Restoring Denberg (PICS)

My neighbor in Atlanta, Jeff Denberg, had set up shop right across the fence from where I used to shoot hoops and play in the backyard when I was little. He was a sports reporter for the AJC and covered the Hawks. Back when I used to think the pro-basketball was respectable - I mean the Dream Team was legit... I thought Jeff had a really awesome job and he was a pretty cool dude. He gave me a few Hawks jerseys and would usually bring me back some sort of swag from whatever traveling the team was doing that month. He went everywhere with the team, including Russia.

Many evenings, I would be out back shooting hoops or chasing a dog, and he would be cooking or smoking something on this round, egg-shaped green device with its own table. As a middle-schooler, I had not yet become a foodie, but I knew what that my dad could cook a mean thanksgiving turkey on our Weber gasser, rotisserie-style. But the smells and samples coming from this green device Jeff used were unbelievable. There was definitely a mystique surrounding it - ribs, brisket, turkey... what the heck is this this thing and why don't we have one?

Sadly, Jeff lost his battle with brain cancer in March of 2004. His wife, Lynda, gave his egg to my dad and the rest is history...

Almost ten years later, hundreds of pounds of meat and charcoal and thousands of miles, the egg is still a part of the family. When I went to school out west my dad let me drive it out there with me and he upgraded to a Large. In 2007, I was moving, and when it came time to load up the egg I was rolling it in the nest down an icy sidewalk (pushing instead of pulling) and hit a crack in the cement and over it went. It fractured the base but the rest was surprisingly undamaged. It made it back to Athens, GA with me in '08 still in one piece. But the more I used it, the crack gradually got worse and started affecting air flow and it got the the point where post-cook it would burn through all my lump.

So, I finally had some spare time last week and this weekend to go to work on it. I disassembled, sanded, JB Welded, sanded, painted, and installed a new Rutland/Permatex gasket from @RRP. I have decided to call it "Denberg" from here on out.

Applied JB Weld to both sides of crack and stuck it together overnight:

Lightly sanded lid and base with a #80 and #120 grit random orbit sandpaper

Took my newer rain cap in and HD was able to match pretty well.