Category: Custom Grills

Yeah – we refresh wood furniture too.

After decades of great service – this pair of Henkel Harris Dining Chairs needed some love. It was nothing major. On both, the glue had failed where the seat meets the back – and the chairs had become loose and quite wobbly. The support screws holding the back to the seat had been tightened as far as they would go – and they eventually stripped out of the wood.

The backs were gently removed from the seats, the screw holes were rebuilt and filled completely with new wood, and sanded smooth. The old glue was removed and new glue was applied to the dowels, which were still in very good condition. The seats and backs were rejoined, and at last check, they were back in service around the dining room table.

Another wrought iron, steel, metal glider rocking chair has been returned to service! I love saving these old chairs.

Outdoor patio furniture that is made to last – but still needs some help every now and then. Both upper corner joints needed to be rebuilt, where new solid steel inserts are fabricated and joined to the rear of the chair. The broken joints are then blended into the inserts, creating a durable repair that hopefully will outlast the life of the chair.

This is a very common area for damage on these chairs – and I’m glad I’ve developed a great solution for bringing them back to life. Hopefully to be enjoyed for years to come!

For a more in-depth explanation of the repair process – see this link:
Repairing old Wrought Iron – Steel Patio Gliders, Rockers and Deck Chairs.

Repair of broken dresser drawers and loose table legs

A vintage dresser needed some mending and a small lamp table needed to be refreshed.

The dressers drawers were damaged during the last attempted repair – as someone used a pneumatic nailer and shot nails into the edges – which fractured the laminate on the inside of the drawers. In this case – short of a complete tear down and rebuild – the cure felt worse than the damage – so they were partially disassembled – cleaned up – re-glued and then reinforced with real nails on the corners.

The sides were also reinforced with new glue along the underside. Completely rebuilding the drawers would have meant refinishing them – and that wasn’t in the cards. The best choice was to make them functional again. It also saved a ton of time and money.

The small lamp table needed a refresh. The legs needed to come off and be re-seated – the base needed to be removed and reinforced and the top surface was redressed to eliminate surface scratches, nicks and bumps. The claw feet needed to be supported as they had worked loose.
It was a short job – and it’s ready to be returned to service. Once again – the most bang for the buck – the necessary repairs for the least amount of money.
It’s just how we roll!

We used some repurposed diamond plate to weld this intake box – somewhat of a manifold – to marry the smoke chamber to the new firebox – in this case – a repurposed 20lb propane can.

We were very pleased with the way the corners came together. The amperage was just right – and the corners laid in without much undercut or sagging – or excessive deposition. The fit-up was a little loose around the firebox – so some intentional buildup was required there. Flux core .045 was used for the buildup.

The corners were done with .030 wire and a 25-75 gas blend. In the end – we came up with “Franken-smoker” – which is half smoker – half jet stove by design.
You can feed it full length logs without the need to constantly open the chamber – and can rev up the conductive heat to finish full size roaster chickens in under 2 hours – or turn it back and run it low and slow – to put out very gently smoked shoulders.

Here it is – almost fully trimmed. The Frankensmoker. All repurposed or up-cycled parts. We start it with competition coal and then use wood to complete the session.

A great primer for keeping your stick welding game on point.

This video covers several different welding processes and electrode varieties.
E-6010/6011 – E-6013 – E-7018
Welding Polarity and positions – Uphill/Downhill – Vertical and Horizontal
Electrode Composition
Puddle observations and recommendations – arc gap, as well as amperage, rod angle and travel speed variations for deeper penetration or material build-up and deposition.

Weld joints are covered too. Butt joints, Lap joints, T-joints and Corner joints. Metal Prep and Fit-up are covered on most of the joints – and there are many recommendations for quality.

There are several great arc shots and puddle shots. It’s a really good overview of the craft and practice.

Recycled Steel Firewood Rack – 1/4 cord – for outdoor kitchen.

A very simple, function-over-form assembly of metal needing a new use. Made from repurposed steel, it was a very affordable build. Approximately 1/5 to 1/4 cord capacity. Keeping the wood off the ground prevents termites and keeps the wood dry while seasoning. This holds wood for a pair of offset smokers. Later there will be a sheet metal cover to keep the wood dry during the rainy season.