Need help/suggestions

[Uncle Bubba]

I have a saucer sized warp on the top of my firebox from hot coals from wood from preheating it...long story...blah blah blah. Nevertheless, it's warped and I want to put it relatively close to flat again. It is 1/4" plate Dave Klose suggested beating on it cold with a large sledge and a 2x4. My thoughts are close to that in that I have a 1/4" thick piece of plate and have been beating on a 2x4 on top of that. Not sure if heating it would help or only make it worse. Don't want to crack it either. Any suggestions you guys or girls might have would be appreciated.

 

[wittdog]

Daves are smart guys...do what Dave says

 

[Bruce B]

Yeah, don't preheat wood to coals on top of your firebox.

 

[honcho]

Don't quote me cause it's been a while sense I've been in auto body class in High School,1970-71. to shrink metal on fenders ( thin metal) we would heat the metal with a torch, then cool it with ice cold water on a rag. Now remember we would use body filler to bring it home
No quarantees this don't make it worse
Now it the cooker double walled on that location ? The 2th idea is to cut that plate out n replace it, Or live with it and we all learn from it learn
try the heat if that don't work, replace tha panel. A good shop will be able to do it, without even noticing the job was done
But the man that built the cooker would know more then I would about that cooker
How about use a peice of expanded metal to top of it as a warming tray, you would have to be on top of it to see the warp

Just an Idea

Best of luck to you BBQ Brother

 

[Uncle Bubba]

Fire actually came out between door and top of firebox and caught the wood on fire. I whaled on this thing for almost an hour and made little, if any "dent" in it. That is some seriously hard steel. I'm actually thinking of leaving it alone and use it as a draining aid for when it gets wet...as opposed to letting it sit on top. It's raised about 1/4" and really doesn't look that bad. I'll sand the top and repaint and leave it be.

 

[Uncle Bubba]

Don't quote me cause it's been a while sense I've been in auto body class in High School,1970-71. to shrink metal on fenders ( thin metal) we would heat the metal with a torch, then cool it with ice cold water on a rag. Now remember we would use body filler to bring it home
No quarantees this don't make it worse
Now it the cooker double walled on that location ? The 2th idea is to cut that plate out n replace it, Or live with it and we all learn from it learn
try the heat if that don't work, replace tha panel. A good shop will be able to do it, without even noticing the job was done
But the man that built the cooker would know more then I would about that cooker
How about use a peice of expanded metal to top of it as a warming tray, you would have to be on top of it to see the warp

Just an Idea

Best of luck to you BBQ Brother

The firebox is double walled 1/4" each and the plate he used is extremely hard steel. I'm not willing to go through the expense cutting and replacing because it really doesn't look that bad. Like I said, it will keep water off the top of the box. From side to side the warp is about as big as a saucer dish. I'll leave well enough alone. Thanks Honcho.

 

[Cookerme]

Sorry can't help..mine iz 1/2".

 

[honcho]

copy, copy

 

[Uncle Bubba]

Sorry can't help..mine iz 1/2".

Yeah, so is my other Klose. Freak thing. Really no big deal. Just thought if I could straighten it without too much of an ordeal, I would. I can live with it.

 

[Cookerme]

:? Your preheating wood caught on fire?...if it was my firebox i would buy a 1/4-1/2" plate and have it welded on top,even better from day1.

 

[Uncle Bubba]

Caught on fire only because fire came out the door and caught some wood on fire. The box is insulated so it never gets hot enough to light on it's own like on your's and my other pit. Another plate on top would serve no purpose.

 

[bigwheel]

Good Lawdy that sounds way too complicated for me. Guess thats why I cook on ECB type equipment. I don't like learning curves with sharp garadients Hope some smart feller is around to give some good advice.

bigwheel

 

[Cookerme]

Had a drunkenly placed BBQ fork under my firebox lid once upon a lesson,well when i grabbed the so called aircooled handle it wasn't,things got complicated.
Bigwheel,wasn't fred a learning curve with sharp gradients?..hence your poopooing of offsets?.

 

[Uncle Bubba]

When the air pouring out your firebox is hot because the fork allowed an escape route...the air-cooled handles are no longer air-cooled.

 

[Rag1]

I can't picture beating it cold doing squat. It's held in place on all sides with an "oil can" buldge.
Cut and replace would work well, or;
Build a real hot fire on top (outside) or torch heat to cherry red, and push up from inside with a bottle jack. A pressure distributing steel plate between the jack and inside top would be needed.

A video would be enjoyed by all.

 

[Uncle Bubba]

I can't picture beating it cold doing squat. It's held in place on all sides with an "oil can" buldge.
Cut and replace would work well, or;
Build a real hot fire on top (outside) or torch heat to cherry red, and push up from inside with a bottle jack. A pressure distributing steel plate between the jack and inside top would be needed.

A video would be enjoyed by all.

Screw it. I'm sanding and repainting the top and that'll be that. I'm done screwing with it. It's really not that bad.

 

[bigwheel]

Fred's learning curve was fairly short. Did learn quick he needed a firegrate to keep up the heat. Who woulda thunk it? I know a lot of folks who claim to cook flat on the floor with good success. He is 3/8 all over and has had mo bigga fires on top of the firebox than whut was in it and never has offered to warp. Now the drunk welder did manage to warp my big tall door on the upright. But it took a cutting torch to get that outta whack. He was trying to take out some old racks and put in some new sliders. If the firebox in question is double walled I dont see how beating the heck out of the inside it gonna make the outside pop back into place. I must be missing something in this equation. There has got to be some type of torquey torsion action going on twixt the top and bottom plates. I do agree leaving it alone is bound to be the best strategy. Or welding a new plate on top as I think somebody else suggested. That should work too if somebody want to spend some money. I even spent a dime to call an old chum who had similar problemos on shoppe built pit. He had 3/8 for the bottom of the sandwich and 1/8 for the top. His just got too hot and warped the snot out of it. He say if a person had 3/8 on both layers it would never budge. Just a little food for thought. His advice was to listen to Klose..but that sounds a little too simple for me. Good luck with it. Glad I can't afford one.

bigwheel

Had a drunkenly placed BBQ fork under my firebox lid once upon a lesson,well when i grabbed the so called aircooled handle it wasn't,things got complicated.
Bigwheel,wasn't fred a learning curve with sharp gradients?..hence your poopooing of offsets?.

 

[Cookerme]

When the air pouring out your firebox is hot because the fork allowed an escape route...the air-cooled handles are no longer air-cooled.

Yeah,that's what i said.

 

[Uncle Bubba]

You seemed surprised. :roll:

 

[zilla]

That sucks Bubba. Unfortunately it can never me made to look like new. Unless you get a hard heavy object on the inside to back up the hammer blows from the top, along with getting the steel cherry red you won't move the steel. If you heated the whole area with a torch until cherry red you could gently work the steel with a hammer until relatively flat but you would likely end up with it looking a bit wavy at best, without the backup. With the insulated box that's out. Chalk it up as experience.