Jon Tofte
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
I wound up obtaining a vintage RED KETTLE from Charlie, a member of the Weber Kettle Club. He is an avid collector, and their club is VERY ACTIVE when it comes to finding vintage Weber kettles.
Here is my "new" kettle. When time permits, I plan to do some polishing up on the legs, ash pan, and triangle.
I think it is a much better purchase than one of those "limited edition" ones. Look at the difference in color, sheen and workmanship. I also love the old-fashioned metal handles (as long as you have a mitt or pot holder):
WOODARD CART
In the course of our dealings, I was able to help another WKC member by "agenting" a purchase of another old kettle listed on Craigslist from a seller in my area. Charlie sold me the beautiful red kettle which he delivered from 4 hours away in northern Florida, picked up the kettle I was the agent for to take on to the other WKC member, and did a huge swap of a trove of Weber gas grill parts, a new Weber cover for the kettle and a Weber kettle side table in exchange for a cool old wrought iron cart I obtained from OfferUp for FREE!
This metal cart turned out to be a "Woodard" complete with a ca. 1970 well-used 18 inch Weber "patent-pending" kettle. It had no leg sockets because it was specifically made for use in a cart. Woodard is a very old company (1860s) still making wrought iron furniture in Texas today. They apparently were the manufacturer of the Seville cart that Weber sold for the full-size 22" kettle. No one really knows for sure, but it looks like Woodard made this cart for the 18" kettle to sell through private channels (maybe Montgomery Ward). These carts were not shown in the Weber catalogs of the period, but they are pretty cool:
My wife was unenthusiastic about this proposed addition to our small deck, and after more consideration I realized that I didn't have the resources to properly restore this historic item. Charlie is willing to go the full measure and have it media blasted and then powder-coated to bring it back to its original glory. I was glad to pass it on and the MANY nice items that Charlie gave to me made it a great find for me as well.
Among the items he gave me were (1) an unused ORIGINAL Weber rotisserie for the Genesis (will be added to my Skyline grill), (2) several sets of Weber burner tubes and a set of Weber flavorizers, (3) a vintage Weber "Grill Out" light handle for the 1000 series Genesis, AND a whole box full of nice restorable wooden slats for the Weber Genesis.
I am happy Charlie will do the Woodard justice and I am looking forward to finally trying rotisserie grilling myself as well as a lot of saved time and $ on my Genesis restores.
The Weber Kettle Club people are pretty much fanatical about finding and obtaining old Weber kettles. I never knew there were so many colors and styles. It is easy to see how you can get addicted!
Here is my "new" kettle. When time permits, I plan to do some polishing up on the legs, ash pan, and triangle.
I think it is a much better purchase than one of those "limited edition" ones. Look at the difference in color, sheen and workmanship. I also love the old-fashioned metal handles (as long as you have a mitt or pot holder):
WOODARD CART
In the course of our dealings, I was able to help another WKC member by "agenting" a purchase of another old kettle listed on Craigslist from a seller in my area. Charlie sold me the beautiful red kettle which he delivered from 4 hours away in northern Florida, picked up the kettle I was the agent for to take on to the other WKC member, and did a huge swap of a trove of Weber gas grill parts, a new Weber cover for the kettle and a Weber kettle side table in exchange for a cool old wrought iron cart I obtained from OfferUp for FREE!
This metal cart turned out to be a "Woodard" complete with a ca. 1970 well-used 18 inch Weber "patent-pending" kettle. It had no leg sockets because it was specifically made for use in a cart. Woodard is a very old company (1860s) still making wrought iron furniture in Texas today. They apparently were the manufacturer of the Seville cart that Weber sold for the full-size 22" kettle. No one really knows for sure, but it looks like Woodard made this cart for the 18" kettle to sell through private channels (maybe Montgomery Ward). These carts were not shown in the Weber catalogs of the period, but they are pretty cool:
My wife was unenthusiastic about this proposed addition to our small deck, and after more consideration I realized that I didn't have the resources to properly restore this historic item. Charlie is willing to go the full measure and have it media blasted and then powder-coated to bring it back to its original glory. I was glad to pass it on and the MANY nice items that Charlie gave to me made it a great find for me as well.
Among the items he gave me were (1) an unused ORIGINAL Weber rotisserie for the Genesis (will be added to my Skyline grill), (2) several sets of Weber burner tubes and a set of Weber flavorizers, (3) a vintage Weber "Grill Out" light handle for the 1000 series Genesis, AND a whole box full of nice restorable wooden slats for the Weber Genesis.
I am happy Charlie will do the Woodard justice and I am looking forward to finally trying rotisserie grilling myself as well as a lot of saved time and $ on my Genesis restores.
The Weber Kettle Club people are pretty much fanatical about finding and obtaining old Weber kettles. I never knew there were so many colors and styles. It is easy to see how you can get addicted!
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