How to Make a Drum Peanut Roaster

Find the center of each end of the drum barrel. Weld a 6-inch length piece of pipe to each end. This pipe holds the drum on the stand and allows it to turn during roasting.

Cut an opening on one drum end. Use a marker to draw a half moon shape above the pipe to within 1 inch of the edge for the drum. Use a cutting tip on the welder to cut out this piece. Make the cut as clean as possible because this piece is the access door to your roaster.

Attach the hinges and handle to the door, which is the half moon shape you cut out earlier. Use the drill to make holes for the screws that came with the hinges and handle. The door is hinged at the bottom; you should have at least two hinges centered on the bottom edge. The handle is attached closer to the top of the door. Attach the hook and eye closure in the same way, with the hook attached to the door and the eye attached to the body of the barrel.

Measure the height of the burners. Add 2 inches to this measurement. This will allow the roaster space to move above the heat source during roasting. Measure the distance from the center of one of the pipes to the outer edge of the barrel. Add this to the previous measurement.

Make the stand for the roaster. Use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the length that the legs need to be. For instance, if the measurement from the previous step was 40 inches, and you want the legs to be 12 inches to each side from center, you would plug those numbers into the formula. For this example. it would be 40 squared (1,600) plus 12 squared (144) to equal the remaining side of the triangle (1,744, or c squared). Take the square root of this number (41.7) to find the length of each piece of iron. Use the welder to cut four pieces to this length.

Place the pipe bracket on a work surface with the angle iron. The iron pieces are the legs for the roaster and need to be attached to the pipe bracket so they are the determined distance apart. Measure the distance between the free ends of the iron and lay them to match the distance off-center. The example roaster needs 24 inches between each free end, or foot, of the angle iron. Weld the bracket into place.

Measure the length of the drum from end to end. Add 2 inches to this measurement and cut two more sections of angle iron. Weld these pieces to the legs previously made to connect the two sections together and finish the stand.

Set the drum barrel in the stand with the pipes going through the pipe brackets. Place the chain drive motor at the end of the drum without a door. Place the gear and chain onto the pipe. Plug the motor in and turn it on to test it. Once you know it is working, turn it off and add spot welds to the gear where it meets the pipe so it stays in place. Set the burners beneath the drum.