Thanks for the informative tutorial. Put together the smoker yesterday and gave it a spin. Two small issues to throw out there:

I was not being able to find the top portion, the terra cotta bowl. I purchased a saucer since they were readily available and used 3/8" masonry bit to drill a hole for the thermometer. The saucer works fine but it leaks a lot of smoke. Does the bowl keep a much better seal? My project today is trying to come up with some type of seal. I'm sure some duct tape along the outside would work fine, but not very practical if you want to open it every hour or two.

The other difference was the hotplate. It's still $9.99 at Walgreen's but the base now is a rectangle, not a circle. It made fitting the base underneath the pot more of a challenge. I also had to remove a rubber piece from the base that stops the plug wire from moving. I needed to slide more cord up through the base to make the connection to the heating element.

Thanks again!