What I've Been Up To: Woodworking (Part II - BBQ Cart!)

A couple of days ago, I showcased some of my smaller woodworking projects that I've completed this summer.  Now, it is time to take a look at my large project that I recently finished off:  a BBQ Cart for my deck!

The cart itself was based on a design and plans that I found in a woodworking book though I didn't actually follow the dimensions (or even the materials) that the book suggested.  Since this was a long project (in terms of the time it took me to complete the thing), I did manage to snap a fair number of "in the works" photographs.  I liked the design in the book more than most of the free plans that I found on the internet - but ultimately I made a number of modifications to suit my own personal interests!

Note:  If you only care about the final product, scroll down to the end!

I knew the cart would be quite heavy (especially since I planned to build a tile tabletop so I had to make sure the base of the cart was sturdy enough.  The front legs are made out of two-by-fours that I tapered.  The back legs (not shown) are also out of two-by-fours but I did not taper the back legs.

This was my lone "action" shot.  It turns out trying to take a photo while simultaneously NOT chopping off your fingers is a bit tricky with power tools.  Happily, all my digits survived the making of the BBQ cart.

I spaced out the tiles to make sure my plywood foundation was big enough (it was perfect).  The tiled tabletop ending up being two feet by four feet when all was said and done!

At this point, you can see the front and back legs have been completed and the two side pieces that hold the entire table together are also added on.  The clamps were necessary because it was tricky to get everything level as I screwed the cart together!

The cart is now flipped "rightside up" and the bit closest to the camera is the condiment tray.  You might also notice that I have added on the three boards at the bottom of the cart which can be used for storage.  The backside of the cart has a wooden dowel which serves as a handle/towel rack but you can't quite make that out from the above photograph...

...which means I need to walk around the table and take a second photograph so that you can see the handle!

The completed cart - without the plywood top and tiles!  Also, the wheels were one of the last things that I added (the cart only has wheels in the back) - that's why the entire construction is propped up on the couple of pieces of scrap wood in most of the photographs.

Before the top of the cart was completed, my wife painted the entire cart a dark blue which looks really nice with the red tiles.  I had never tried to lay tiles before in my life so this was a learning process.  For my first time, I think I did fairly well (you'll notice I had to use plastic spacers since I didn't have self-spacing tiles).

After the tiles were placed in the mortar (and dried), I then built a wooden frame around the entire table top to give the whole thing a nice, finished look.  Once the frame was completed, my wife (once again) painted it blue for me.

The final step was to apply the grout.  I didn't particularly enjoy laying the tiles but I did find the grouting process to be kind of fun.  As you can see, the end result is fairly nice - and the finished table is HEAVY!  You can also see the wheels have been added finally.

Here's the view from the condiment tray side of the BBQ cart.

All finished!