New Egg Table

bgephile

Howdy all! I'm new here to eggheadforum.com. I bought my Large BGE from my boss back in March of 2013 (he bought an XL). After 9 months of using my Egg in its nest, I decided I wanted to build a table to make prepping and cooking easier. I guess I could have just added some “mates” and called it a day, but that wouldn’t be a challenge now, would it?

In order to fit the table where I wanted it, I had to extend our patio a bit, so I picked up some crushed granite, some pavers and rented a soil compactor and set to work:

I originally wanted a fancy table with drawers and and a closed cabinet to store items. Weeks of planning, browsing photos and conferring with others brought me back to a fairly basic table design. I used the plans from the Naked Whiz site as a base to start from (http://www.nakedwhiz.com/tableplans/tableplans.htm) and then modified it to fit my needs. After visiting about 5 local lumberyards in search of the “perfect” wood, I chose incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens) for the project, mostly due to its affordable cost compared to other alternatives but also due to its color, durability, rot resistance and weathering characteristics.

The legs are 2×6, the rest is 1×2.5 (ripped down from 1×6). I wanted the table to be as sturdy as possible, so I cut notches in the legs for the shelf and tabletop frames to sit in, this way the legs carry most of the weight, instead of a glued/screwed joint. I also stained each joint with Ready Seal as I went along.

One of my goals with this project was no visible screws, so I chose to use a Kreg Jig for pocket holes and their 2″ Blue-Kote screws, and used Titebond II at every joint as well:

All of the surface slats had their edges rounded out using a 1/4″ radius round over bit on my palm router, then sanded smooth. The Rockler Bench Cookies certainly came in handy when routing, sanding and staining!

Most tables that I’ve seen have the egg sitting up higher off of the table top due to the hinge in the back of the Egg. I wanted my Egg to be as flush as possible with the table top, and therefore I would need to make my table top deeper than most (dimensions are 66″ long x 33.5″ deep x 38.5″ high).

For the prep area, I originally had planned for a 24″ x 24″ slab of granite. After giving it some thought, I decided to go “cheap” and ordered 4 – 12″ x 12″ Cambria Charston Quartz samples to fit in the prep area. One thing I did not take into account, since they’re samples, they’re not exactly 12″ squares, and each sample differs in size by a slight margin. Oh well, they’ll do for now. Sometime down the road I’ll fit a 24″ x 24″ slab of the same quartz in instead. You can see the signature blue flecks of the Charston in this shot:

Overall, I’m extremely happy with how it turned out. It’s definitely the closest I’ve come to building a professional quality piece of furniture. Without a doubt, it has made grilling much more pleasurable, even on top of owning the Big Green Egg!

grege345

I see a small in your future

bgephile

Yep, a small, or even a medium, is on my list.

grege345

Beautiful work btw

bigdogk9

That is nice!!! I haven't worked up the courage to build a table yet!!!!

TheShaytoon

Dang, that's good looking!

tcampbell

Wish I could build something like that

lemonade

Looks great!  Impressive!  What is the egg sitting on? 

bgephile

Thanks all! @tcampbell, as long as you have some patience and a few tools, a table really isn't all that difficult to put together. There are plenty of plans online as well to follow. @lemonade, the egg is sitting on a table nest.

EggoMatic

Nice job man! It's amazing how the egg can make you do things to enhance your cooking experience.

Timbo66

Very nice.

Nathan_C

Looks very nice. I like the idea of having the egg flush with the table top.

legomyeggo

Very nice work. Harder than folks may think!

PhillyBoy23

Looks great. I am hoping to build a table this spring.

JohnnyEnglish

I like the hinge cut out. I just finished my table but may modify it to incorporate your idea.

roadtoad69

Very nice work!

lilwooty

Bravo!  Nice work.  I have got to get busy this spring and build some storage drawers for mine.  I like those bins though.

Tspud1

JohnnyEnglish said:

I like the hinge cut out. I just finished my table but may modify it to incorporate your idea.

You may want to measure the height difference from table top to bottom shelf. If you make the cut out in top for hinge, the egg will sit down further. If the bottom shelf can not move, you won't be able to lower the egg unless it is sitting on some platform now that can be removed.

CajunEggHead

Good job

bgephile

Tspud1 said:

JohnnyEnglish said:

I like the hinge cut out. I just finished my table but may modify it to incorporate your idea.

You may want to measure the height difference from table top to bottom shelf. If you make the cut out in top for hinge, the egg will sit down further. If the bottom shelf can not move, you won't be able to lower the egg unless it is sitting on some platform now that can be removed.

Tspud1 said. If your lower shelf won't move lower, you won't be able to lower the egg to sit flush. Also, not sure if you're able to cut out a notch on the back of your table without compromising integrity...

bgephile

lilwooty said:

Bravo!  Nice work.  I have got to get busy this spring and build some storage drawers for mine.  I like those bins though.

Thanks @lilwooty! The bin on the shelf holds all of my tools (lighter, lighter cubes, spatula, temp probe, controller, gloves, etc). One bin on the bottom holds all of my smoking chips, one bin holds smaller charcoal pieces, and one holds larger charcoal pieces. It's worked out pretty well and saved me a bunch of work on drawers/cabinets on the table.

bgephile

JohnnyEnglish said:

I like the hinge cut out. I just finished my table but may modify it to incorporate your idea.

Your's turned out great @JohnnyEnglish! I need to add some hooks and a bottle opener to mine soon...

Canugghead

Very nice, love the pocket screws and your attention to details.  I've collected a pile of free, dressed maple wood; been thinking of building a table or two (I have one XL and two L's).  I like the hidden screws but I don't own a pocket screw jig; I do have a decent Bosch biscuit joiner, do you think it'll be strong enough? 

jhl192

Canugghead said:

Very nice, love the pocket screws and your attention to details.  I've collected a pile of free, dressed maple wood; been thinking of building a table or two (I have one XL and two L's).  I like the hidden screws but I don't own a pocket screw jig; I do have a decent Bosch biscuit joiner, do you think it'll be strong enough? 

I do not think the Kreg Jig will be any stronger than a Biscuit joiner.  Just easier.  

Canugghead

@jhl192 - good to know that. The joiner is quite user-friendly in terms of tolerance for error. I already have an idea on how to 'connect' two clamps with a bridging jig to hold the long side for the glue to set.

bgephile

Canugghead, I cannot comment on the strength of a biscuit joiner, as I've never built anything using that method. It does look like it'd be quite a bit more work than the pocket jig though...

bgephile

I've had a few ask about the opening and cutout for the hinge. My opening for the Egg is 22" in diameter and the cutout for the hinge is 4.5" deep and 9" wide (might want to measure your hinge at wide open to be sure as I know there were at least two different versions on the Large Egg).

eddiemm3

Very Nice table @BGEPHILE, going to borrow your cutout of the hinge for my upcoming project.

TexasBBQ

Fantastic design and choice of materials.  May I ask what is the distance between the first and second levels?  I am in the process of building my table and comparing various designs to BGE's suggested measurement of 15 inches.  I think your flush look is the perfect design.  Many thanks.

JoeMac

Canugghead said:

Very nice, love the pocket screws and your attention to details.  I've collected a pile of free, dressed maple wood; been thinking of building a table or two (I have one XL and two L's).  I like the hidden screws but I don't own a pocket screw jig; I do have a decent Bosch biscuit joiner, do you think it'll be strong enough? 

It depends on where you are using biscuit joints, I would not advise using biscuits joint for the lower weight bearing shelf, biscuits use the glue for strength, they are mostly used for alignment not support. Since you have the larger eggs which are 150+ pounds u need a stronger joint than a biscuit! If u want hidden screws get a counter sink bit and buy some dowel plugs,

Tspud1

TexasBBQ said:

Fantastic design and choice of materials.  May I ask what is the distance between the first and second levels?  I am in the process of building my table and comparing various designs to BGE's suggested measurement of 15 inches.  I think your flush look is the perfect design.  Many thanks.

That 15" would make the egg sit up higher out of the table top. If you put the notch in the back, you can make that about 17.25". That includes the small platform under the egg in second picture. You can see how the egg sits down further in table. The notch I use is 9" wide by about 5" deep.