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Calling all Table owners!

Darktrader
Darktrader Posts: 13
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Hey Egg heads..

I just bought myself the large Table from BGE, and I have some questions:

1. To stain or not to stain? I do I need to do to it?

2. I am a neat freak and like to have everything in its proper place. I need some organizational tips (do you use hooks for the cast Iron Grate, etc.) Please send me any pictures of your setup too! that would be great!

Comments

  • edg1
    edg1 Posts: 86
    Hi DT,

    Welcome to the family.

    To stain, or not to stain. I don't think you NEED to stain your table. It should weather nicely & hold together.

    But.... I would still suggest investing in about 100 1.5" wood screws to make sure that puppy holds together. That is just my opinion.

    I both screwed my table together & I finished with Minwax Spar varathane, which is frequently recommended by those who know better.

    As for organizing goes, I just put in some eye hooks. They work.

    edg
  • azbbguy
    azbbguy Posts: 191
    Darktrader wrote:
    Hey Egg heads..

    I just bought myself the large Table from BGE, and I have some questions:

    1. To stain or not to stain? I do I need to do to it?

    2. I am a neat freak and like to have everything in its proper place. I need some organizational tips (do you use hooks for the cast Iron Grate, etc.) Please send me any pictures of your setup too! that would be great!

    I stained mine with 3 coats of minwax, then spar urethane with 3 coats.

    I am also an anal, neat freak. I can fit all my accesories in the left lower cabinet(extra grids, stone, triangle hanger, drip pans, etc, etc. The right holds my lump, torch, etc. I have ample room in the drawer for any tools/rags, etc.


    My biggest gripe is getting the ashes out, i would like to figure out a neater way to accomplish that.

    2.jpg
    6-2.jpg


    I also bought these hooks to hang tools from, and a hot grid. They project out, away from the table, to keep the grid/dirty tools away from the table. They were pricey though.
    4.jpg
    5.jpg
  • losdiego
    losdiego Posts: 3
    @azbbguy

    Great looking table. Did you make that yourself or buy it?
  • Jeffersonian
    Jeffersonian Posts: 4,244
    I'm not a neat freak, but I do like having my things put away nicely, so I got a plastic tool cabinet for my "cold" items. The "hot" items like the plate setter I store on the spare paver on the lower shelf of the table.

    DSC01088.jpg
    DSC01094.jpg

    Oh yeah, the stain. I did stain mine, as you can see, and put several coats of spare urethane on it.
  • Jeffersonian
    Jeffersonian Posts: 4,244
    Do you have an ash tool and pan? It's not 100% mess-free, but it's a lot better than the alternative.
  • azbbguy
    azbbguy Posts: 191
    losdiego wrote:
    @azbbguy

    Great looking table. Did you make that yourself or buy it?

    I contracted someone to build it for me.

    I have him doing another one for me. We bought my brother a large + we are having a table built, for his birthday Saturday. He is going to be surprised as hell to see a new egg, and table..lol This thing is really going to maximize storage.. The top will be a black granite like mine.

    tablelarge5-1.jpg
  • azbbguy
    azbbguy Posts: 191
    Jeffersonian wrote:
    Do you have an ash tool and pan? It's not 100% mess-free, but it's a lot better than the alternative.

    Yes i do, but it still creates a bit of a mess.. I am sure i will figure something out.:)
  • Kokeman
    Kokeman Posts: 822
    Stain it. I hate gray wood.
  • Spring Chicken
    Spring Chicken Posts: 10,255
    This is one of my more brilliant ideas while building the Coop. It's extremely convenient.

    GridPlace1.jpg

    GridPlace2.jpg

    But my Egghead neighbor, Lucky Mon, took the idea a step further and built his Egg Cabinet with a section that has spaced rails on which he places a number of large pizza pans. That way he can store all his various grids until needed. I don't have a photo of it but if you want I'll get one.

    Another advantage of the pizza pan is that you don't have to worry about the grid being clean, so you can temporarily store it while loading lump or switching accessories. Also, it's a good device to hold the grid while soaking it.

    Hope this gives you some ideas.

    Spring "Panned And Slotted" Chicken
    Spring Texas USA
  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 25,880
    If you don't like the way most of us clean our ashes then why not buy a dedicated power "shop" vacuum? You just want to make sure the ashes are dead which they will be by morning.
    Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
  • As far as the ashes - a small metal dust pan cut in a semi-circle and a stiff brush. After that, an old shopvac will take care of the fines.
  • Capt Frank
    Capt Frank Posts: 2,578
    A cheap shop vac works great. Just wait until the next morning, or when everything is cool before you use it :P

    Capt Frank
    Homosassa, FL
  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 25,880
    granted this table has been abandoned and abused at a former BGE dealer's place, but it gives you an idea of how the table with no sealing will look like after weathering. Some people like the appearance aged cedar takes, but others don't.
    IMG_1264.jpg
    Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
  • If it is a cypress table, I would not stain but I would seal with a good sealer formulated for outdoor use like a marine varnish. I would do a little research to find what works best - google is your friend. If you add any screws make sure they are stainless and countersink before you seal.
  • Boss Hogg
    Boss Hogg Posts: 1,377
    DT- definitely seal or stain it. I didn't seal mine and it looks like crap. Plus, even though I keep a cover over it when not in use to protect it from the weather, the table is starting to list to one side. The only time I move the table is 1) to hook up my Digi Q about 8 times a year, and 2) to shovel snow off my patio several tomes a year. I'd do the extra screws. I have 2 eggs; one in the table and 1 in a nest. I'm thinking about getting a new table for the one and then refinishing the original table for the other egg. It would have been much easier to do it right from the start.
    Brian
  • Thank everyone for the feedback, I am going to do something to it!

    Another dumb question: How long do you wait to place your cover on your warm egg!
  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 25,880
    in the morning - now, good night!
    Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
  • Boss Hogg wrote:
    the table is starting to list to one side.
    Brian

    Mine has a little list to it as well - but only after two large Grey Gooses.

    Hmmmm - Is it two Grey Gooses or a pair of Grey Geese or perhaps a gaggle of Grey Geese?
  • Sorry no pic tonight…
    But I have a table much like Jeffersonian.
    These things are made of cypress (I also added some extra bracing to mine and used white cedar) which resists rot, protected or not, very well as seen in RRP’s post.
    I did not stain (it will weather to its own shades of life) and I give it a shot of linseed oil every spring.
  • A goose or two will defiantly make for a listing :whistle: !
    Maybe to one side and then the other!
  • I stained and sealed mine so it would not go grey, collect food stains, rot from snow sitting on it etc. I used two coats of this, which you can get at Home Depot.

    Several people use Helmsman Spar Urethene to seal it. Stain is a personal preference.

    http://www.behr.com/dsm-ext/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=e9ba536658689110VgnVCM1000006f1010acRCRD&vgnextchannel=3f85f11390a59110VgnVCM1000006b0910acRCRD&vgnextfmt=default
  • When it comes to tables, I always advise using a wood and a finish that would be used on a wooden boat. Also, what may be appropriate in New England may not be right for Florida and vice versa.

    That said, I don't like to spend time maintaining a finish. I've seen some (non-spar)urethane finishes look horrendous after being left outdoors (or even in a screen porch year round). The marine finishes should be great, but I don't know what kind of maintenance they require.

    I used the Behr deck sealer and touch it up every summer (except for last summer) and it's aging nicely. (since 2006)

    I live in New England and cover my Egg/table when not in use. I wait till the temp gets down to 250 before I put the cover on. I always open it up to let the heat out before I put the cover on. In the dead of winter I have put the cover on before it got down to 250.