This isn't the typical garden junk I normally post and probably isn't garden junk but things are slow on the forum and I wanted to show you what I built and tell my story. It is built with something I received in Garden Junk Christmas box a couple years ago and If you felt like inviting 200 of your closest friends over to view your garden junk this could come in handy if you want to feed them.

My friend Jim is a member of Tucson Leathernecks MC. Last summer he brought back a 270 gallon fuel tank from Massachusetts and dumped it in my yard. He was real proud of it as he explained how WE could make a smoker out of it. I mumbled that HE could buy a smoker at Home Depot and I wouldn't even have to get involved. He said they weren't big enough, WE need a big one.
There was that WE again.
WE can use it to raise funds for Wounded Warriors. WE can feed vets at Christmas. WE will get a bunch of patients from the VA hospital and have a big party at YOUR pond and cook for them. He had dozens of ideas and all of them had WE in them. I think he had given this a lot of thought driving cross country with that tank in the back of his pickup.
This ain't my first rodeo when it comes to people coming up with projects that WE can do because I have heavy equipment, tools or a welder. Years back as a young Seabee in Viet Nam I learned "Never volunteer". Especially if it has anything to do with Marines, Australians, and officers that take credit for the work I do. Jim's answer to that was I'll get you help. I can get Marines over to help on weekends. Which brings me to something else I remember from Viet Nam and the Marines I was with. It went like this:
Q: Do you know the difference between the USMC and the Boy Scouts of America?
A: The Boy Scouts have adult supervision.
So I got lassoed into building a smoker and it was everything I thought it could turn into. I worked on it during the week and the Marines showed up on weekends to help. On those mornings I ran around like a mother hen herding Marines armed with chop saws, grinders, grinders with aggressive wire wheels, sharp steel pieces and other instruments of traumatic amputation. After 2 hours of this I'd yell let's take a break and WE spent the rest of the day talking about sergeants, telling war stories, and remembered exotic girls in foreign lands. Mondays I spent fixing everything that WE did over the weekend and by Tuesday I was good to go again. Jim's goal was an event on the Maine Corps Birthday on Nov. 10th in Phoenix. WE didn't meet that goal but WE did manage to get 'er done this week and try her out today for Super Bowl Sunday. So tonight there was smoked pork ribs and chicken and I remembered I really don't care for smoked meat.
The smoker actually works very well and holds any temperature you desire with very little wood used. Now that it is done I'm quite proud of MY project.
If anyone should ever get the urge to build one give me a shout and I'll tell you how not to build one.
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The 3 vice grips seal the lid with very little pressure applied.

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Doors and lid are sealed with a high temp tape that doesn't let any smoke escape after it warms up for a few minutes.
WE can do a pig on top shelf and assorted thing on smaller racks. I'd guess WE can do close to 200 lbs. of food at one time.
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Long rectangular tubing is filled with rebar that acts as counterweight for lid. 5 lb. lift is all it takes to raise lid.
Metal tabs welded to counterweight are for a future Leathernecks MC sign.
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This post was edited by tinfoilhat on Mon, Feb 3, 14 at 17:55