Project: Kettle Table


 
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George L

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I'm in the process of turning my brick-top hibachi table which I built last summer into a kettle table.
So, yesterday, I stripped the table down to its frame and started the mod for the 22" kettle.

I expect the table with the kettle in it to be hopefully completed by next weekend and will post more photos of this project.

This is what I've accomplished so far yesterday:

The original hibachi table
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Stripped everything off the table
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Added studs for the cement board
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Cement board in place
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Running ideas with some broken clay tiles
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Made cutout for the kettle
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Don't you want to come visit Central Alabama and eat some good BBQ? Oh, while you're here, if you could put me together one of those kettle tables that would be super!!!!!!

Just let me know when I need to pick you up at the airport!

Pat
 
so will the side of the kettle rest right on the cement board? might come through the corner supports and run a couple long bolts through the plastic spacers used on the lid holder. you'd get a little separation that way and only have to drill a couple holes.
im really liking the looks of this. might make a 26" version as im tired of the slow/non existant release of accessories for the new kettle
 
Pat: Feed me some good Q and you've got yourself a deal! Besides, I've never been in the south before so this would be a good opportunity...
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Tim: The lip of the kettle will snugly rest directly on top of the finished tile. In other words, the kettle will nest virtually flush with the tabletop. Both handles will be completely chopped off the kettle.
There will be no support from the bottom of the kettle.
Although there's no direct kettle to wood contact I'm hoping heat from the kettle will not present a problem here.
 
George - I've got three butts on now - first sampling indicates that they are going to good!

You seem very willing to share, and I want to make an almost identical table for our friends who live next door to us at the lake. Would you mind sharing your list of materials?

I found a One Touch Platinum - the bowl, lid and ash catcher assembly - a while back and am going to build the table for that grill. This grill has two flanged brackets on either side of the grill (like the Performer) where the bowl attached to the grill table. I want to take advantage of those to attach the grill to the table.

I've been frustrated with my inability to get a decent set of plans (suggestions as my father in law used to call them) for building a table. The temp of the bowl has always been an issue with the big green egg table plans. The concrete board with tile on top may be just the answer. I have plenty of tile left from an addition project several years ago.

So catch the next Southwest flight to Birmingham and come on. My wife is heading to the lake this week and I am not going to join her until around the first of the month.

Thanks for sharing your neat project with the rest of us!

Pat
 
Pat: The lumber I used here was somewhat of an overkill.....especially the 4x6 timber. I was originally looking for that massive, heavy duty look but a table like this can be designed using 2x4's and 2x6's for the most part. I would still use 4x4 posts for the legs though.
This table was not meant to be mobile and is heavy. All lumber is also pressure treated.

For this table I used 6" galvanized lag screws countersunk to attach the 4x4 posts to 4x6 timbers. 2x4's were used for the inside supports for the cement board. I used construction adhesive to set the 1/2" x 2' x 4' concrete board onto the table and screwed them in place securely.
After measuring the outside diameter of the kettle just underneath the lip I drew a circle on the cement board and made a circular cut using a saber saw with a mason blade.
1/2" clay tiles I have on hand left from a previous job will be used.

In addition to the bottom shelf made up of 2x6's I intend to add an additional shelf about a foot or so above the tabletop on the rear right hand corner and utilize that post sticking out of the table. I'll probably design a simple curvy looking shelf to add balance with the kettle dome.
 
The table looks great so far, George! One quick question, though: how are you planning on removing the handles from the kettle? On my OTS, the handle seems to be welded in place. Are you going to use a welding torch to remove them? That would bring up the issue of not hurting the kettle itself, but I'm not a welder, so I have no idea how any of that really works.
 
Originally posted by Chris W.:
The table looks great so far, George! One quick question, though: how are you planning on removing the handles from the kettle? On my OTS, the handle seems to be welded in place. Are you going to use a welding torch to remove them? That would bring up the issue of not hurting the kettle itself, but I'm not a welder, so I have no idea how any of that really works.
Click to expand...

Thanks Chris. With an angle grinder I can easily grind the handles off cleanly, no problem.
In fact, when I grind them off sometime during the week I'll be sure to post a photo.
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Today I removed the legs off of the kettle, chopped off the handles, and dropped the kettle in the hole to check for fit before laying tiles. No problem so far....
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Broke some tiles and layed them dry just to see how they might look. I have more tiles to break. Grout color will be charcoal to match the kettle.

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George, thats looking really nice. You might consider installing a light over the grill right under your shelf. I love how it's coming along. I almost wish I did that instead of buying a performer.

4 x 6 = man table!
 
Thanks guys! I decided to fire up the grill over the unfinished table to do a heat check on the table. And while I'm at it I threw in a bunch of beef short ribs.
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The heat was a little intense underneath where I banked the charcoal. I will add a tin baffle around the perimeter of the kettle underneath.
 
Originally posted by Robert Black:
What diameter hole did you cut in the backer board?
Click to expand...
If I recall, I calculated the diameter of the cutout approx 3/8" smaller than the diameter I measured at the lip of the kettle.

The lip of the kettle sits perfectly flat on the table surface.
But a problem I immediately discovered was that the lid did not seat completely on the kettle due to the extra height of the lip on the lid, so I used a 1/4" round aluminum rod and shaped it all the way around the circumference of the kettle underneath the lip to "raise" the kettle by a 1/4" so the lid would seat properly.

You can see part of this aluminum rod under the lip of the kettle.

(BTW, the table is not quite 100% done, although I've used it several times. I just need to come up with a lid holder of some sort which I kind of have in my mind...)

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Originally posted by George L:
The heat was a little intense underneath........
Click to expand...
Please expound upon this before I run into this problem on my project. Granted, wood and fire don't mix unless your cookin' with it!
 
Originally posted by Robert Black:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by George L:
The heat was a little intense underneath........
Click to expand...
Please expound upon this before I run into this problem on my project. Granted, wood and fire don't mix unless your cookin' with it! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

The timber underneath the table on just the one side where I usually bank the charcoal got too hot to the touch so I covered the wood surfaces around the perimeter of the kettle with cement board and then nailed galvanized tin sheeting over them, all the way around. Now that corner stays relatively cool to the touch. I'm comfortable with that, considering that I originally built this table for hibachi grills, and not to have a kettle nest in it. If I were to build another table from scratch built around the kettle, the framing and tabletop would be completely different.



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1/4" aluminum rod was fashioned around the kettle to raise the kettle off the table just a tad so the dome lid would seat and seal itself properly on the lip of the kettle.


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