Bringing New Life to an Old "Platypus"


 
Love the tables! That whole grill is stunning, 'way too nice to cook on now. You're going to have to find another one now and leave that one in the house. Beautiful workmanship, Jon!
That’s exactly what my wife said😲. More like “When are you going to get that out of here?” And then to my personal use kettles tucked tightly in one side of our lawnmower barn, “That’s because your grills don’t belong here!”🤨 I wonder, then, where in the world I am supposed to put them?🤔

They also made this model in brick red. Maybe I should try to get one of those, too!😧
 
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That is awesome! We take old grills back for disposal and we got a platy back, I blew it and didn't snag it and it was in great shape except the grates.
 
That looks great Jon. I picked up a black platypus recently and not soon after I picked it up a crimson one came up for sale. I let the crimson one go and my thoughts are to use the one I have with a Gabby's Grill set up for Santa Maria style cooks or as a kettle pizza set up. I just like the idea of the four leg base for this use.
 
Excellant work. And very creative, love the wood finish never have seen this done or pull off on a grill.
So did you make the wood handles or get them on line if so do you have a link, please.
 
I know some people don't like them, but the Weber One-Touch Platinum kettle that featured the two crescent-shaped side tables has always been a favorite of mine:
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I guess other people didn't see it the way I do, because this was a short-lived version. I believe it was replaced with the one with a fold-down metal table (that always rusts:rolleyes:). I finally snagged one of this type back four or five years ago when I was still in Florida. It wasn't in perfect shape, but I immediately put it into regular service. I especially liked how the two tables gave you a place to set down food on one side and a place for a Thermoworks Smoke on the other.

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You can see that the accumulated use by the prior owner and then me, plus the Florida sun was not a friend to this cool old grill. After a while, I decided this one needed a redo and disassembled it. Sometime later, I had the opportunity to travel to Germany for my organization, and I was able to include a visit to the Weber company store as fun stop while there. I picked up a stainless GBS grate (not available in the US) and managed somehow to get it back home on the airplane.

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I earmarked this grate for my redo of my platypus (a fun nickname for this model that I believe is creditable to @Rich Dahl).

Well, things changed, and my platypus sat in the box and ultimately was retrieved and moved up to Indiana where it sat again in my overloaded workshop. When weather warmed up this year, I decided now was the time to finally do something. I really missed using this grill, and along the way came up with some ideas. They began when I found a guy on eBay who makes a lot of nice wood handles for custom kettles. Beyond the normal replicas for "regular" kettles, he has branched out to things like the Weber Q, Go Anywhere and, yes, even one for the unique front handle on the Platinum One-Touch. I bought his handle, a top vent extension handle, the rollers and even the handle that attaches to the slider on the lower vent. You can see that these features add something special:

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Well, all these wood additions looked really nice, but they did not at all go with the gray plastic side tables. I also didn't like the gray/silver legs and wire rack. I decided to make the wood pop, going with a mostly black color scheme would be in order. What to do about those side tables was another issue. I explored trying to have someone help me make wood replacements, a skill level well above mine and my paltry collection of wood tools. I ran into dead ends and along the way started thinking about how the original plastic tables had special pins and bolt holes that help hold this grill together, not to mention nice tool hooks on the side.

With fear and trepidation - and an hour or so of watching YouTube videos under my belt:unsure: - I decided to jump into the world of "faux finishing." I bought an inexpensive set of tools to help apply a wood grain look, a couple colors of brown paint, and went for it. I did practice on an old thermoset table piece, but I could have used a lot more practice time. My final product is definitely not a professional outcome, but I am way happier with this look than I would have been with gray, even if I had sanded and refinished the thermoset. In addition to the brown paints, I also coated these tables with lacquer. I know it won't hold up indefinitely, but I am still quite happy with the unique, custom look. I think it looks warmer and richer than the original color scheme:

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While I was planning these tables, I also wrestled with the wheel covers. I just couldn't bear them to be dull gray, so here is what I did:

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My wife said the wood-look wheel was "nice" but said, "Who would have wood wheels on a grill?!!!" Oh well.

This is not a new grill by any means. A good bit of Weber fade and some scratches on the porcelain (almost inevitable with any type of slide like this and some other kettles have)... I wanted it to look nice for this photo show, but I do plan to COOK on this grill again!

Well, do you all like it or think I am crazy?
First time ever that I have seen wooden wheelcovers!
 
Kon,
I have never seen a wood ash handle before I really like that.
Where did you get that from?
Kevin,
I was looking at old posts and realized that I failed to answer your question. This is the guy who made my handles. You can look at his other stuff for sale and also contact him on eBay about what you are interested in. He makes a wide selection and will work with you on wood choice and print colors.

 
Kevin,
I was looking at old posts and realized that I failed to answer your question. This is the guy who made my handles. You can look at his other stuff for sale and also contact him on eBay about what you are interested in. He makes a wide selection and will work with you on wood choice and print colors.

Thank you Jon these are really different love the top vent handle alot
 
G'day Jon, when I seen the title of this thread, I thought it might've been an Aussie that posted it because a Platypus is an Australian native species (to my knowledge) a duck billed beaver like creature which are black not brown but when I seen this awesome job you did of that Weber, I was blown away, you done it proud.

I was surprised when you stated you can't get those GBS grill grates in the USA, they come standard in the more upclass models of the Kettle here in Australia plus I bought an extra for my Performer so I can use the griddle pan of the checked grill grate centre and eventually i might get a Wok for it. These grill grates are fantastic, the SS grill bars are so much thicker and stronger than the standard flip grates, you get the flip grates too but they are a lot heavier but nothing like those cumbersome full cast iron grates, for normal cooking there's no real need for full on cast iron but most of the insert accessories that go into the hole are cast iron and very well made. I once had a craycourt Cast iron grill and it was a PITA to keep it clean.

Jon, this (Platypus) model I don't think were ever available in Australia but it looks awesome....well done!!

Davo
 
G'day Jon, when I seen the title of this thread, I thought it might've been an Aussie that posted it because a Platypus is an Australian native species (to my knowledge) a duck billed beaver like creature which are black not brown but when I seen this awesome job you did of that Weber, I was blown away, you done it proud.

I was surprised when you stated you can't get those GBS grill grates in the USA, they come standard in the more upclass models of the Kettle here in Australia plus I bought an extra for my Performer so I can use the griddle pan of the checked grill grate centre and eventually i might get a Wok for it. These grill grates are fantastic, the SS grill bars are so much thicker and stronger than the standard flip grates, you get the flip grates too but they are a lot heavier but nothing like those cumbersome full cast iron grates, for normal cooking there's no real need for full on cast iron but most of the insert accessories that go into the hole are cast iron and very well made. I once had a craycourt Cast iron grill and it was a PITA to keep it clean.

Jon, this (Platypus) model I don't think were ever available in Australia but it looks awesome....well done!!

Davo
Davo,

Thank you so much! I think fellow member @Rich Dahl coined the name for this grill. I am supposing because of its unusual appearance and how its 4 legs kind of project to the corners a little like your Aussie critter! I understand that when the first platypus specimen was brought back to Europe, scientists were sure it had to be a hoax and searched for stitches to explain the unusual combination of anatomical features. They are certainly very cool!


It is absolutely true that you folks down under and our friends in Europe get some BETTER stuff fromm Weber than we Americans can purchase. The group leader I traveled with to Germany indulged my interest in Weber by adding a stop at the company store. He also persuaded me that we could finagle getting that stainless grate back on the plane, which we somehow did (along with an ivory Smokey Joe! Our only stainless choices for kettle grates here in the US are all from 3rd party providers. There are a couple very good ones, but I was so happy to obtain one genuine Weber version.

Not sure why this model One-Touch Platinum didn't make it to Australia. It was pretty much a flop here in the US, but I really like it. I wish I could scout ads there and come up with an old Weber "Flat Top" gas grill which I understand was very common there but extremely hard to find here in the US. Too bad we have a huge ocean between us.

Best wishes on grilling and enjoy those Weber perks they throw your way! I appreciate your kind words about my crazy project.

Jon
 
Davo,

Thank you so much! I think fellow member @Rich Dahl coined the name for this grill. I am supposing because of its unusual appearance and how its 4 legs kind of project to the corners a little like your Aussie critter! I understand that when the first platypus specimen was brought back to Europe, scientists were sure it had to be a hoax and searched for stitches to explain the unusual combination of anatomical features. They are certainly very cool!


It is absolutely true that you folks down under and our friends in Europe get some BETTER stuff fromm Weber than we Americans can purchase. The group leader I traveled with to Germany indulged my interest in Weber by adding a stop at the company store. He also persuaded me that we could finagle getting that stainless grate back on the plane, which we somehow did (along with an ivory Smokey Joe! Our only stainless choices for kettle grates here in the US are all from 3rd party providers. There are a couple very good ones, but I was so happy to obtain one genuine Weber version.

Not sure why this model One-Touch Platinum didn't make it to Australia. It was pretty much a flop here in the US, but I really like it. I wish I could scout ads there and come up with an old Weber "Flat Top" gas grill which I understand was very common there but extremely hard to find here in the US. Too bad we have a huge ocean between us.

Best wishes on grilling and enjoy those Weber perks they throw your way! I appreciate your kind words about my crazy project.

Jon

I gotta say Jon, feeling a bit embarrassed about not knowing much if anything at all about our little dick billed furry Mammal the Platypus, whilst we recognise these Mammals are native to Australia, many of us never really get to see them even in the wild as they are very shy and go underwater if a human appears.
I've only really seen them from afar swimming in Rivers but have never really got up close and personal and just as well too, I also didn't know they had a poisonous spur on their back legs. Just one of the things we take for granted I guess!!
 

 

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