# Recycled tin can smoker



## Dick Allen (Sep 4, 2004)

The raw materials: The bellows fabric came from a notebook bought for $0.99 at a second-hand store. The paper was included. As an added bonus, it also came with a calculator that didn’t work. I did break down and buy a compression spring at True Value for the bellows. Wood for the bellows came from a shipping cage. 










The smoker spout: I wrapped a piece of paper around an existing smoker’s spout to get the basic pattern and had to do some trial and error cutting to get the pattern just right. Then the paper spout was unrolled and attached to the juice can with rubber bands to trace it’s pattern. Later on I decided to do away with the tabs on the spout as seen in the next photo.










The smoker spout under construction:










Operational check: (Admittedly, there is some smoke leakage where the spout’s flange ring attaches to the spout when the bellows is pumped.)


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## peggjam (Mar 4, 2005)

Nice job...doesn't get much better than that.


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## Jeffzhear (Dec 2, 2006)

Some people are creative! Nice Job...

I wish I had the time to work on projects like that...


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## WVbeekeeper (Jun 4, 2007)

that's probably the best looking homemade smoker i've ever seen.


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## AllFloridaBee (Sep 25, 2007)

nice, i love seeing homemade projects. I stink at making cones with screen or sheet metal..making an offset one would drive me batty


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## berkshire bee (Jan 28, 2007)

*homemade smoker forum?*

Dick, Very nice job. I wish I had thought of the paper pattern method for mine. Maybe the next time. Yours is the third post of homemade smoker pictures. Pretty soon we should have our own forum! berkshire

Judging by your tools (precision scale, railroad tie anvil and other stuff) I'd say you might be a tin knocker by trade?


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## Dick Allen (Sep 4, 2004)

The spout wasn’t all that complicated to do. Because it was cut from a can, it was already partially formed. It did have to be rolled by hand into a cone slowly a bit at a time though. At first I went with tabs on both the spout and its ring flange, but as mentioned earlier, I later abandoned the idea of tabs on the spout.










Wasn’t quite sure where the spring mounted in the bellows. I put it in the bottom which works ok.










By the way, always keep your work area neat and organized:










To answer your question berkshire, I retired as an aircraft mechanic--mostly helicopters. I did do some occasional sheet metal work there, but no way can I claim to be a real sheet metal mechanic. (Believe me, up close and personal, that smoker shows a lot of “warts”!) Now I work part time as part of the chair lifts and tram crew at the ski resort south of town. Doesn’t pay big bucks, but the skiing is free. All we need now is some snow. It was 40º up here at latitude 60º N when I photograhped the smoker a couple of days ago. 

I’ll probably spend a little more time making and photographing fabrication of another one this winter to enter into the state fair beekeeping display next summer.


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## peggjam (Mar 4, 2005)

It's still a nice looking smoker, even if it has a few "warts".


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## berkshire bee (Jan 28, 2007)

It's always after I finish something and it actually works that I think "I should have made measurements, patterns, and took step by step photos. 

One thing I'd like to try some time is go to the transfer station, grab a bunch of junk that someone just threw away and get a few clever people together and see what we can make from what someone else is throwing away.


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## golddust-twins (Sep 8, 2007)

Excellent....

Corinne


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