Weber 18" Kettle Restoration

[lunchman]

New member here. As stated in my intro, this is my first Weber Kettle. I also have two Kamados - a Bubba Keg and a Goldens' Cast Iron Cooker.

My neighbor had placed a grill out at the curb with the trash. Trash day came and went, grill wasn't picked up. It sat for two more days and it was bugging the heck out of me. On closer inspection, I realized it was a Weber. Do I need a third grill? Not really. Do I hate seeing a Weber being tossed in the trash like that? Absolutely. Am I up for a restore? You bet. Oh yeah, and free is good!

It's an 18" Kettle, code DU (2002), in tough shape. I referenced the topics on this site about restoration and set to work. Never realized a razor blade, some #0000 steel wool and some of my auto detailing supplies would do the trick.

Before shots -





Legs aren't properly attached (axle flats are positioned backwards) and the legs are in the wrong locations, causing the handles to be improperly positioned and the grill to not be level. Cooking grate needs to be tossed. Charcoal grate is ok, but I replaced it with a new one.

It so happens I've had a Craycort Cast Iron grate hanging in my garage that I haven't used in years. I won't bore you with the cleanup, you've seen it before, but this cooker cleaned up quite nicely!

After pics -









My three grills (Bubba Keg has just been restored also) -



I also bought a Slow N Sear Charcoal Basket for the Weber, used it for the first time last night. Seems to work well. You'll notice in the pics there's also a tool rack hanging from the base.

To avoid burning my fingers on the vent control when gloves are not handy I fabricated this in my wood shop this morning -





It's Meranti wood, finished in Teak Oil. Friction fit. But now I'm thinking I should probably start on matching handles. I know they can be purchased, but there's great fun in making my own.

And that's it for this restoration and a Weber saved from the trash.

I'm happy to have joined the Weber family. And yes, it cooks every bit as good as I expected. Still some learning to do regarding vent control, but not much different than my other grills.


Thanks for checking out this post!

Regards,
-Dom

[Mr.CPHo]

Very nice rescue and restoration!


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[hawgheaven]

Nice save and restore!

[captjoe06]

Gorgeous. How do you like cooking with the Golden? They look pretty well built

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[lunchman]

The Goldens' is wonderful! The thing is a beast. 20.5" diameter cooking surface. All cast iron, cast iron firebox, heats up quite well. And contrary to what many folks think, no it doesn't rust. And it'll never suffer a Humpty Dumpty moment.

The folks at Goldens' Foundry were a delight to deal with. They're new to the Kamado game, but really thought this cooker through. The cast iron half grates have fixed legs so they can be flipped upside down to get closer to the fire or right side up on their legs for the standard height. I bought an extra so it can be stacked on top of the grate and thin items like ribs will fit below, providing another half grate for cooking. There's an optional divider plate so I can do a Slow N Sear-like operation - cooler side with no lump, hot side with lump for searing. Their equivalent of a BGE platesetter is a searing plate, almost 20" in diameter, cast iron of course, nearly 3/8" thick which can be used either as a diffuser or for searing.

The biggest plus for me with this cooker is it's made right here in the US in Columbus GA. I had some issues with the first one I received, the shipping company dropped it, damaging it. One of the Goldens' VPs called me directly to get things straightened out. First thing on the phone - sorry you've had trouble, we're sending out another cooker. I didn't even have to ask.  Great company to deal with.

This cooker will last my lifetime and then some. In 500 years someone will still be grilling on it.

I have a bunch of posts over in brethren on it.

-Dom

[Firemunkee]

Excellent!!! Looking forward to seeing the handles you make

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[lunchman]

I made a prototype handle this morning that I really didn't like, so it was on to V2. My intent was to mimic the existing light grey handles as much as possible and for the vent lid handle to at least match the lid handle. I did cut out 3 blanks and will eventually replace all three handles. I'm not going for factory correctness, vintage restorations, etc. Handles like those are already available in the forum and the marketplace.

It was more of a challenge to myself, pushing the boundaries of my woodworking abilities. Although I've made Adirondack chairs and outdoor tables from the Meranti wood, custom handles like this are a fun endeavor.

I'm not quite done yet, the pictures show that a lot more sanding is needed as well as some final shaping. Once I'm satisfied with the look, I'll apply the final finish of Teak Oil. And then make 2 more sets for the base! I did use power tools for a lot of the work (miter saw, band saw, spindle sander, router table). The recess on the bottom of the top handle was all carved by hand with a chisel. This is not my area of expertise, but was quite a lot of fun even though it was time consuming.

Some pics -

The two pieces -



Original top and my version -






Original bottom and my version -



And finally, a somewhat poor picture in the dark showing how it will mount -



I haven't decided whether to leave the top completely intact (not drill a hole through it) and mount it from the bottom with a SS wood screw or drill completely though both pieces and mount with a screw and nut.

Anyway, that's it for the day. Any further use of power tools this late in the day isn't a good idea, so I'll get some more done on this tomorrow.

Thanks for checking in on this post.

-Dom

[PotsieWeber]

NICE!

[Hell Fire Grill]

You better make sure ther aren't any holes in your fence...if your neighbors ever see that grill again they're likely to want it back.

[lunchman]

Yep, they might!

I decided to use a threaded insert into the top piece, will fasten it from underneath. I wasn't all that keen on drilling through the handle, prefer keeping it looking as smooth as possible . I'll continue working on it today, there's lots of sanding cleanup to do to remove all the bandsaw marks. Will post pics later today as I progress with the finishing.

-Dom

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[Firemunkee]

That is really cool!

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Weber Kettle Club mobile app

[lunchman]

After some more sanding and shaping today I was finally pleased with the look.

Here are the two pieces mated together -



Compared to the original Weber handle -



With about 4 coats of Teak Oil. It doesn't start to develop that marine gloss until about 7 or 8 coats of oil. The fastener isn't installed yet, but here's what it will look like on the Kettle -



And a view from further back -



It's got some decent heft at 1 1/2" wide. I'll continue applying Teak Oil and start on the 2 remaining handles.

Thanks for checking out this post.

-Dom

[Grillagin]

Nicely done!

[1ROW]

Very nice restoration, I like your handle recreation, that's really unique!

[PotsieWeber]

I agree.  Kind of neat on how it ties in the old materials & the new shape. 

Very nice restoration, I like your handle recreation, that's really unique!