As this is my first real post here, I thought I'd share this with everyone out there. Having read every single tip and trick on TVWB, I had decided that handles were probably a very good idea and would be my first mod on my new WSM. When it finally arrived and was being unpacked from the box, I realized that not only were handles a good idea, they were downright necessary! Off to the local Lowes/Home Depot store for hardware! I had read that someone had used garage door handles, so that was my first stop. Having measured the hole span, I was disappointed in what I found... too short to span the distance without serious modification. I finally found the Stanley gate hardware section and the 652044 - 11" Black Coated(1D) Professional Choice Heavy Duty Gate Pull link.

It has lots of holes in it and two lined up perfectly with the span from the midsection of my 22" WSM. I grabbed four of them and ran home to complete the assembly process, however when I got them home, I noticed that the gothic point on the top was too long for the rolled lip on the top of the midsection. Being short on hacksaw blades and glossy black paint, i clamped two 2x4's into my vice and bent one outwards at about a 45 degree angle (until it cleared the lip) then matched up the rest. This was actually better than cutting them off as the bending didn't crack the enamel, thus preserving rustproofing. Then I bolted them on with the fiber washer between the handle and the body just like in the instructions. After finishing assembly and covering for the first time, the points don't stick out enough to even bother the cover or catch on anything so I left them alone.

I would recommend these to anyone, whether or not you decide to cut the points off or not, they work well and look very classy!

Can you post a picture for us to see how they look? Thanks ahead of time!!!

Sorry to be so late in replying! Here are a couple photos of the handles in place.





As you can see, they look pretty trick, fit well and even let the cover on without snagging . Hope this helps!

Thats one heck of an idea. Beats giving it the big squeeze and risk dropping everything. Good job

Looks good!

And what a nice cook to welcome the wsm to the new home.

I thought of using the pre drilled holes also but looking at the position of the handles it would require a lot of lifting pressure on your wrists as opossed to handles directly across from each other. I opted to use 2 garage door handles, bent the mounting slightly to match the curve of the body and drilled 2 holes in each side. The handles are now across from each other and make lifting the body off very easy and comfortable.