ISO: NYC Metal Shop to Modify Stock Pot

[slkinsey]

Can anyone here recommend a shop that can do some modifications to a stock pot for me. What I want to do is drill a hole in the side near the bottom and install an external ball-valve spigot connected to an internal slotted pipe manifold. And I want them to both be removable for cleaning. And I would like it done so that I can just screw a plug into the hole if I want to use it that way.

I don't think any of this is rocket science (bending a piece of stainless pipe and cutting in the slots being the most difficult part). But it is beyond my capabilities with what I have at home.

Any suggestions/recommendations? How much should I expect to pay for something like this?

[David A. Goldfarb]

You might try the shop that makes Hammersmith copperware. I forget their trade name, but they are located in the Williamsburg industrial zone, and you could find them by calling Brooklyn Kitchen, which sells their cookware. No idea what they would charge, but they do general metal fabrication (I think their main contract is some big project for the city), and they are familiar with cookware.

Edited July 28, 2009 by David A. Goldfarb (log)

[Fat Guy]

This is the sort of thing where I'd go looking around at the local vocational-technical schools for someone to do it cheap. If the school has the equipment, there are probably students who can pull off something like that. I don't know if Parsons has a metal shop, but that's where I'd start.

[Old Grumpy]

What you are trying to build is very simalar to a pot used in homebrewing for beer. These pots are all assembled and come in different sizes. They have the spot for the valve and some even have a spot for a thermometer. You can also buy a false bottom for you pot so that the liquid will drain and not take the solids out. This type of pot is sometimes called a Mash Turn. So if you have a homebrewing supply store near by you might want to check them out. Also some of them will modify pots . This probably will be a little less expensive than going to a metal shop.

[slkinsey]

Actually, I highly doubt that getting something like this will be less expensive than doing it myself, as I have seen 20 gallon, induction-compatible, aluminum-disk-bottom stainless steel stock pots for sale in the area of 150 to 180 bucks. Unless my modifications would cost in the neighborhood of 200 dollars, I will do better than most homebrewing outfits are charging.

[anguso]

I recently had some knives ground and sharpened at Henry Westpfal on West 25th Street, and I noticed a metal shop in the back.

It's a separate business, but the lady who took in my knives said that they were very good at doing odd jobs in metal.

To me, the trickiest part of this job is likely to be getting a nice clean (and cleanable) joint between the curved inside of the pot and whatever fitting you decide to install.

Henry Westpfal & Co.

115 W 25th St

New York, NY 10001-7245

(212) 563-5990

[paulraphael]

This could be a DIY project. It probably just requires drilling a hole. The spigot might come with the washers, gaskets, etc.. If it doesn't, that's all basic plumbing hardware. I'd look for silicone gaskets, so they can take the heat.