This series is a game changer for you. It boggles me that your cooking videos don't get millions of views, but this may help bridge the gap and get people interested in all your endeavors.
Great presentation...newly retired after 45 years in the construction industry with lots of tools and experience I'm lookin forward to building my own smoker...I love my Weber Kettle but being able to say "Oh, the smoker...I built that" will be really satisfying...keep up the good work!
I fully echo Brad's tips about tools. I got my start in hobby welding a few years ago specifically to build my own smoker (it was my wife's idea!), and I wish I had known about the existence of chop saws years earlier. They make precise, clean cuts, and significantly reduce the amount of time spent cleaning up (or fixing) cuts vs those I made with a cutoff wheel. One angle grinder is a bore; getting a second (which I haven't done yet) would definitely be an enormous time saver. I do recommend using a full face shield when grinding as that provides more protection than just glasses. A tip for buying steel: Spend some time digging around your local scrap yard. I got a 4'x8' sheet of 1/4" plate and a couple 8' pieces of relatively straight 1"x1" tube for $100, an enormous cost savings over buying new (they were covered in rust, of course, but that wasn't a problem for the look I was going for). Also, if you want to use horseshoes for various things (door stops, handles, a wine bottle rack for your wife, etc.), see if there's a farrier in your area who has worn shoes they're looking to get rid of -- usually they have to pay for disposal.
My friend and I watch you all the time and he's an electrician. He can do your outlets for less than half what they charged. Real offer. He also built a reverse flow smoker himself.
I've been TIG welding stainless for 20 years. Your presentation to the beginning home welder is awesome. Nice work. I've only been cooking for about 4 years. Love your cooks also. Cheers from Buffalo, NY 🍻
I'm from NW Washington state. When I started my BBQ addiction, I had little to no experience cooking on a large pit , as a result, I didn't realize the science it takes to build a quality pit. I highly recommend Feldons smoker calculator , its free to use online. It will recommend fire chamber size, chimney size and length based on smoker size and cook chamber volume. This boys and girls will save you countless hours struggling with , "Why won't my pit draft and cook evenly?" and "Why can't I control my heat?" . I wish I had found the calculator before I made my first mistake, erh I mean smoker. The next build was a 288 gallon reverse draft tow behind with large warming chamber above the firebox. I couldn't be happier with it! Thanks for the content Brad, I really enjoy your style. It's humble, and your just do it cuz you want to attitude is refreshing.
IDK how much traction this series will get you in the short term, but longevity is gonna be there. A solid start to finish series is impossible to find on CZcams.
I've been welding on and off for nearly 2 decades now and seriously considered building my own large offset. However giant propane tanks don't grow on trees here in CA like they do in TX and getting one here would have basically made my homemade smoker cost just as much as purchasing a pro unit. So yeah... I will say, if you're a new welder or even an experienced one trying to blow out the cobwebs, Jody's channel Welding Tips and Tricks is the go to channel to learn or improve your welding game. There is nothing else out there like his content.
Hey Bradley, hopefully someone local can hook you up with the juice you need for your compressor. Cut off wheels are great, but plasma cutting would bring your fabricating up to the next level. $6K?!! Ouch! I get why you're holding off. If you do a bit of research, you could probably run all the wires yourself and just bring in an electrician to make the final connections. That should be quite a bit cheaper. Cheers!
Lincoln Viking 3350 welding helmet, had one for a year, Deffinately worth the money. True colors, excelent headgear and wide veiwing window. First helmet I owned that the hood stayed up, never slips down like most helmets do. I arrived here after watching Chud sausage making videos.
You’re going to like how the RFS works. It’s all I ever build. More even temps across the whole smoker. And the plate on the bottom can be used as a flat top grill.
The first vid that I've watched of yours was a smoker build or a chud box, don't remember and I've watch every single vid you dish out after that. Staid for the food and the stupendous vibe, now it's coming back to the welding and building of stuff, and I'm here for it Brad.
I haven't built a smoker yet. Soon. I have built sort of a small live fire pit out of a farm disc with an adjustable height grill. Next is a full on Argentine open fire rig. And it's all based on a set of antique cast iron freight cart wheels. It already ways 150 lbs. and I haven't even started on it yet. 😁 Love your content by the way. Very helpful. And, I also graduated from the CZcams School of Welding.
I'm an east coast based bbq enthusiast. This series might convince me to design and build my own smoker. Been looking at Meadow Creek for a while. Keep it up please. Very inspirational and educational.
I've seen a lot of your videos and I always thought that you were a trained welder and that your passion for barbecue outweighed the desire to make a living as a welder. I am looking forward to the rest of the series.
Dude, I am not a licensed electrician, but i wired my whole wood shop and basement and replaced the knob and tube in my house. I would gladly help you out (if you have the service for it) for a couple beers (maybe some rye later on) and some hands-on instruction on brisket trimming and cooking. I built my offset and have been smoking for a bit, but my brisket still sucks (as much as any brisket can). Anyhow, thanks for all the content. You're the best.
So I now have my chud trivet, chimney, knife roll, keychain, official taste tester tee shirt, and rub. I think I’m ready for bbq season. Thanks Bradley!
Mr. Robinson. I'm 45 now but from about 19-25 yrs old I somehow became a welder/fabricator for trains and got pretty ok with it. You have inspired me to get a cheap setup and knock out my own offset. hopefully it's just like riding a bicycle.🤘🤘🤘
Your eyesight isn't what it was. That's the first thing you'll notice. They make cheaters for helmets. Second thing is you aren't as steady anymore. I find a couple beers helps before cutting or welding......
Nice work mister. My 18 year old is doing welding in HS and now I want him to build me this. He is going to watch these how to videos and build me one from the video series...CANT WAIT!
Hi Brad, As a fabricator and coded welder of 35 years , I can assure you that the MIG welder is the most practical for this type of work! Great video my friend , as always.
angle grinder tip ive seen in your other videos that you cut and grind using the left side of the wheel. i would recommend to use the other side that way if the grinder kicks back it dosent launch into you. so when you hold the grinder the looking at the top right side of the wheel is what you want to use when cutting
Hey, something I know! I also decided to build a pit myself with no experience. I built a pretty large (for me) reverse flow out of a 24 inch pipe. One thing I would recommend that you didn’t mention is something to lift the steel and keep it in place. Something like a chain lift in your garage, or those cranes they use to lift motors out of cars, is pretty essential, as the pipes used can weight close to a thousand lbs.
I really appreciate this series! I've been wanting to make my own offset for a while now, but there isn't a detailed guide out there. This is perfect for what I need!
This is awesome. I built my drum smoker myself with random bits from different places. Its a thing of love but its so cool to tell people, "Yeah I built it myself"
This series has me stoked! I literally just got a small Lincoln Mig welder to do some rocker work on my truck. However, building a smoker is on my list!
Hey guy, I watch all of your videos. I like the stuff you do as im a welder myself. I said I wouldn’t be “that guy” until you mentioned wanting the right terminology for metal. So I’ll respectfully say, the “roll up tape measure” is called a wrap-around.
Chud I haven’t done a smoker yet but I welded up a rib rack Sunday and smoked some baby back ribs yesterday! Your channel is one of a couple that got me back into welding after 20 odd years!
I've recently acquired a stick welder that was my fathers after he passed. I haven't welded since AG class in high school so should be interesting but love the vids thanks for the tips.
As a welder, each process has its advantages and disadvantages. Stick welding is good for welding in remote locations with minimal setup. Not so great for mass producing items for sale. MIG welding, what youre doing, is best for mass producing items for sale. Easy cleanup, easy to weld. Perfect for making BBQ grills.
This is going to be a great series. Doesn't matter five videos or 100. A lot of great information in this video. Your work is really clean and professional looking.
The Millermatic 211 is awesome for the home shop. I have the older model that used a transformer rather than an inverter, so it's much heavier. I also have an Everlast Powertig 210EXT which does both TIG and stick, but neither of those make sense for building a BBQ pit.
Love the idea for the series! Hope the focus is more on the details of the smoker (like pit to firebox ratio, laying out the angles for legs, reasons for specific design choices, etc) and less on welding. There are a ton of professional welding videos already on CZcams (even from welding schools), where people can figure out how to weld.
Great Start!!!! I'm looking forward to the next videos in the series. My buddy and I have built two smokers based on your build videos so far. Can't wait to see what we guess right and what we missed.
I have the older version of that welder. It's transformer based. It weighs over 80#. Mig is the fastest welding process. I can do all 3, but mig is the goto for most things
This series is perfect timing for me. I am just about to buy a welder and learn how to do this so this couldn’t come at a better time. Thanks for sharing you knowledge and insight and I can’t wait to learn from you.
Awesome video!! I have been researching how difficult it would be to build a smoker for the last few weeks and stumbled across your channel after watching Wilson BBQs latest video, not knowing that you build smokers and have all the answers I have been looking for 🙂
The only thing I would change out of your selection of tools, is the gloves. Check out the White Ox gloves, made by Northern Star I think. They're an all cotton glove, with or without gauntlets. I rarely use leather anymore, and they're great for cutting, welding and just about everything else with metal working
I've been looking to build a smoker at some point out of an old propane tank I have access too...i work in the boiler industry so I'm prolly gonna over design it with baffling to aid in flow and thermowells for temp monitoring. I do appreciate that you double wall your fireboxes. You might want to look into using SS for the inside walls though. In my industry carbon steel is only used up to temps of 803° F then we switch to 304 SS
I have a workhorse and a TMG reverse flow. My traditional drafts like a freight train with the damper wide open. The reverse flow is a subtle draw. If I had to draw a comparison, I’d say the the offset is like an air fryer moving all that hot air. The RF is a conventional oven. Even heating across the cooker with a slight draft. I find the reverse flow doesn’t dry the edges out as much. The workhorse can crisp up chicken skin better then my fryer.
I wouldn't recommend a tig for a new welder but you can make some very beautiful welds with one. You could try cold roll steel too , It is probably on par with P in O as far as price.
BBQ Santa has welded our hearts.
Henceforth, Bradley shall be known as BBQ Santa! 😂😂
BBQ Santa has to build a Santa Maria Grill
cheesy
This series is a game changer for you. It boggles me that your cooking videos don't get millions of views, but this may help bridge the gap and get people interested in all your endeavors.
Great presentation...newly retired after 45 years in the construction industry with lots of tools and experience I'm lookin forward to building my own smoker...I love my Weber Kettle but being able to say "Oh, the smoker...I built that" will be really satisfying...keep up the good work!
I built my offset myself and I can confirm: it's a satisfying flex to say that 😂😂😂
I fully echo Brad's tips about tools. I got my start in hobby welding a few years ago specifically to build my own smoker (it was my wife's idea!), and I wish I had known about the existence of chop saws years earlier. They make precise, clean cuts, and significantly reduce the amount of time spent cleaning up (or fixing) cuts vs those I made with a cutoff wheel. One angle grinder is a bore; getting a second (which I haven't done yet) would definitely be an enormous time saver. I do recommend using a full face shield when grinding as that provides more protection than just glasses. A tip for buying steel: Spend some time digging around your local scrap yard. I got a 4'x8' sheet of 1/4" plate and a couple 8' pieces of relatively straight 1"x1" tube for $100, an enormous cost savings over buying new (they were covered in rust, of course, but that wasn't a problem for the look I was going for). Also, if you want to use horseshoes for various things (door stops, handles, a wine bottle rack for your wife, etc.), see if there's a farrier in your area who has worn shoes they're looking to get rid of -- usually they have to pay for disposal.
My friend and I watch you all the time and he's an electrician. He can do your outlets for less than half what they charged. Real offer. He also built a reverse flow smoker himself.
That would be a solid video
I've been TIG welding stainless for 20 years.
Your presentation to the beginning home welder is awesome. Nice work.
I've only been cooking for about 4 years. Love your cooks also.
Cheers from Buffalo, NY 🍻
I literally CANNOT wait for this series dude! I've been curious AF about this process for a minute and would love to get my learning on!
I'm from NW Washington state. When I started my BBQ addiction, I had little to no experience cooking on a large pit , as a result, I didn't realize the science it takes to build a quality pit. I highly recommend Feldons smoker calculator , its free to use online. It will recommend fire chamber size, chimney size and length based on smoker size and cook chamber volume. This boys and girls will save you countless hours struggling with , "Why won't my pit draft and cook evenly?" and "Why can't I control my heat?" . I wish I had found the calculator before I made my first mistake, erh I mean smoker. The next build was a 288 gallon reverse draft tow behind with large warming chamber above the firebox. I couldn't be happier with it! Thanks for the content Brad, I really enjoy your style. It's humble, and your just do it cuz you want to attitude is refreshing.
IDK how much traction this series will get you in the short term, but longevity is gonna be there. A solid start to finish series is impossible to find on CZcams.
I've been welding on and off for nearly 2 decades now and seriously considered building my own large offset. However giant propane tanks don't grow on trees here in CA like they do in TX and getting one here would have basically made my homemade smoker cost just as much as purchasing a pro unit. So yeah...
I will say, if you're a new welder or even an experienced one trying to blow out the cobwebs, Jody's channel Welding Tips and Tricks is the go to channel to learn or improve your welding game. There is nothing else out there like his content.
Hey Bradley, hopefully someone local can hook you up with the juice you need for your compressor. Cut off wheels are great, but plasma cutting would bring your fabricating up to the next level. $6K?!! Ouch! I get why you're holding off. If you do a bit of research, you could probably run all the wires yourself and just bring in an electrician to make the final connections. That should be quite a bit cheaper. Cheers!
Lincoln Viking 3350 welding helmet, had one for a year, Deffinately worth the money. True colors, excelent headgear and wide veiwing window. First helmet I owned that the hood stayed up, never slips down like most helmets do. I arrived here after watching Chud sausage making videos.
You’re going to like how the RFS works.
It’s all
I ever build.
More even temps across the whole smoker.
And the plate on the bottom can be used as a flat top grill.
The first vid that I've watched of yours was a smoker build or a chud box, don't remember and I've watch every single vid you dish out after that.
Staid for the food and the stupendous vibe, now it's coming back to the welding and building of stuff, and I'm here for it Brad.
I haven't built a smoker yet. Soon. I have built sort of a small live fire pit out of a farm disc with an adjustable height grill. Next is a full on Argentine open fire rig. And it's all based on a set of antique cast iron freight cart wheels. It already ways 150 lbs. and I haven't even started on it yet. 😁 Love your content by the way. Very helpful. And, I also graduated from the CZcams School of Welding.
Having 25 years of welding and fabricating experience under my belt, you explain it pretty good. Nice 👍🏾
Can’t wait to see what you build here.
This series has me excited! One stop channel! Learn how to build a smoker, learn how to use a smoker, and learn a lot of awesome recipes...! YUT!
I'm an east coast based bbq enthusiast. This series might convince me to design and build my own smoker. Been looking at Meadow Creek for a while. Keep it up please. Very inspirational and educational.
What great timing most of my steel was delivered yesterday for my smoker. Just need the smoke chamber it’s coming next week. Winning from Australia!
I've seen a lot of your videos and I always thought that you were a trained welder and that your passion for barbecue outweighed the desire to make a living as a welder. I am looking forward to the rest of the series.
Sounds like the beginning of a great series. I just bought a flux and going to learn on that but thanks for sharing all this info!
Dude, I am not a licensed electrician, but i wired my whole wood shop and basement and replaced the knob and tube in my house. I would gladly help you out (if you have the service for it) for a couple beers (maybe some rye later on) and some hands-on instruction on brisket trimming and cooking. I built my offset and have been smoking for a bit, but my brisket still sucks (as much as any brisket can). Anyhow, thanks for all the content. You're the best.
Yes! I've been waiting for the smoker build series. Now to go back and watch that very first video he mentioned. Thanks Brad!
So I now have my chud trivet, chimney, knife roll, keychain, official taste tester tee shirt, and rub. I think I’m ready for bbq season. Thanks Bradley!
Thank you so much!!! I now have nightmares about grabbing an angle grinder brush and turning it on!
Very cool change up. Should be fun to watch.
Here...We... Go... (Joker Voice). Can't wait!
Mr. Robinson. I'm 45 now but from about 19-25 yrs old I somehow became a welder/fabricator for trains and got pretty ok with it. You have inspired me to get a cheap setup and knock out my own offset. hopefully it's just like riding a bicycle.🤘🤘🤘
Your eyesight isn't what it was. That's the first thing you'll notice. They make cheaters for helmets. Second thing is you aren't as steady anymore. I find a couple beers helps before cutting or welding......
Chuds Builds are back, cool
Excited for this series!
Nice work mister. My 18 year old is doing welding in HS and now I want him to build me this. He is going to watch these how to videos and build me one from the video series...CANT WAIT!
Excellent idea for a video series. Looking forward to it
Fireball square, i have a whole set of them alum and cast iron. Great squares.
Hi Brad, As a fabricator and coded welder of 35 years , I can assure you that the MIG welder is the most practical for this type of work! Great video my friend , as always.
angle grinder tip ive seen in your other videos that you cut and grind using the left side of the wheel. i would recommend to use the other side that way if the grinder kicks back it dosent launch into you. so when you hold the grinder the looking at the top right side of the wheel is what you want to use when cutting
Hey, something I know! I also decided to build a pit myself with no experience. I built a pretty large (for me) reverse flow out of a 24 inch pipe. One thing I would recommend that you didn’t mention is something to lift the steel and keep it in place. Something like a chain lift in your garage, or those cranes they use to lift motors out of cars, is pretty essential, as the pipes used can weight close to a thousand lbs.
I really appreciate this series! I've been wanting to make my own offset for a while now, but there isn't a detailed guide out there. This is perfect for what I need!
Nice job buddy. You had Jeremy wondering why it was so good. Hahaha loved it.
This is awesome. I built my drum smoker myself with random bits from different places. Its a thing of love but its so cool to tell people, "Yeah I built it myself"
God damn am I excited for this series
Hardest part to building mine is finding good tanks to start with. The building is the easy and fun part.
Watch your videos all the time. Love the content. Im an electrician in austin and also love to bbq!
Cant wait for the rest of them. !!
This series has me stoked! I literally just got a small Lincoln Mig welder to do some rocker work on my truck. However, building a smoker is on my list!
Hey guy, I watch all of your videos. I like the stuff you do as im a welder myself. I said I wouldn’t be “that guy” until you mentioned wanting the right terminology for metal. So I’ll respectfully say, the “roll up tape measure” is called a wrap-around.
Chud I haven’t done a smoker yet but I welded up a rib rack Sunday and smoked some baby back ribs yesterday! Your channel is one of a couple that got me back into welding after 20 odd years!
This is going to be a great series! Inspiring me to finish one I started and have been letting sit!
I've recently acquired a stick welder that was my fathers after he passed. I haven't welded since AG class in high school so should be interesting but love the vids thanks for the tips.
Looks like a Chud's Pizza Oven!!!
Can't wait to see more!
Highly anticipating this series, Brad.
Thank you so much for making these videos. Ive ALWAYS wanted to try this myself.
This is the series we need! I can't wait to see the future episodes.
iI asked that very question on a live chat, looking forward to the builds 👍🏼
As a welder, each process has its advantages and disadvantages. Stick welding is good for welding in remote locations with minimal setup. Not so great for mass producing items for sale.
MIG welding, what youre doing, is best for mass producing items for sale. Easy cleanup, easy to weld. Perfect for making BBQ grills.
Been waiting for this forever! So keen
Glad you’re making these tutorials Brad
Awesome I'm all in on this series
This is going to be a great series. Doesn't matter five videos or 100. A lot of great information in this video. Your work is really clean and professional looking.
Thanks for this series.
Can we get a Brad on Brad episode! Get Brad Leone in a room with Sir Bradley of the Chuds!
The Millermatic 211 is awesome for the home shop. I have the older model that used a transformer rather than an inverter, so it's much heavier. I also have an Everlast Powertig 210EXT which does both TIG and stick, but neither of those make sense for building a BBQ pit.
Thanks Bradley now I share that nightmare 😂😂
Looking forward to this series Brad! Gr8 vid!!!
i love benchmark abrasives!!
Chuds BBQ & Metalworking Emporium.
You're a man of many talents! This is gonna be an awesome video series.
You can run your plasma and compressor of your dryer outlet.
Looking forward to this series :)
Really looking forward to this series of video. I would love to build my own offset smoker ❤
Here's a thought. A Mini Chud Box, but put an offset smoker chamber on the side with a sliding door to close the hole when you aren't using it.
Deko pro 160 is a very highly recommended dual voltage stick welder if anyone needs one for around $100. Now go and burn some holes in things lol.
Grabbin a 2beer and waiting for the next video !!
Love the idea for the series! Hope the focus is more on the details of the smoker (like pit to firebox ratio, laying out the angles for legs, reasons for specific design choices, etc) and less on welding. There are a ton of professional welding videos already on CZcams (even from welding schools), where people can figure out how to weld.
Absolutely LOVE this Brad
Thank you for doing the build series.
Oh yeah I gotta see more of this
Can't wait to see the finished product and how it cooks!
Good start. Way beyond my skill set. But still fun to watch.
You are the best I’m really excited to see the series 👍
Great Start!!!! I'm looking forward to the next videos in the series. My buddy and I have built two smokers based on your build videos so far. Can't wait to see what we guess right and what we missed.
THE FIRST AND ONLY PIT I BUILT IS A( RFS) WITH REFERENCE FROM YOUR SMORKER BUILT VIDEO AND IT WORKS GREAT EVEN COOK YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE IT
No wonder I dig your videos...Dewalt!
BILLIONS MUST GRILL!!!!
Hell yea!! I've been wanting this type of video/series ever since seeing your build videos!
I have the older version of that welder. It's transformer based. It weighs over 80#. Mig is the fastest welding process. I can do all 3, but mig is the goto for most things
Sweet, I like it B. Good content mate, looking forward to the series.
This series is perfect timing for me. I am just about to buy a welder and learn how to do this so this couldn’t come at a better time. Thanks for sharing you knowledge and insight and I can’t wait to learn from you.
Awesome video!! I have been researching how difficult it would be to build a smoker for the last few weeks and stumbled across your channel after watching Wilson BBQs latest video, not knowing that you build smokers and have all the answers I have been looking for 🙂
Thank you Brad! Looking forward to the rest of the series.
The only thing I would change out of your selection of tools, is the gloves. Check out the White Ox gloves, made by Northern Star I think. They're an all cotton glove, with or without gauntlets. I rarely use leather anymore, and they're great for cutting, welding and just about everything else with metal working
I've been looking to build a smoker at some point out of an old propane tank I have access too...i work in the boiler industry so I'm prolly gonna over design it with baffling to aid in flow and thermowells for temp monitoring. I do appreciate that you double wall your fireboxes. You might want to look into using SS for the inside walls though. In my industry carbon steel is only used up to temps of 803° F then we switch to 304 SS
I have a workhorse and a TMG reverse flow. My traditional drafts like a freight train with the damper wide open. The reverse flow is a subtle draw. If I had to draw a comparison, I’d say the the offset is like an air fryer moving all that hot air. The RF is a conventional oven. Even heating across the cooker with a slight draft. I find the reverse flow doesn’t dry the edges out as much. The workhorse can crisp up chicken skin better then my fryer.
YES! Love the change
My dude I been waiting for you to make a series like this. Your the man
I'm almost done building my scrap metal junk yard smoker and.... Well it's my first time welding haha
Can't wait to see the rest of this series. My brother has the same welder and got it when he was making smokers.
I wouldn't recommend a tig for a new welder but you can make some very beautiful welds with one. You could try cold roll steel too , It is probably on par with P in O as far as price.
Now THIS!!! Is what I been waiting for.