new smoker project started

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well here we go again with another ffa project.tried to tone it down a bit from last year,by the way the elbow was a pain in the rearend let me tell you Attached Images
Reply:Hey you did good with that 90. Great.
Reply:just out of curiosity, how old are the kids in the FFA group that you are working with? when i hear the term "4-H", i think 12 and 14 year olds with counselors and what not (my uncle ran the Nebraska state 4-H program for about 10 years or so), but FFA is a little foreign to me... we had a chapter at my high school, but we never heard much about them... they were much more well-known after the movie "Napoleon Dynomite" came out... hehehehe .just curious...Later,Andy
Reply:well my daughter is a senior this year and she is in the ffa and my son is in 10nth grade and hes in ffa.here in texas you cant join ffa till 9th grade but before ffa was 4-h kinda the same but for the little kids,were real big into ffa here where i live we do several projects each year
Reply:a little progress Attached Images
Reply:and some more Attached Images
Reply:Looking pretty good there Paintman.  I just rebuilt a similar smoker for my dad.  What's the pipe diameter on yours?  The firebox on dad's had rusted through on the bottom, so I replaced it with a cube made from scrap steel plate, 1/4" thick.  Worked out pretty good, made one heck of a brisket on it for Thanksgiving.  My next project involves a 150 gallon propane tank and a small trailer, both of which were given to me for free.  I'll post a pick of the design.  Where are you located in Texas Paintman?Not to step on any toes, but where I am in Texas, you can join "junior FFA" in like the 6th grade I think.  My nephew showed a lamb last year under the junior chapter.  Real FFA starts in high school.  4-H on the other hand, is totally different (was a member and scholarship recipient of 4-H), around here anyway.  You can join 4-H at age 9 and continue until you graduate high school.  The biggest differences between the two organization are that 4-H isn't just "cows, sows and plows" you can do anything from Home Economics projects for the girls or boys if they so choose, all the way to livestock showing, shop projects etc.  4-H is basically FFA, and FCCLA (formerly known as FHA) combined into one organization with a few other things thrown in for good measure.  This way, the kids, who showed livestock, built shop projects, and did HomeEc stuff, could get instruction from one organization.  The other difference between the two is that 4-H is not a school "sanctioned" club.  There is no affiliation with any school district, which in my area, turned out to be better because it gave me the opportunity to meet other kids from around the county who shared my interests, not just the few kids in my small school (graduated with 73 kids) and I think there were 2 other people in my entire high school, all 4 years, who had a clue about horses.  Sorry for the novel, just wanted to help everyone understand.  I have nothing against FFA, think it's a great organization, and the only reason I didn't join was that I didn't get along with the Ag Teacher. Attached ImagesContact me for any metal polishing needs you may have, my avatar is a pic of a standard, painted fire axe that I ground, sanded polished and buffed to a mirror finish.
Reply:well the pipe is 16"x 1/4" upright smoker will be 1/8th" heres a pic of last years project started with a boat trailer and a hundred gallon propane tank Attached Images
Reply:Well for starters this post was not about ffa it was about a bbq pit.  However, you can enter the "home ec" events in the fairs along with the shop ones. And as far as ffa just being about the kids in your school that is totally untrue.  Our daughter and son have met people from all over the state.  They have district, regional and state conferences.  FFA is just like anything else in this world the more you put in the more you'll get. I don't know about you I however am just glad that there is something out there to keep our kids out of trouble and off the streets.Be it 4h (which we have done) or FFA!
Reply:I'm with ya man, both great organizations.  I know it wasn't about FFA or 4-H, just wanted to make sure that there were no missunderstandings.  I know you can enter any type of project, but in my school, you were totally on your own if you were in FFA and wanted to enter something that the shop teacher wasn't familiar with, whereas in the local 4-H, there was always a parent who was willing to help with whatever project you had.  And really, what I was referring to about getting to know kids from other schools, I suppose what I meant was meeting with kids from all over, every month, and sometimes more often.  I just fealt like I got a "broader horizons" feeling from it.  Like I said, I think they're both great clubs, and neither is "better" than the other, it all comes down to personal preference.NOW, back to the original reason behind this thread....That's an AWESOME smoker!!!  The silver color, is that just silver paint?  What did you use to cut the bronc rider out with?Contact me for any metal polishing needs you may have, my avatar is a pic of a standard, painted fire axe that I ground, sanded polished and buffed to a mirror finish.
Reply:ok cool,the bronc rider was cut with a plazma cutter i borrowed from a guy from work,yes its just silver paint  and my now 16 year old son is the one who built that pit,hes the one welding in the pics,ill keep posting pics of his progress,thanks for your replys
Reply:That's outstanding work he's doing, even for an advanced fabricator.  Doing that kind of stuff at 16 shows that he could have a good future in the trade if he can find a good shop that pays well.Contact me for any metal polishing needs you may have, my avatar is a pic of a standard, painted fire axe that I ground, sanded polished and buffed to a mirror finish.
Reply:ok i need ideas for dampers on this thing,need one between fire box and smoker and one between smoker and upright part thanks
Reply:more progress Attached Images
Reply:ok need some ideas,were this far ,we made an inclosed fire inverter to keep the flames out of the smoker,now im not sure where to put the holes to keep the heat even on both sides ,i know the side nearest the firebox will be the hottest so i dont need a bunch of holes on that end but im not sure where to start,has anyone built one like this and if so any ideas,thanks Attached Images