First Large Project-Almost Done

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Well the BBQ Pit is back from the powdercoater, decided to go yellow. A little wiring and misc items and the job is complete. They even found some high heat powdercoating to do the barrel, but I will still need to paint the firebox with higher heat paint. Thanks everyone for your help !
Reply:Amazing.Next time I go to America I'm going to find someone with one of those things and get them to crank it up so I can taste what comes out of it.They put our BBQs to shame.Scott
Reply:Just let me know when you are coming !!
Reply:Only in Texas can you find a bbq that BIG!!! I assume that the empty space in the front of the trailer is where you strap the cow?!?!Sure, I can fix it... I got a welder!!!
Reply:Great job ,was the powder coating expensive? I have a old pig rotisurie(?) and want to build a new one ,yours gave me some great ideas.Again nice job!
Reply:WOW!!!Yer my new hero, lol.I am currently building a BBQ also... That thing is pretty sweet  -StouffREAL Truks aint gots Spark PlugsNuthin like the Smell of Fresh Slag
Reply:That powder coat looks soooo good, it almost looks like you photoshopped it in that color.  Fantastic job.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:WOW...that thing is BUU-TEE-FULLDefinately a Texas thing...as a matter of fact that is making me very homesick for Texas...how I miss the LoneStar state :-(
Reply:Beyond my expectations!!!!!    I'm trying to figure out if this is a wood/charcol burner or a gas fired unit.    I think I see bracketery for a gas tank there.   I have to ask but is the entire trailer powder coated and is that expensive?    Also did you roll the barrel yourself or did it come from somehting else?I any event it is awsome.Dave
Reply:very nice
Reply:Thats Sharp!!! You did a great job on it..
Reply:The black area in front is going to be sprayed with bedliner tomorrow, on top of that I have a diamond plate tool box for carrying supplies. The hoop on the front is for the propane tank, I will plumb a line to the rear of the pit to fuel the fish cooker, that's the rack with the stainless lid on the rear left. I will also install a splitter with a quick connect which will allow me to connect the weed burner for starting the logs in the fire box.The barrel was made from 3/16" sheet stock that I had rolled.I had originally thought that I would only powdercoat the trailer but then they found some high heat powdercoating so I just decided to do the whole thing. It cost a bit more because they had to bake the black at 500º and then the yellow at 250º, they even did the underside of the trailer. When you consider that the high quality high heat paint cost about $150 gallon, the $450 for powdercoating was reasonable.I have learned a lot building this project and have had many of my questions answered on this forum. Thanks everyone for your help.
Reply:That is beautiful!!
Reply:So what was the approx cost of getting the steel rolled?  I'm thinking of doing that for my next bbq.
Reply:This project has been going on and off again for 2 years, fortunately I purchased most of my steel before the prices skyrocketed. The sheet stock is 3/16" x 60" w x 30"d and cost around $300.One of the things I learned is that when they roll the steel it does not come back perfectly round, not that is was a big deal but if I would have paid a little more attention in the beginning I could have avoided some tricky fitting.Another thing I would have done is that I had all the pieces for the doors sheared before I welded them together, so when the barrel was between 30" and 31" in diameter the door assembly did not fit as precisely as I would have liked. In retrospect I would have had the doors sheared slightly larger then I needed and then just grind them down to make the fit a little better.Many lessons learned and many more to discover !
Reply:Wow thats nice. Is this for contest, side business or just putting other guys through the shredder in front of thier wives Throw a prop to the powder coater you used. I'll add them to my contact list for when I get a job near Mckinney.When are you going to fire it up?
Reply:Man that is one nice project!
Reply:TPnTX: The powdercoater is Crosslink (972) 542-5441, ask for Bob, nice people to work with.My wife does BBQ competitions, although she started cooking on a stick burner and I was building this project for her, she has moved on to cooking with charcoal on the "Big Green Egg"
Reply:Did you weld the seam on the tube and if so did you mig it or stick it?  Is the seam on the bottom of the bbq?  You mentioned you might change your dimensions on the roll if you were to do it again.  What would you change, i.e. the joint where the edges came together?
Reply:I placed the seam on the bottom of the barrel, cosmetics I guess. I mig welded everything on the BBQ. What I intended to say about them rollong the barrel is that it had a lot more variation on roundness than I expected. When I picked up the barrel from the yard they had just tack welded the seam to hold it together so I just welded the seam and did not pay much attention. When I began cutting the plates for the ends the diameter varied almost an inch, I should have taken a little more time checking things before I welded the seam to cut down on some of my grinding time.Yesterday I got the trailer lights wired and most of the propane plummed, so today I can finish up those items and get started on painting the fire box with some 1300 degree paint.
Reply:The seam on the bottom makes sense.  So are the dimensional differences you found a result of the rolling process, i.e. the rolling machine didn't pull the steel plate thru the rollers correctly or square...?  Or is it simply a fact that rolling steel plate will not give you a "round" result..? How do the pipe mfg's get "good" round pipe if this is true..?