I second the extreme gratitude, not only for the helpful instructions but for a very tasty brisket recipe/process that was dead on!
Bigdaddy Dan and I have been having soooooo much fun with the drums......and people are starting to notice and ask questions. Like, "CAN WE GET ONE?"
The last drum we had we turned into three domed cooking chambers, extensions, or what I call "the Magnum" .
For my 'Magnum' I cut the drum on the lowest rib, about a foot from the bottom, and tried to flare it out with a body hammer so it would do a slip fit over the top lip of my UDS. Didn't happen, so I went to plan B, which was to weld it to a lid and then cut out the lid so it would create a nice domed lid. Came out great!
Second one- cut the top section of the drum just below the top rib, where the barrel side comes straight again. This time the body hammer flared the metal so it did in fact make a perfect slip fit! Gave that one to my son for his UDS. He is using his original lid (and lockring) and it works perfect!
Third one- with the section we had left over we did a bit of grinding until the little bit of flare from the lower rib fit nicely into the edge of a drum lid. We then tapped the lip over until it made a tight seal.
Next, we tack welded the straight cut edge to the top of another lid and then filled in the gaps with a high grade, paintable sealant.
Bigdaddydan then gave it some paint to match his UDS.
$16 for the drum, $6 for two lids, $12 in paint and $5 in misc. hardware = $39 for three AWESOME meat chambers!
So, to say that we are serisouly afflicted and
addicted is an understatement, thanks BluDawg!!!!