The Aluminum Foundry

Step 3 Putting It All Together

Now get your pot.
Mark off 2in up from the bottom.
Then cut a hole for your 12in pipe above that line.
Fill to the line with the perlite mixture.
plop the paint can in the middle
Insert the 12in pipe into the hole pressing against the paint can
fill around the can with the perlite mixture
pull the can and pipe out cleaning up the hole
let it dry for a bit then drop in a few pieces of match light charcoal to cure it not too much and don't fan it too much or it'll dry too quickly.

Now for the lid you could use a cinder block. but what i did was:
I took the lid from the pot; cut a hole in the top around the existing handle which was in the middle of it.
Added some handles to the top with some screws then put a bunch more random screws in the lid.
Now something you need to know about mine is i ran outta the mixture while coating the pot so there was like 2in of the pot that was uncoated in the mixture. So after it was cured i filled it with sand to where the perlite mixture was put some serane wrap down and then filled with the perlite mixture using a Sterno can for the hole. Then just rammed the lid with the screws into it Yeah it was a bit ridiculous, but it came out great.
I would recommend doing something similar to my lid with the perlite mixture to capitalize heat retention.