Table Construction Ideas

WudEyeDoo

A friend of mine just offered to build a table for me to house my large BGE and my small (haven't bought the small yet). Now that's a good friend![p]Besides the normal building plans (found on BGE website), do you have any suggestions to add that you have found to be particularly handy? Something you would do differently if you could do it over again? How about suggestions on wood? It is very humid and damp around here, by the way.[p]Bob

Nature Boy

WudEyeDoo,
Just a couple of suggestions....there are some nice tables out there if you look on Gfw's site there are several good examples. Lots floating around.[p]Make even more working space than you think you will need. Bigger is better. Also, I like the idea of cutting out the front section (instead of a hole) so that the cooker can be slid in and out easily. Bottle openers make a nice touch. Shelf space is important. Cedar or redwood is hard to beat for moist climes.[p]A few blabbering thoughts!
Cheers
Chris

The Naked Whiz

<p />Nature Boy,
Uh, did someone say bottle openers?[p]TNW

The Naked Whiz

<p />WudEyeDoo,
Here is a link to my website page on making a table. You might find some ideas in there somewhere. If you put wheels on it, make sure you use heavy duty! You'll see what I mean......

[ul][li]The Naked Whiz's Table Page[/ul]

Wise One

Nature Boy, I agree for the most part. However, if you have a cutout for the egg, be sure to put sometype of hinged closure on the front. I just would not want to accidently dump my egg because I did something studid (because I will - do something stupid that is). Also, consider some fold up wings for the table surface. It provides a lot more surface space and still makes it take up less storage space. The otherthing is have lots of hooks on the table. There are all kind of things that can be hung - extra grills, tongs, tools, etc.

Tim M

WudEyeDoo,[p]I just built my friends a table for their Large BGE (long story) and I used the dimentions on the website here. I found that I needed to not change the height of the lower wooden support - just add a 3" stepping stone under it. The problem is with the Auto Lock hinge and the lever got in the way. We had to add another 3" stone but it's working fine. I measured everything and didn't bolt the lower shelf until I was sure. I didn't think about the lever.[p]Maybe the others have said the same thing - if so - I agree.[p]Tim

EdF

Tim M and all,[p]Thanks for the tip about the lever - I'd been sort of thinking about that in the background.[p]My girlfriend has a big 5' x 5' wheeled stainless steel table in storage that she got from some demolition job. We're planning on taking it to a friend of a friend to cut a hole in the top for our large egg. Ought to be pretty unique.[p]- Ed

Steve-O

WudEyeDoo,
You have been given some good suggestions here. One of the best is to make it bigger than you think you will need, especially since you are going to have two eggs in it. While raising your egg with one or two patio stones is a way to provide clearance for the spring assist hinge, I think a better alternative (imho) is to build the table around the hinge, ie., leave a space in the board(s) behind the egg for the hinge to move through. This alternative will allow you to keep your egg lower in the table top, which may or may not be an issue for you. If you do decide to go with the patio stones for clearance, then I recommend cutting the hole in the table top smaller than what is given in the bge plans since your egg will set higher up than was anticipated in their plans. This will keep your eggs from wobbling from side to side in the hole if you move the table.

WudEyeDoo

Thanks for all the good tips. This forum sure is a big help!

Unknown

WudEyeDoo,
One more suggestion that worked for me.
When I built my table I only owned the large, but I had dreams of adding a small so I proportioned the layout a tad as for the hidden bracing (ala TNW). Then when I acquired a small what I did to raise it up from the bottom shelf was to make a wooden box frame which then became the carcass for a drawer. Presto the small BGE protudes the right amout through the top and I have a nice drawer for utensils etc. For ease and due to humidity I used steel drawer runners to "hang" the drawer in that carcass. Wish I had a pix to post, but it really is a slick use of an otherwise dead space. ^oo^~

WudEyeDoo

kat,
Great idea! Thanks.

Unknown

Tim M,I built my table using the plans from the web site and found the same thing you did. I also used the paving stones and it worked great.