I did some more work on the stove today!
The big fun news is that I was searching Craigslist and found a good used welder. I got a Lincoln wire-feed MIG, complete with the gas setup. I am a total novice when it comes to welding, but I figured it would be best to get something at least a little better than the "entry-level" model.
With the welder, I could now do some metal-working for the side tables.
For the slate counter on the left, I wanted some sort of metal under-support, as the stone itself is somewhat brittle, and wouldn't be able to take a lot of weight.
I welded the pipe flange to a hunk of scrap steel. (For those of you familiar with my Electro-Metro project, this is the same metal that we made the front grill area battery tray with.)
No, not the greatest welding.... Yes, I will practice more..
I laid down some JB-Weld between the metal support and the slate top, and clamped them together. I have no idea if it will weld or not, but I think all the holes in the metal support will give a little more gripping surface area.
To make a small table for the right-hand side, I welded a section of 1" pipe to some scrap steel tread plate.
One suggestion for making the tables removable was to use sections of pipe that would slide over the top of the upright pipes. The size coming out of the tank is 1&1/4". The next size up, 1.5" isn't quite big enough to slide over. 2" is too big - it has too much slop to it. Plus, 2" pipe starts getting more expensive for elbows and flanges. However, 1" pipe slides nicely INSIDE the 1.25" pipe, and it's cheaper to boot!
The 1" pipe is welded to the steel, and slides INSIDE the 1.25" vertical pipe.
Here's what the slate table on the left looks like from below. (Note that the wedges are a temporary support while the adhesive cures. The steel support is NOT perfectly flat, and the wedges kept it from shifting while I set everything up.)
Here's the right-hand table from below. I drilled a hole through both pipes to insert a bolt to prevent the table from spinning.
So, here's how the more-or-less finished grill looks.
The only thing I can say now is that the BASE LOOKS TINY compared to the rest of the project. I might have to change that.
Also, the base had a hole in it from when it was a farm implement. I used the new welder to weld it shut with the piece I cut off from the side table.
