grilling station, cedar

Comment

Comment by carol on June 18, 2015 at 6:58pm

i will never, never again use plans from someone else that i haven't tested. obviously, these particular plans were designed in sketchup, but it looked like someone actually made one of these table in the photos that go along with the plan. ok, nice, smart little grill-side table on wheels. great idea.

however...

at the big box store, it cost me way over $100 for the cedar. another $20 for the sheet metal (which, by the way, is steel coated with zinc, not traditional galvanized steel which i couldn't find anywhere near here, and not as good a choice as galvanized), $25 for quarter sheet of sheathing, special tin snips ($30) because i wasn't sure the snips i had would do a good enough job.

total: $175 before ordering the screws...

first, the plans don't tell me the overall dimensions of the final product. i was so happy just to have plans and i didn't have to spend so much of my time trying to custom create something totally from scratch that i never bothered to check the length of the legs. if i had, i would have figured out that this isn't a petite little grill-side table - it's over 2' square on the top and over 3' tall. in short - it's a counter-height monster.

even more important than the size, however, were the actual build instructions. maybe it's personal preference, but in the short time i've been learning to build a strong, square, project made to last, i've learned to always build the face frames first. they must be square; they must be strong.  in this case, the side pieces were supposed to be attached to each piece of the face frame, then build the shelves, then attach shelves and bottom to sides, then flip unit over and attach the other side. regardless of what i thought, i figured whoever designed the plan most likely knew way more than me - i should stick to the plan.

i was mistaken.

what you end up with is just 1 screw holding some of the 1 by face frame to other framing members. so the box itself shakes when you roll it around - definitely a bad sign.

now let's talk about the top...that 3/4" pressure treated pine is horrible. first, you shouldn't cut chemically treated wood in a work space without proper venting. second, the wood stays wet a long, long time. third, it warps (it IS sheathing, after all, meant for big jobs, like siding a building). once the plywood top has been screwed to the mitered top frame pieces, the piece of sheet metal kinda just sits on top the plywood, proud of the frame, like an afterthought. not good. it should either be just below the frame or, at the very least, flush with it. so, i have to take the top apart and rework the substrate (once i figure out what it should be). it won't be ready for father's day after all, and that really disappoints me.

i don't know if i'm making any sense here. i do know i'm really upset that i spent so much money and time working on this table, only to find it's way bigger than the picture makes it look, and it's nowhere near as sturdy as everything else i've made. i'm even embarrassed to say that i made it; i can not see this thing lasting.

i guess i'm really more upset at myself for allowing my common sense to be overshadowed by the promise of easy to follow plans. and i guess the lesson could have cost me more, had i used some really expensive wood. if i thought the cedar was expensive, i should feel lucky i didn't decide to make it out of cypress.

already spoke to kreg rep; he was very nice, very professional, said he took notes. also said he made the table himself, and gave me some ideas on how to fix the issue with the top.