I am proud to say the barbecue station is finished. It was a fun project, and the most difficult part was deciding what to include and what NOT to include in the final product. But given the time, monetary, and audience restrictions of the 48 hr challenge, I really think this is a good compromise and a project that many folks would enjoy making for themselves. And the best part about making it yourself is customizing it to your exact needs.
The wood I used was poplar and the whole thing is put together with glue and screws. The finish is a Behr water-based outdoor paint and I topcoated with some waterbased poly. Now since this cart has a light and a refrigerator on it, it is NOT water-resistant. And given the choice of finish, this is probably not a bad thing. I talked with a number of you about the finish and as we all know, there really aren’t any environmentally-friendly water-based finishes that can hold up to the weather quite like an oil-based product. So we’ll see how this one holds up over time.
Now here are some of my favorite features. The first thing you’ll probably notice is the porcelain tile work surface. This is great for very hot pans or really messy utensils. The surface is incredibly easy to clean and the tiles even pop out so you can give them a thorough cleaning. I have a raised shelf for storing spices or condiments. I also use this space to store my wireless thermometer. Under the shelf is a small fluorescent light. There is nothing worse than trying to grill in the dark, and now with the flip of a switch, I can illuminate the entire space. I also included a built-in paper towel holder, for obvious reasons. On the sides and back are numerous hooks for hanging all those BBQ utensils. The bottom shelf has room for your charcoal, the chimney starter, and perhaps the coolest thing ever on a barbecue cart, a small refrigerator! This is not only great for keeping drinks cold, but also gives me a place to put uncooked food until I am ready to throw it on the grill. And the whole unit is mobile thanks to a pair of durable lawn mower wheels.
Oh and just a funny side story. I turned on the little fridge and loaded it up with stuff so that I could take a nice picture. Living in Arizona and being relatively frugal, I decided to unplug the fridge after the photo shoot. I wish someone would have reminded me to remove the beer, juice and condiments too. lol. Oops.
Now the voting starts May 1st and the prize is $5000. With an impending house move and a new shop to build, this would be incredibly helpful to say the least! Unfortunately, this is one of those voting deals where you can vote once per day. So it becomes a matter of persistence rather than a count of actual voters. So I will probably be a pain in the butt and post reminders frequently.
Check out all the great projects from my fellow challengers at at BHG.com.
Kool kart. Maybe I’ll surprise my daughter in law with one of these. Hope we can help you win!!
I may be blind, but I don’t see anywhere to vote on the BHG website. ??
Good news!! You’re not blind Bruce. :) The voting starts on May 1st.
Have you considered putting a post on lumberjocks to generate some votes? I can imagine quite a few people there would vote daily!
OOo I see the Sticky Fingers sauce. LIke the station, I’ll be sure to vote everyday.
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Nice job Marc!
Do you get to put more construction details on BHG next week?? For safety, be sure to recommend a Ground Fault Interrupter (GFI) for the ‘power socket’. The drop-in tiles are neat compared to gooping them in, but the router bearing-guided rabetting might just be beyond the ‘average weekend schmoe’ builder requirement? Might want to think of an alternate of some sort to hold the tiles – underside cleats with spacers,whatever. Or simply position them on a ‘solid’ plywood top with divider/positioning strips the tiles thickness. No goop again, but a couple 1″ holes drilled in the top under them to allow them to be popped out and cleaned…
Actually there are less construction details on BHG.com. I don’t think I was expected to give a project plan, so much as a “You can do this too!” type of message. And yeah I agree on the router part of it. With the limited time I had to work on it, my brain didn’t let me even think of a simpler alternative. I kept thinking of using cleats on the underside which would have resulted in the tile sitting below the surface. But your idea of a ply base with dividers would work nicely.
More trouble than its worth most likely, but the cleats underneath could be ‘corner block’ style – with shims glued on top of them to level out the tiles… Effectively supporting the tiles the same as the rabett (The rabett being best of course since it supports the tile all around..)
Lets you use your nice frame top compared to ply, and less problem with water getting between the ply and tiles (with that approach)
Enough! My brain drives me nuts sometimes with different ways to do stuff..
Nice thing. IMHO best off all, because everyone can build one. Is it possible to make a weather resistant table using porcelain tiles?
Hi Guido,
You could have a ‘miniature kitchen tile floor’ with plywood base, tile adhesive, and grouting – but I like Marc’s approach where they are removeable for cleaning or in case they break. Plus you can change them out and put Christmas Tree tiles on for Christmas, Balloon ones for Birthdays, etc.
You can of course get weather resistance with cedar, cypress, redwood, mahogany, teak, etc. etc. Another choice is to take a tip from boatbuilders..
There is a product called ‘System 3 Silvertip laminating resin’. It is a 2-part epoxy that is easily ‘brushable’ – and is used sometimes as an initial coat before varnishing boat woodwork. The stuff is horribly expensive, but you can buy a ‘Sample Kit’ that likely has enough of it for the top – and for the legs/end-grain where they hit the ground – and the kit has a bunch of other neat stuff. $30. See: https://www.systemthree.com/trial_kits.asp
While water-resistent, Epoxy is not particularly UV-resistant. Be sure to top-coat it with paint or varnish.
Regards,
Chris
Very nice, i want a bbq station too :D
Cant say much about your… lawn? though ;)
A bit too much concrete in the pictures :P
Haha. That’s what we call…..a patio….. The lawn is on the other side and in Arizona we call those….rocks…. ;)
What’s this about a move and a new shop???????
Yep. Moving.. New shop is in the plans.
Can we expect to get a video series on the making/”assembling” of the new shop when you get to that stage? :D
Sort of like the gadget station?
Ooh! That’d be so cool!
Nice BBQ cart. Love the small fridge. Just big enough for a 12-pack. :)
Is there a video in the works on this cart?
Nice job Marc. Hopefully we can rally you to the win in the challenge. Also I use the lump charcoal too, beats briquettes hands down. Good luck and lets cook some ribs.
You’ve got my vote Marc – count on it!
Really looks cool. One thing that is neat about it is that almost anyone can look at that and say, “Yah I could build that too!” Great!
A few random comments/questions:
- Did you use your Earlex to spray on the paint?
- If I build such a cart, I think I’ll put bigger wheels on it, but that’s just me
- I’m assuming the spray bottle is filled with bourbon
Actually I did use the Earlex. And Home Depot also sells wheelbarrow tires if you really want to jazz it up, lol. And no, that’s just water. But bourbon might be a good reason to get another bottle. :)
Hi Marc,
Nice project, very inspiring as usual.
I couldn’t help but notice that you used some hooks to hang the BBQ tools on the side. From the shine on the picture they don’t seem to be stainless steel. I made this mistake before and I wouldn’t see a horrible stain of rust running your project in a couple of month. Good luck for the vote and for your future move. I agree with Pelk, it would be awesome if you could walk us thru the planning/assembly of your new shop.
Marc -
Looking forward to your article in Popular Woodworking. Keep us posted on the date.
Glad to see you are a Charcoal man. My partner won the National BBQ cook-off in KC about 10-years ago. He uses a big smoker … but I use a Weber. I have learned, however, to do a lot of smoking on the Weber. In KC, what you and I call Barbeque, they call “grilling.” What they call “Barbeque,” we call smoking. They smoke everything and it is wonderful.
I think good rules of thumb are:
- If you cook it for a little while on each side, at medium to high heat, with the lid open, that’s “grilling”. So, you always grill steaks and burgers, for example
- If you cook it for a looooong time, at low heat, with the lid down, that’s “Barbecue” baby! Whether it’s smoked or not is up to the chef. Either way, it’s still BBQ
* Barbecue originated in the US South when poor people developed methods for cooking inexpensive cuts of meat in a way to make them tender and tasty. The best way to make tough meat tender is to cook it low and slow. Sauces, rubs and smoke help to make it tasty.
As usual, great job Marc. When is the annual Guild BBQ? You definitly have my vote.
Hey Marc,
Got my vote. I have a question about using poly over exterior paint. Is the needed? I used poly over a white interior paint once and it yellowed badly. If the exterior paint is high quality what benifit does the poly do?
Thanks for everything. Can’t wait to see the new shop.
Chris
Hey Chris. The paint I used was water-based, as was the poly topcoat. Water-based finishes, even outdoor formulations, don’t hold up very well outdoors. I was hoping to increase the durability a bit by topcoating the paint with a clear coat of poly. Now oil-based products generally add an amber or yellow color right off the bat, and will continue to get more discolored over time. Even oil-based paints will begin to yellow after a while. So it just comes with the territory. The water-based material, on the other hand, will not yellow. But you lose the durability factor. Ideally, I probably would have just used exterior oil-based paint and called it a day, but I needed to be a little more environmental friendly on this one.
Great concept overall and certainly the most XY oriented of all the entries in the contest.
If I were to make one suggestion, though, it would be to spend a bit more time working on photography. (If you’re hoping to sell a house, the same advice applies.) The other entries show a bit more care WRT angle and composition. The arbor and the porch makeover in particular come across with more of a “wow” factor in the images.
It’d be a shame for presentation to trump content, but such is the nature of the contest. After five minutes of staring at the arbor, all the klunky lines and proportions started to dawn on me and I appreciated that your cart is indeed a better piece…but I doubt most folks would make it that far.
If you can still make any edits to your post, get some better pictures up there fast.
You guys should do a bit on “Good Eats.” I think Marc and AB would have good chemistry. Two “nerds” doing their thing, and doing it very well. An instant crossover hit in my house!
Oh, and I like your choice of charcoal, grill, beer, cutting board, and……paper towels.