Leg Socket Source

[Rblackwell]

I am new to WKC. I am restoring 1977 Kettle that is missing all three leg sockets. Can you buy them from Weber? Other sources? Thanks!

[Kneab]

What color is the kettle that you are trying to restore?
Do you have any pictures of it?

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[Mikeyd]

I have three I will mail to you free of charge. Let me know. They are from a faded black kettle.


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[ReanimatedRobot]

You have probably figured out that you need a donor kettle now.  When it comes to replacing the old handles and leg sockets people will usually find an old black kettle and try to paint match with high heat paint and use stainless steel hardware to reattach. You might be lucky and find a donor kettle that I the same color but it's best if it is pretty far gone as it kinda sucks to ruin one to save the other.

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[Rblackwell]

Here are pics. Plan is to cut out bad spots in bowl and weld in new metal and attach leg sockets. Lid pic is after cleaning and handle resto.


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[Mike in Roseville]

Is it sentimental? Like a family heirloom? If not, one idea since it's faded black...is get another late 70's big tabbed mbh and just swap bowls.


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[Rblackwell]

It was my dad's and he taught me to grill on it so yeah it's sentimental.


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[Mike in Roseville]

Gotcha. So some people have cut out metal and rewelded it back in and haven't been happy with the results. Not trying to dissuade you. Once you start cutting out metal and grinding porcelain...it could get dicey. But nothing ventured nothing gained. Maybe a replacement bowl would be a good backup plan. Think of it like an axe that needs a new handle.

Another option would be to get some small steel plates or large washers that would cover the socket holes and put the bowl in a Performer frame (I.e., ditch the leg sockets).


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[kettlebb]

It would help to put your location in your profile so members close by can reach out to you. Finding a donor kettle on Craigslist shouldn't be too hard.

Is this 1977 kettle special to you or just a project grill?

Reason I ask is I have a 1979 A code lid and bowl (faded black) that I won't use. You could have it if you are willing to pay the shipping to your location. It's in great shape, just needs legs and wheels to get cooking.


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[PotsieWeber]

On my keyring, I have one of those little flat Craftsman things that have 4 little regular screwdriver tabs on it.  It is the oldest looking one I've ever seen.  It used to be on my dad's key ring and I remember it looked pretty old when I was a little kid.
So, I understand.

If you are in the Chicago area, I likely have something you can have as a donor.

Do a search on fender washers on here or fixing leg sockets & you'll see what people normally do.  You might want to try some sort of modified fender washer sort of thing because the bowl is so bad.  You might even just try cutting off the tabs off a donor kettle & leave PLENTY of the old kettle attached.  Then, basically do the fender washer trick through the portions of the donor kettle that you leave attached to the donor leg sockets & attach that to the outside of a decent portion of the original bowl.  In other words, cut a large enough piece of the donor kettle surrounding the leg sockets so that you could attach that piece of the donor kettle to a solid piece of the old kettle with a bolt, washers & a nut.  If it (or something else that you think of) doesn't work, you can always go back to trying the whole welding a piece into the kettle.

Good luck. 

[Walchit]

I'm in Topeka kansas with a grinder and some leg sockets too. Definitely post location. We will get your dad's kettle up and running for sure

[ReanimatedRobot]

I would consider finding a solid donor bowl, cutting around the leg sockets on the donor bowl so it is one solid piece of metal, and then drilling out the leg sockets welds so they can be removed.

Then take the cut portion of the bowl and drop it into the inside of the rough bowl and then doing the washer method to attach the legs to the old bowl and the cut portion of the donor bowl.

Alternatively someone here also cut a donor bowl to fit inside a rough bowl and then tack welded it in place. 

This is just an idea.  Just doing the washer method alone might not work well given that the leg sockets are rusted pretty badly.  A donor bowl would be the easiest to just swap out, but either of the above methods would keep as much of the original kettle as possible.

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[Cellar2ful]

Once you source the three leg sockets, here is a thread on how to reattach them to the bowl thanks to @zavod44 .  Just buy extra large washers to sandwich and cover the holes in the bowl.


http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/index.php?topic=12150.msg119567#msg119567

photos from the thread

[Rblackwell]

Thanks everyone for feedback and suggestions. I think I have a game plan now. I will post progress pics. I am in central TX.


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[Kneab]

Can't wait to see it back on it's feet.

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