Assembly
Once you have all of the parts and tools, and know what you are doing, the actual assembly is relatively easy. Our first UDS took about 2 hours to assemble. Be prepared to adjust for the unexpected. Chances are your drum is slightly different than the ones we used. You may need to alter your design to accommodate for these differences.
Take your time. The goal should be to produce a great cooker, not a hastily assembled cooker. Read and re-read this document until you understand it. Before drilling holes, make sure you know where every part is going to go and how it is going to fit. Measure two or three times and drill your holes slowly and carefully. When using the step bit continually check for fit. There isn’t much you can do except alter the design once you drill a hole too big.
Always drill pilot holes with your smallest drill bit. Drilling on a curved surfaced can be tough (the bit slips) but we had no problems with a small pilot bit. It is handy, but not necessary, to have one drill (preferably cordless) with the pilot bit, and use a second drill (powerful enough for the step bit) for all of your other bits.
Also, consider the work surface you are going to use. The steel used in the drum is thin and relatively easy to dent or bend. We used 2 small saw horses to balance our drum on while working with it. We used bungee cords on the legs to keep the saw horses from separating and the barrel from falling between them.
Step 1 – Remove the Lid and Gaskets
Open head drums are sealed with either a lever locking ring or bolted locking ring. Ours had bolted rings tightened with bolts with 15/16” heads that needed to be loosened. Either unbolt or use the lever to loosen the band and remove the lid.
Make sure there is not paint or liner on the inside of the drum and lid. If there is, you’ll need to burn and sand it out.
Remove the bung from the lid by rotating counter-clockwise. A flat head screw driver used as lever and handle works great for this task. Remove the rubber gasket from the bung. Although we are not using the bung, it is a good idea to keep it around in case you need to close the bung hole. And, if you decide not to build the exhaust damper, you’ll need the bung to seal the drum and extinguish the coals.
Remove the foam rubber gasket from the rim of the lid. A flat head screwdriver works well for this purpose. Either scrape or use a solvent to remove any excess adhesive from the lid gasket.
