! Glad to be here.


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## welshrarebit (Sep 11, 2014)

What's supporting your lower grate? I built my mini about the same time as you.


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## lemans (Sep 11, 2014)

Radioyaz
    Looks like you went in my garage and took 
Black Beauty!! Lol













image.jpg



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## radioyaz (Sep 11, 2014)

mini wsm 007 003_0003.jpg



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mini wsm 007 001_0001.jpg



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Welshrarebit said:


> What's supporting your lower grate? I built my mini about the same time as you.



Hey Welsh. I just doubled up the nuts and bolts used for the top grate. I measured 3 3/4 inches from the nuts supporting the top grate and that left it just above the pan. The pan is sitting on my old grill grate which fit perfectly in the steamer tray ring at the very bottom of the pot. I didn't want to use long bolts to support the pan, I thought those might bend if the pot got too hot. 

These two pics kind of show it before I painted it. The bottom nuts you see on the outside of the pot are holding the second grate. The top view is the bottom gate just above the clay water pan that is sitting on the grate where the steamer pan would have been in the original pot.  

Glad to here you made one too. Did you post a pic?


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## radioyaz (Sep 11, 2014)

Lemans said:


> Radioyaz
> Looks like you went in my garage and took
> Black Beauty!! Lol
> 
> ...



Hey Lemans,

Tis a beauty. Nice work!


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## gary s (Sep 11, 2014)

Good morning and welcome to the forum, from a finally cooling down East Texas. Lots of great people and tons of information.   Good job ------- looks nice

Gary


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## themule69 (Sep 11, 2014)

Glad you joined the group. The search bar at the top of any page is your best friend.
About anything you wanna know about smoking/grilling/curing/brining/cutting or slicing
and the list goes on has probably been posted. Remember to post a QVIEW of your smokes.
We are all smoke junkies here and we have to get our fix. If you have questions
Post it and you will probably get 10 replies with 11 different answers. That is
because their are so many different ways to make great Q...
Happy smoken.
David


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## radioyaz (Sep 11, 2014)

Thanks David,

Is there a better place or "the" place to post Qviews? I found a thread in the mini wsm board posted some there. I appreciate the advice.


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## oldschoolbbq (Sep 12, 2014)

, Radioyaz . Welcome to the crew . stake a claim and become a member of the neighborhood.

Send plenty of Q-view ( done) and narration , and as always . . .


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## mj ryder (Sep 12, 2014)

Welcome radioyaz.  I'm right down the road in Turlock,  but work in modesto. Glad you joined the group.


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## radioyaz (Sep 15, 2014)

MJ Ryder said:


> Welcome radioyaz. I'm right down the road in Turlock, but work in modesto. Glad you joined the group.


Ha. Small World M J. Glad to be here.


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## welshrarebit (Sep 18, 2014)

radioyaz said:


> mini wsm 007 003_0003.jpg
> 
> 
> 
> ...



The only known smoker in existence that says HI!

View media item 331847
Mac-nut smoked chicken:













243.JPG



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Kiawe smoked naked ribs:













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## radioyaz (Sep 20, 2014)

That is some good looking grub. Nice!


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## radioyaz (May 19, 2015)

So I wanted to update this post...I have been smoking A LOT...just don't always have the time to post Q-views. But I did finally cut the bottom out of my smoking chamber/tamale pot. I just drilled a whole bunch of holes and some wire cutters













mini wsm 001.jpg



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mini wsm 002.jpg



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I know I know...it's pretty ugly...but...WHO CARES...I never see it!  Now I can get the temps up to crisp up some chicken skin. Nice!  However, the direct heat to my clay pot heat diffuser cracked that baby so I simply wrapped it up in HD aluminum and use a thin sheet of aluminum on top of it for drips or if I want to use water (sometimes I do). If I remember to take pics this weekend I will post.

Happy Smokin'!  Have a good holiday!


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## rmmurray (May 19, 2015)

Welcome back and good luck.
I followed everyone's advice and cut the bottom out of mine to begin with. I'm so glad I did. I did not use the terra-cotta pot, I found a 10 1/2 inch skillet at Walmart for $10. It's the exact same size as the charcoal basket. It will take the heat very well and will not crack or break. Good luck with yours.
-Ryan


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