My wife didn't like multiple grills on a deck so she brought me this. The storage is awesome. I hope the picture posted, first try.
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Wife has better taste
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My mini table, hand crafted
It's all about having fun with the mini.
Starts out as a knock-down for transportation.
![ClaysBBQIslands0009.jpg]()
Assembly is a pleasure, I just tap in the wood 'keys'. This joinery is keeping with the Arts & Crafts Style of furniture.
![ClaysBBQIslands0016.jpg]()
All done, mini ready to be fired up.
![ClaysBBQIslands0037.jpg]()
The back bar, fully functional...
![ClaysBBQIslands0041.jpg]()
This evenings entertainment! Let's grill some steaks.
![ClaysBBQIslands0071.jpg]()
Starts out as a knock-down for transportation.
Assembly is a pleasure, I just tap in the wood 'keys'. This joinery is keeping with the Arts & Crafts Style of furniture.
All done, mini ready to be fired up.
The back bar, fully functional...
This evenings entertainment! Let's grill some steaks.
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BGE Cabinet Completed & Checked Out
As promised, I wanted to share my design thoughts and lessons learned from my table build. As noted in an earlier post (posted under browntw79), I was inspired to go crazy after seeing the tables of @cazzy and @PMG. I was especially impressed with @PMG’s build pictures. When I decided that I needed to replace my existing table I also decided to document the build for future wood working enthusiast that might be looking to build a BGE table. Besides a few pages of rough sketches and dimension calculations I had no real plans other than some ideas. I started with some simple specifications for this project to include:
- Can bear the weight of the concrete pad and the BGE
- Table height of about 36” (personal preference)
- Fits under a custom cover I had made for original stand
- Fits within the deck bump out space (76” wide)
- Is mobile enough to move around the deck
- Has 3 to 4 drawers
- Has an area that could take hot items without damaging the wood
The Frame (aka the Skeleton): I used stock pressure treated 2x4 lumber that I selected for straightness. The PT lumber was extremely wet when I started with some of the 8 footers weighing close to 20 pounds. I calculated the height of the BGE shelf with the plan of using a 16x16 inch concrete paver block. My first revelation was this was quickly getting to be extremely heavy. I used my Festool Domino 500Q jointer for all the frame joints with 10 x 50mm exterior grade Dominos. All the joints were glued using Titebond III wood glue. Even with the wet wood the glue appeared to create a solid bond. Most of the joints include a long decking screw as well to hold them tight as the glue dried.
Redesign Note: The largest weight bearing section of the table is the “cube” under the Egg. If I were to do the design over I would use PT 1x4 for all the framing and only use 2x4 for the BGE shelf cube.
Exterior Wood: After consulting with my local hardwood supplier (Colonial Hardwood in Springfield, VA) I selected to go with African Sapele that is a member of the mahogany family. It is very dense weighing about 3.4 pounds per board foot (similar to red oak). As you can see the featuring in the wood is stunning. I had the mill shop plane and sand the boards I selected. Started with a purchase of 100 bf based on some of those scribbled calculations. I actually was pretty close to being correct. All the boards were milled down to ¾” thickness. I did end up going back to Colonial for a couple more pieces for the top and had them milled to 7/8” (which created another problem down stream).
For the Exterior Walls I decided to make 3 1/4” wide wanes coat slats with a V-notched tongue and groove that interlock on the sides and are tacked at the top and bottom with galvanized staples. The effect of the wanes coating turned out very nice with the v-notch breaking up the visual difference between boards.
The Face Frame was fairly straightforward to assemble after I decided on the dimensions of the pieces. Because I was covering “the Skeleton” I had to make some of the pieces wider than I would prefer. I literally sat in front table one night for hours clamping on various sizes of boards to see what worked best. I decided on making the two outside vertical pieces the same width for symmetry and I eliminated the cross member on “the skeleton’s” right side.
Note: I stained the concrete block with some walnut stain to allow it to blend into the cabinet better.
The Drawers: Once the face frame was completed I knew the opening dimensions so I could work the drawers. Last December I rebuilt all my drawers in our kitchen using half blind dovetails for the 5/8” maple boxes with a birch bottom. I repeated this design for this table and used the Blum Tandem concealed full extension sliders with Blumotion (soft close) feature for all the drawers. The slides are spec’d for up to 100 lbs so holding Eggcessories is no problem. For the fronts, I had set aside some select pieces for appearance. The fronts are simply rounded over with a 3/8” round-over bit and drilled for the stainless steel (288mm center-to-center) handles. I have lined three of the drawer bottoms with a cork sheeting and the fourth with a non-slip kitchen drawer liner. I will watch the drawers over time for any evidence of water damage. I’m hoping to keep most water out of the drawer using three methods . . . .
- Keep it covered with my Sunbrella custom cover (unfortunately my supplier is out of business)
- Wide lip on the top (2 ½ inches at the front)
- Metal flashing over the left drawer (below the concrete block)
For the Top I wanted two layers to form a 1 ½” top more for visual effects than strength. At $8.00 bf (milled) I didn’t want to waste Sapele wood on the bottom layer. I decided to build a frame for the bottom and then fill it in with cheaper poplar. But I knew I wanted it to appear like two layers of Sapele at the opening for the Egg as well. This ended up proving to be time consuming and tricky. In the end wasting $8.00 bf for the center “core” might have been more economical. On the top layer I needed only to factor in the framed area for the four granite tiles. Once completed, I cut the circle for the Egg opening (based on calculations). Next was time for finishing.
Finish: I started with sanding everything with 220 grit paper. Then I applied two coats of Watco Teak Oil finish followed by two coats of marine grade spar vanish. For the top I applied three coats but was not satisfied with the sheen. I ended up lightly sanding it with 220 grit sandpaper and then spraying on two additional thin layers of spray vanish. I am very please with the results.
LED Lighting: I noticed several members had included various forms of lighting on their Egg. I selected an outdoor 3528 daylight white LED tape. I routed in a channel following the contour of the front edge and inserted bright white LED lights tied into a dimmer remote. This provides great lighting at night to see in the drawers as well as an impressive visual effect at night.
Post Fit Check Modifications: I dropped my large BGE in on Friday evening and opened it for the first time. Ouch! I had interference under the hinge marring that fine finish. Crap! Remember when I changed the thickness of the top’s upper layer? Clearly I didn’t. I ended up removing the concrete block and shimming it up and reinstalling the entire Egg. I also was uncomfortable with the Egg opening and decide to cut out an additional ½” of radius. At 21 ¾” diameter it provides me with ¾” to 1” of an air gap around the Egg. I have also noticed the casters are hard to get rolling. I might be switching them out for a set of 2” solid steel casters.
Water Test: On the 4th of July, during my first smoke, the heavens above my house opened up and poured on my new creation during the smoke. Surprisingly, there was only minimal water in the left drawer (my son claimed it was because I peaked three times) and none in the right drawers. Design success?!?! We will see.
Final Specifications:
Length: 71 ½”
Depth: 33”
Height: 37”
Weight: Very Heavy (estimate 400 to 500 lbs)
Power:
- 120V outlet located inside near top drawer
- 12V for LED Lighting
- 5V for Stoker controller
Supplies List (Suppliers):
- 10 – 2” x 4” pressure treated pine (Home Depot)
- 120 board feet – African Sapele (Colonial Hardwood)
- 8 board feet – Poplar (Home Depot)
- 20 board feet – Maple (Home Depot)
- 4 – 12” x 12” Granite tiles, Ubatuba (Floors & Decors)
- ¼” Backerboard (Home Depot)
- Black silicone caulk (Floors & Decors)
- 12V Flexible LED Strip Lights with power supply & RF dimmer (Amazon)
- Big Green Egg large table nest
- Custom Walnut Handle (AMLWoodart.com)
- Tongue and Groove V-Notch Router Bit set (Amazon)
- Festool Domino tenons, Sipo Mahogany (Local Woodcraft Store)
- Polished Stainless Steel Starr “X” bottle opener (Amazon)
- 6 – 3 inch 150-pound swivel polyurethane plate casters (Amazon)
- 4 pairs of 21” Blum Tandem with Blumotion 563H sliders (Amazon)
- 6 - Stainless Steel hooks (GreenBoatStuff.com)
- 4 - Stainless Steel handles, 288mm center-to-center (CabinetParts.com)
- 1 quart of Watco Teak Oil Finish (Home Depot)
- 1 quart of System Three Marine Spar Varnish, Satin (Local Woodcraft Store)
Please check out the photos of all stages of the build on my Flickr page.
Enjoy and good luck with any new builds this inspires! Feel free to post questions or PM me.
Cheers!
Tom
P.S. I managed to post this under my @browntw79 persona by accident; I meant to post it using my @EggHeadDad account. Oops! Too much beer last night perhaps?
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Looking for Table Ideas Using 80/20 Aluminum Framing
Hi all, I've been think I need a table for my egg. I initially thought I'd make it from wood then I saw some pics of near catastrophes and out right catastrophes and now I'm a little paranoid.
So so I started researching SS and aluminum framing and remembered seeing some stuff built from 80/20. Google has not been my friend, I've only found three examples. Does the collective have any additional info to share? TIA, Keith
So so I started researching SS and aluminum framing and remembered seeing some stuff built from 80/20. Google has not been my friend, I've only found three examples. Does the collective have any additional info to share? TIA, Keith
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Back to back baby backs
My wife and kids wanted another round of baby backs this weekend! So we had some folks over and off I went. My wife volunteered to pick them up so I called the butcher describing what I want. He basically cut me the middle of some huge racks. I was worried they wouldn't cook and wrapped for an hour. 3-1-1 style. I still prefer a little more chew than what these had but nothing to complain on.
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New Table Build
Hey all,I haven’t been using my egg much lately due to a move, a part of which was parting with my old, crappily built treated wood table. So, as part of getting back into the swing of things, I decided it was time to build something new. Here’s the semi-finished product.
As a question for the group though, what has anyone used to stain and seal their tables? I’m going with a dark finish, but I’m not sure what product it’ll go with.
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New table
Just got an Egg and built a table for it, just wrapped it up![]()
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My Minimax Table
My father and I decided to tackle a table for the Minimax. I Hope everyone likes it. I did my best with the instructions.![]( "Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/vt/81vj9f0hyty4.jpg")
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Granite Top replacement?
Hey Guys,
I’m looking for a replacement granite top for my egg table. Where is the best place to locate one of these as I did not purchase the table originally. The piece currently in the table is 18x18 and looks to be Galaxy Black in color. I’m located in the Marietta, GA area. Thanks.
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I’m looking for a replacement granite top for my egg table. Where is the best place to locate one of these as I did not purchase the table originally. The piece currently in the table is 18x18 and looks to be Galaxy Black in color. I’m located in the Marietta, GA area. Thanks.
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BGE Acacia Table Maintenance
I have a BGE Acacia Table and am wondering the best way to maintain the surfaces from things like food splatters, charcoal marks etc. Does anyone know if these are oiled or what kind of stain is used from the factory? Can I lightly sand any stains.....what should I use as sealer/oil/stain to touch up the spots?
thanks.
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New Egg, New Table
Finally joined the BGE clan, picked up a Large egg and soon after built a table. Never had poured a concrete counter top before, but turned out pretty well with some green glass embedded in the top. Now just to figure out what color to stain the table. The barnyard door and general look of the table was straight from the lowcountrylady blog, with some added tweaks. I put together a sketchup design of the table - happy to share if anyone would like the design with dimensions, cuts, etc.
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New Minimax new egghead looking for some help
Any reason this won't work for my minimax?
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Bay area Eggheads-XL table for sale cheap
We have a table in Sausalito that has some freight damage. Would rather sell it locally than ship it back. Similar to this table. Table sold for $2700, will sell for $750![]( "Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/m8/8tyoff1abg5v.jpg")
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Made the cart before the egg
First time eggowner. Saw these carts... needed a project.... knew I had to have one so I could build the cart.
Smoking my first dish.... salmon... right now. Crazy temp issues, but thats for another forum.
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Smoking my first dish.... salmon... right now. Crazy temp issues, but thats for another forum.
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Challenger, Nest or Custom Table
I’ve has my XL for about a month now and when I bought it I purchased the table nest with it. My original plan was to build a table for it, I saw pictures people had posted with their eggs in custom wood tables and thought that would be the way to go. After doing some more research it seems people have quite a few issues with custom wood tables and them catching, makes sense. I thought this problem would be alleviated some due to the insulation properties of the BGE. Now I’m having trouble deciding whether or not I want to build a custom table, buy the traditional nest and put a table near it, or buy a challenger table (or something to that effect). If I do the challenger I’m going to have to wait a while due to price tag, but the nest or custom table I could do relatively soon. I’m curious what other people think, is the classic nest really that bad? Do people with custom wood tables have that many issues or is it just individuals mis-using the BGE that lead to those accidents? Or should I just wait and get the challenger?
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Newly built BGE table
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Table question
I've read a lot about potential fire issues with any wood based tables, even those who with plates under the egg. Have seen stainless steel tables for sale for similar prices. Is that the way to go if it is going to be covered?
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Large Egg Egg table
This is my second build of anything and I’m pretty proud of it. My girl got me a large egg for Christmas (WHAT A GIFT! ) and I decided that such an incredible feat of human engineering needed something a little more than the best to call a home. Built this table over a few weekends in Feb.had to use Pine to save cost but hoping that diligent maintenance will help it last. Table top is attached using z-clips to allow for movement. All drawers are soft close. Housing charcoal in homer buckets in the cabinets, top right drawer for utensils/gloves etc (I’ll put all non metal in 1 large flat Tupperware.) bottom right drawer is actually 1 large drawer, despite the 2 handles for looks will be for a cooler. Center drawer is for plate setter and extra grates/pizza stone.
Based of plans from smokedandseared.com
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Granite tops
For those with granite tops, what product do you use to clean the granite top? Dish soap and water seems to make the top a little slimy.
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Stainless Steel Table ????
Scored a free 24x48 stainless table and was thinking about cutting a hole in it for my egg. My question about s for those with stainless tables.... my bottom shelf is secured with only set screws applying pressure to the legs. Is that enough to securely hold the weight of the egg or should I drill out the leg and bolt it in?
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