First Welding Project Ever: Table Top Santa Maria Grill (Pretty Cool, W/ Pics)

[tx smoker]

Looks great to me!

Worth the Like.

Thank you very much. It's got it's some flaws but far fewer than anticipated and with far fewer mistakes than I was prepared to make.

Looks great, I also always said I want a welder to play with. Where did you get yours from? Harbour freight?

I ordered it from Amazon. They have lots of them to look back and forth from to make a good decision which to get and at what price point.

Might just have to contract you to build me one.

No contract necessary my friend. When I told Tracy yesterday that you were gonna probably go bonkers over this she told me to get my butt in gear and start sourcing the materials to build you one. Got everything located and will be in hand tomorrow. Hang in there brother, Christmas is coming and it's the season of miracles

I bet with a couple cases of White Claw's and the Prince greatest hits CD we could persuade Joe [ATTACH]515771[/ATTACH] xray to drive it up here to me!

I just hope the batteries in his little pink Barbie Doll jeep don't die on the trip

Robert

 

[tx smoker]

Great job Robert!
What kind of welder did you buy?

Thank you. It is an Etosha and can be seen in the first build pic...the orange box sitting on the work bench.

What no roto option ?
Looks great Robert . Nice design .

Originally I planned to do that but when all was said and done, the right side of the grill got pretty busy and there just wasn't enough space to put one on. Next time though.....

Nice job! it looks great despite your lack of experience.

Thanks so much. As noted above, it isn't without it's flaws but overall I am happy with it.

Robert

 

[jcam222]

Robert that is AWESOME!! I wish I was handy with things like that. I truly is beyond my comprehension. That looks like the perfect setup to set on top a 36” Blackstone griddle as the stand.

 

[tx smoker]

Looks like a nice job Robert, I still use a hammer to put screws in so your 1000x ahead of me

Too funny!! My dad always told me you can fix anything with a big enough hammer or the appropriate amount of high explosives. You're right on the money

Nice way to step out of your comfort zone and learn a new skill. That’s fantastic. That little SM grill looks pretty dang handy to me. I like it.

Thank you sir!! Appreciate the kind words.

Looks Great from here, Robert !!
And Highly Functional!!

Thanks so much Bear. I'm kinda thinking through something different and interesting to build for myself....as if I really need another cooker

Robert

 

[tx smoker]

Looks great Robert and pretty damn awesome for your first welding job!

Thanks Joe. There is quite a learning curve to get a nice weld bead....but I'm making progress.

The finished Grill came out to be a Beautiful piece of cooking equipment. Great job

Thank you Jimmy. It came out looking pretty good.

 

[tx smoker]

Nice work. Cant wait to see what you cook on it.

Great job, Robert. I can't wait to see your first cook on it. Tri-tip maybe?

Hey Robert, great looking work! Now, let's see it in action

Thanks so much to all three of you...but either you aren't paying attention or you didn't read the dialog I am not going to cook anything on this. It's going to be a Christmas present for somebody, most likely a forum member that I do a gift exchange with.

Robert

 

[schlotz]

Oops, yeah I missed that. Still, great work!

 

[tx smoker]

Robert that is AWESOME!! I wish I was handy with things like that. I truly is beyond my comprehension. That looks like the perfect setup to set on top a 36” Blackstone griddle as the stand

Thank you Jeff. I do in fact have a stand ordered for a larger version of this but it's not gonna be a Blackstone griddle...just a rolling steel cart. Your idea is sound though. The grill only weighs about 35-40 pounds I'm guessing so easy enough to move around.

Robert

 

[JLeonard]

LOL! Yep you caught me....Scanned over the text to look at the pics. Well I look forward to seeing what WHOEVER gets it cooks on it.
Jim

 

[tx smoker]

Oops, yeah I missed that. Still, great work!

I'm all too familiar with how to do that

Robert

 

[SmokinAl]

Nice job Robert!
I wish I had a workshop like you!
I’m sure there will be many more SM grills coming out of there!
Al

 

[tx smoker]

LOL! Yep you caught me....Scanned over the text to look at the pics. Well I look forward to seeing what WHOEVER gets it cooks on it.

BUSTED!! I too am looking forward to seeing what's cooked on it. Kinda bad planning on my part to make the first one and not plan on using it. Oh well, more steel sourced and the next one will start getting fabricated in the next couple of days.

Robert

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

We had these big quartz ampoules we put a graphite boat filled with CZT to grow crystal. Had to weld the cap on, pull vacuum than seal around the plug. I could never do that weld. Only had 1 guy that could do it and when he went on leave about put us under.

 

[SmokyMose]

Heck, Robert, for never welding before you picked it up!
I tried a bit in the shop at work with a wire-feed and it ain't easy to get a clean line.
Is that a 110-120 volt unit? I didn't know they made them.
Never mind, I don't need to know LOL!
(I also have a parking sign in my garage but it says "Metric Parking Only")

 

[sawhorseray]

Wow, what a great piece of work Robert! Smoking Guru, International Grill Master, Home Brewmeister, and now a custom metals fabricator! Ever thought of making your own whisky? RAY

 

[sandyut]

That looks pretty nice Robert! Great work

 

[tx smoker]

Nice job Robert!
I wish I had a workshop like you!
I’m sure there will be many more SM grills coming out of there!

Thank you Al but unfortunately that's not a dedicated workshop. It's just a big garage (1500 s.f.) and pretty well filled up. Got vehicles in there, the boat, a bunch of lawn and garden stuff, two tractors, my tools, and a workbench. I wish I had that much space just to play around in.

Is that a 110-120 volt unit? I didn't know they made them.

That is a 110-120 volt MIG welder. It uses the flux wire that comes in one pound rolls...well you can get bigger rolls but the rig is designed for the one pounders

Ever thought of making your own whisky?

Thank you so much for all the kind words my friend. I have in fact considered this but a couple issues. i like good bourbon but don't brink enough of it to justify the time, effort, and expense. The second issue is that I don't have the patience to wait for it to age.

That looks pretty nice Robert! Great work

Thank you Dave. I appreciate it sir.

Robert

 

[Brokenhandle]

Nice job on that Robert... looks good! I heard a couple margaritas help ya weld better! I think SmokinVOLfan needs to get a welder also... can't ya just see him trying to weld in flip flops!

Ryan

 

[Torch&Tone]

If that amazing piece is your starting point, it'll only take a few more projects before you're making dime stacks with the best of them!

 

[DRKsmoking]

Very nice project there Robert. Nice gift for someone.

I see your small bowrider next to the truck there. And you were making
fun of JJ.
Careful you don't spark the gel coat. lol

David