| Home |
| Cold Smoking |
| Choosing Wood | Smoked Salmon |
| Make your own |
| Pictures |
| Sample Plans |
| Buy Plans |
| Plans Support |
| Courses |
| Contact Me | About Me |
| Links |
Plans support page
If you have recently downloaded plans for the smoker and are having difficulty with some of the dimensions there is a free updated plan available. Just email me and I will ensure you get the link to download the revised plans. Sorry for any inconvenience.
A picture paints a thousand words but when pictures don't do it I'll have a stab at answering your questions. Before emailing, take a look at this page to see if there's an answer to your question. Any help I can give you that gets you nearer to completing your colsmoker is no bad thing. After all, making the smoker and coldsmoking your own smoked salmon is a goal worth pursuing.
Q, On the side panel the battens are sealed tight to the unit at the bottom. But on the back panel the lowest batten has a gap shown. Is this intentional?
A, No, the bottom piece of feather edge should be secured flat to the frame. When assembling the featheredge boards should line up evenly on the sides, back and front when the coldsmoker is assembled. You can guage this when assembling the side and back frames. It may be helpful to lay the back of the smoker and the two side pieces on a flat surface and place the first piece of cladding at the bottom working up with a 15mm overlap.
Q, On the back of the cold smoker I noticed the featheredge board is longer than the width of the smoker. Why is this and what is the measurement of the overlap on each side. What is the measurement of the overlap for the fetheredge board?
A, There is an overlap on the back featheredge boards to hide the frame on the side panels so one just sees the fratheredge. The measurement of the overlap should be the same as the width of the batten (18mm) although experience has shown me that making it a little larger (I made mine 23mm each side) is ok and if it doesn't look right when assembled loosely it can be planed back to suit.
Q, When it states the side panels are clad in feather edge (shiplap) sawn treated softwood with an overlap of 15mm... what does this mean? Is it an internal sealing for the battens?
A, The overlaping of the boards provides a rudememtary seal (15mm of overlap). As with timber as it seasons with time it does move a little so to prevent smoke loss I used a flexible decorators caulk to seal this gap. feather edge is a term given to this kind of cladding which is typically found on fences and garden sheds. The width of the board varies in thickness from 12mm along one edge to around 5mm along the opposite edge.
Q, If viewing the featheredge boards from one end they look like they are a right angled triangle. Is it important which side is fixed against the frame of the coldsmoker?
A, not really, although I check each board before fixing them to the frame to make sure they all go on the same way. Personnaly, the best finish is achieved when all the boards are fixed with the hypotenuse facing out.
Q, Where can I buy the timber for this project?
A, Wickes stock all the parts listed in the plans.