Bike Locker

I built a bike locker in the back yard.
For a long time the bikes lived in the back yard, but the constant sun exposure was wearing on them, so for a while we stored them in the garage. They were just in my way too much in there. So I built the bike locker. The lid is hinged along the back. I plan to put doors on eventually, but for now they are out of the sun.

Smokin' Meats

On Monday I used the UGLY DRUM SMOKER to smoke some various meats.
Since I built it over a year ago but never did a detailed post on it, I thought I'd show some pictures of it here, too.

The UDS is a popular design for DIY'ers in to BBQ. It gets great results at a fraction of the price of a professional (even low-end) smoker. Plus you have the satisfaction of having made it yourself...

You start with a 55-gallon drum, I sourced mine from the local soda bottler. From there, you need to make a charcoal basket, mount a grill near the top and drill some air intake holes near the bottom. That's the basic design but there are numerous other embellishments people decide to make with theirs.

Here is the lid. It fits snugly around the rim. I have added a handle and a chimney with a dowser. There is also a temperature gauge.

This shows how the lid hooks on to the rim. This is a coat-hook riveted to the lid.

Down inside is the charcoal basket. It's made from steel mesh and sits 3" off the bottom for air circulation. It has a handle that allows me to lift it in and out with a steel rod/hook I made.
Also you can see the bolts that support the grill, and another thermometer mounted through the side.
At the very bottom is a layer of foil to make it easire to clean.





Here's some food cooking, a turkey and a pork shoulder. These were just added.

Here is a chicken (nearly done) and a stuffed pork sausage roll.

 Here's a stuffed pork roll in prep. It's one mild pork sausage spread out, then a mixture of softened cream cheese, shredded cheddar, salsa verde and a chopped jalapeno are all spread on.

 Next it's rolled up and the ends sealed. One to two hours on the UDS and these are ready to go. My favorite.

Here is the turkey. It cooked for 4 hours. The pork shoulder cooked for 8. The chicken cooked in 3 hours.
The great thing about the UDS is that it only took about 8-10 lbs. charcoal to do all this. It held temperature (250 F) all day long with little adjustment needed.

Clothesline

I put up a clothesline in the backyard.   

The posts are landscaping timbers from Home Depot (on sale this weekend for $1.49 each.)

 I used a circular saw to half-lap the pieces where they join. I bolted them together with carriage bolts.

 Each end has hooks (the other end has closed eye hooks). I can adjust the tension later with the hooks you see.

Each post is set in a 12" deep hole, set in with cement.

The total cost was $30.00 The hardware was the most expensive, those costs add up.

This all went up in a morning, the cement was setting overnight, and the clothesline was strung the next day.

Drying clothes on this instead of in the house should help keep the house cooler in the summer.

 

Boot Jack

A Boot Jack is a handy thing to have when everyone in your family wears boots.

demonstration below:

I made this from some scrap poplar and a bit of stain.