cabinet converted to oven??

[afroEngineering]

Hello to everyone! I've been browsing the threads for a while, trying to figure out the most economical (I'm cheap-limited budget-and in college) way to make a decent sized oven. I surf craigslist.com and find free ovens out the wazoo, so used parts are abundant. I found this guy who was selling a "fire proof" storage cabinet for $25.00 so I went and picked it up. It had some surface rust in a few spots where the paint was chipping, but cleaned up nice after a good pressure wash. The label on the front said that the cabinet was FM approved, and MEETS OSHA REQUIREMENTS, model# 1947. Looked it up on the net, and come to find out, it's made from 18ga on both inner and outer skins, with a 1-1/2" space in between. It's heavy duty (347 lbs) and is the perfect size for what I want (65"x43"x18"). I was thinking about taking a cut off wheel, and slicing basically all the way around the top in order to bend a flap open, at the top of each wall. This way, I could fill the 1-1/2" gap in the walls with the insulation. Of course I would do this with the doors as well. WHAT DO YALL THINK?? please excuse the length-- I'm excited!

[ed_denu]

Are you sure the safe/cabinet has hallow walls. Many fire proof cabinets and safes have some sort of filler already in the walls. Some I believe have concrete, hence the weight.

I would get a hole saw and cut a small 1' or so hole somewhere to see what actually is inside.

[afroEngineering]

Now that you mention it, there must be something in the bottom, because I dont think it would be that heavy just from the steel. But, I'm sure the doors, walls, and top are hollow because they do flex and feel hollow. Also the site I found it listed on per model number, says something to the effect that "all cabinets have an inner wall and an outer wall, to allow for a 1-1/2" air gap."

Also, the inside has a little bit of rust and I was interested in sanding all that off and whenever I get it all wired up- preheat the oven to operating temp, and then opening it up and spraying a good layer of high-temp powder on the whole interior, then closing the doors for the curing time. after the 15 min or whatever I would just turn it off and open the doors to allow it to cool. Will this work?

[afroEngineering]

...no other contributions??

[CarWiz]

Check for intermediate supports in the walls. It might be hard to fill with standard insulation. I'd drill 1 to 1 1/2" holes in the walls and fill them with Perlite. Perlite is available at most plant and garden retailers. Before using it, make sure it's dry! Bake it for a few hours or air dry in the sun a couple of days. DO NOT put it in the walls right out of the bag(s).