Wooden table for OTS


 
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Chris W.

Chris W.

TVWBB Pro
I'm thinking of making a wooden worktable for my 18.5" OTS. I'm thinking of something similar, but slightly different, to the Performer. What I want to do is have a hole cut in the left-hand side of the table that my OTS settles into. If I do that, I can remove the legs and the crappy ash-pan provided with it, and place a galvanized metal trash can on a second platform directly beneath the OTS to serve as the ash-catcher.

I'd like to have a two-tiered table, really - the top will be where the OTS sits (after being placed through a hole cut in the wood), with the rest of it being used as workspace. I'm thinking 22-24" wide by 3 feet long. Beneath this, just above the ground, would be another plank of wood where I could place a galvanized trash can for an ash catcher, with the rest being used for general storage. I'd like to place casters on the bottom so I can move it around easily.

Sorry for being so vague on the details; I haven't had time to work up any plans yet, and as they say, a picture is worth 1,000 words. My question is this: I'll likely be using treated, good-quality lumber for this. Does anyone think the heat produced by the OTS will catch the table on fire?
 
Chris
My one and only product improvement that I would recommend for the performer is to have a work surface on both sides and the lid rotating rearwards.
You may want to consider a SS or other easy cleaned top. Wood has a tendancy to retain the nasties.

Regards
 
Phil, the only problem with stainless steel is that no one I know has tools that can work with it. My dad has a fully functional woodworking shop in his basement where I could go to create this. I imagine the hole will need to be quite large to fit the kettle into the tabletop, and I have no idea at all on how to fabricate/work with stainless steel.

I also have no idea where to procure stainless steel, or how much it costs. If you or anyone else here can advise on a good location near KC that is fairly cheap, it's something I'll look into. SS would certainly eliminate the "will my tabletop go up in flames" issue I'm currently wondering about.
 
I would make it out of wood like you are planning then tile the top. You can also tile underneath the kettle to take care of the hot coals issue. I was going to do this but never had enough time, I ended up getting a performer.
 
Tiling it is a great idea, Jay. Thanks! I'll get dimensions tonight or tomorrow night and start drawing up the plans shortly after. Once they're done and I have the thing built (to make sure the plans work and there's no glaring holes I'm overlooking in them), I won't mind sharing the plans with anyone that wants them.
 
If I was building another table I would go with tiling as well, but use broken tiles. I've done broken tile bathroom countertops and bistro tables and I'll use the same technique here as well. Broken tiles look so much better than square tiles when tiling small areas and they easily conform to curved corners and edges with almost no tile cutting involved.
 
You can also make the table a little larger and add an additional smaller cutout for a Smokey Joe, for instance.

I think if I were going through the trouble of designing and building a custom table, I would just design a double kettle table....
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I only have an 18" OTS, so I couldn't easily get the dimensions I need from a 22" kettle or a smokey joe, but now that you mention it, it'd be nice to have my WSM in there too. I could have them right next to each other, with workspace on either side. That's not a half-bad idea, and something I will seriously consider. Although it could make removing the middle section of the WSM a bit more difficult, as I'd have to lift it way above my head to clear the top of the table. Sometimes only being 5'-4" tall is a pain. I'll still look into it though.

Of course, I could design some sort of pivoting stand so I could raise the middle section about six inches, pivot that into place, put the middle section down on that and then slide the bowl out to empty the ashes. You've definetly given me something to think about George. Thanks for all your great feedback!
 
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