I Finally Found Out If Large Mates Fit On A Small Egg (Pics)

WeberWho

After many years of pondering, asking, and getting yes and no answers I had an opportunity to find out. I just want to thank @BilZol once again for his generosity for sending me his mates that he wasn't using anymore. The mates on my large were looking a little sad so I figured I'd try making the small set out of those and keep the newer set for my large if they didn't work.

So to answer the title's question is a little tricky. My best answer would be sure. Are they made to fit the small? No. Can they be fitted and adjusted? Yes. 

The process of fitting them was a little trial and error. I took the mates off my large and tried to fit them on my small. The bands on the mates were too big and didn't follow the contour of the egg. To fix the issue I started with one end of the band. I placed the mate on the bolt and cinched it down with the nut. With it being locked down on one end, I was able to bend and reshape the mate's band to fit the contour of the egg. I did the same to the other side. All was well so far. After getting the mates fitted I ran into my second issue. I'll have to do a little explaining first for it to make sense. Here it goes: The mates on my large I had bought off Craigslist used. The slats on the mates were looking a little sad. So I decided to replace the slats with cutting boards.

After 5 years of use they don't quite look the same. Functional? Yes. Beauty Pageant? No. After moving them over to my small egg it became even more clear. The cutting boards were destined for the dumpster. When trying to move the mates up and down the cutting board would hit the egg before the mate had an opportunity to lock into place.

What I did remember was that BilZol's set of mates he sent me had the newer style of slats. The ones with a radius cut out to follow the shape of the egg. That would clear any issues with clearance going up and down. With that figured out I ran into my 3rd problem. When bending the new radius on the mates the arms also move. They don't exactly line up anymore.

So with some slight bending of the arms and extending the bolt outwards I was able to make it work.
With BilZol's set, I was able to trace the cedar pieces of the mates to create new wood pieces for the large and small. I went with oak this go around.
I brought the small up to Frozen Fest this weekend. It was doing a perfect job holding a beer at 1:30am Saturday morning.
I don't think the small ever had mates up until a few years ago. What I understand is that the medium and small are interchangeable now. I could have paid $120+ for a new set and been done with it. But I'm cheap and $30 later I have new sets of mates for my large and small. The best part is that I have a place to set stuff with the small egg. I got spoiled with the mates on the large and XL. The small felt naked. All is good now. Thanks for looking!

Hotch

Nicely done!

Markarm4119

Way to adapt and overcome ! Sounds like something I would do!
Nice Work !

DoubleEgger

Nice. What is this Frozen Fest you speak of? 

WeberWho

Hotch said:

Nicely done!

Thanks Hotch

WeberWho

Markarm4119 said:

Way to adapt and overcome ! Sounds like something I would do!
Nice Work !

Thank you Markarm4119 

WeberWho

DoubleEgger said:

Nice. What is this Frozen Fest you speak of? 

Thanks @DoubleEgger

Frozen Fest is a non-sponsored eggfest in the woods of northern Minnesota. This was the 7th annual one. 

 

chuckytheegghead

Way to stick with it and make them work, good job! Frozen fest looks like a good time as well. 

WeberWho

Just threw on the large mates

WeberWho

chuckytheegghead said:

Way to stick with it and make them work, good job! Frozen fest looks like a good time as well. 

Thanks chuckytheegghead. It was interesting trying to get them to fit right. Hopefully they stay together for the long run.

DaveRichardson

I just grabbed a couple of oak planks to replace my old 4-slat mates on my large.  I never really liked the 4-slat design because it always seemed to rack a little.  Mine will be like yours, 2 slats per side.

Question for you, looks like you screwed them on from the bottom.... mind if I can see how you did it????

caliking

Better keep an eye on them. Your eggs may flap their wings and fly away.

Honestly though, nice mod. 

WeberWho

DaveRichardson said:

I just grabbed a couple of oak planks to replace my old 4-slat mates on my large.  I never really liked the 4-slat design because it always seemed to rack a little.  Mine will be like yours, 2 slats per side.

Question for you, looks like you screwed them on from the bottom.... mind if I can see how you did it????

@DaveRichardson I went through the back. I thought it was a cleaner look that way. The smallest screws I could find were 1/2". So I paired them with some washers so they wouldn't poke through the other side.

WeberWho

caliking said:

Better keep an eye on them. Your eggs may flap their wings and fly away.

Honestly though, nice mod. 

Thanks caliking! The large mates on the small look a little crazy.