The first step (after prowling the web) was assembling the kit of parts. Here they are, arrayed on my front porch:



on the bottom step, the item I was most worried about finding, the single burner hot plate. The last time I saw something like that , it was an illegal object in my dorm room, in a time before the web. (Yes, I am OLD!) Most web authors claimed I'd need 1000 watts. I found a couple in on-line hardware stores and at Amazon, but for $20 plus shipping. (lower wattage ones were about $14) Since my target total expenditure is $60, and I found a commercial smoker for $38.40 at Home Depot, that was outta budget. But a local remainders store (Big Lots!) had one for $7.99, and another local low-rent chain (Reny's) had one for $9.99. This is a Maine adventure. I figured I needed to have the burner in hand to know the size of the base of the cooker, hoping to find a lot of variety in pots and other enclosures. So I started by spending 8 bucks at Big Lots! (yes, the ! is part of the name)



In the middle, the cookery gear. I found a small saucepan for $2.99 at Christmas Tree Shops a and a "grilling skillet" with folding handle for $3.99. Without their handles, these looked just about right for the wood chips container and the food grill. Also in the middle is a candy/frying thermometer with a range of 100°F - 450°F ($6.99 from a local hardware store), a rubber stopper to hold it ($1.50) and a rubber washer to block the bottom hole. This turned out to be unnecessary in that role but handy in another. <br /> <br />On the top, the pottery. an azalea pot ($9.99) will be the base, and a bulb bowl ($6.99) will be the top. Yes, I made sure the top fit inside the base at the garden store. These are standard unglazed terra cotta pots, roughly 30 cm at the top, with 2.5 cm holes in the bottoms. They might be a bit small for the kind of cooking Phil wants to do, but I'm going to start here and see how it all goes. Oh yeah, the cute little feet were $1.99 each, but who could resist them, and they make a space for the heater cord. So sweet. <br />