I thought about repairing the cracks w/JB Weld, but decided I'd rather have a good base. Hence, all the king's men couldn't put humpty together again. Cute eh? Now the question - I have an extra base, what the heck do I do with it? I've ground out the cracks and will JB Weld it tomorrow. My thinking is a pretty nice fire pit, especially if I eventually brick it in. Other option is put it in the shed - "just in case"

While waiting for the new base (almost 3 weeks) I had plenty of time to build the following table. OK I forgot how to post pics and its too friggin late.

Made chicken (2) in halves and new potatoes. One thing about the XL that is nice is that all four chicken halves and the potatoes fit comfortably on the grid with no stacking, etc. I do like that. Thing cooked great. Used Rancher briquets (bought 14 bags shortly before plunging on the egg...) which worked great. I know not to use for lo & slo - have lots of lump too (been using a Weber for a loooooooong time).

I noticed in your profile that you are a "major woodworker." There's a few Eggheads around who make sawdust, me being one of them. What kind of woodworking do you do? Just curious.

At the moment I'm equipping the house with cabinets. I'm finishing the basement and putting in a pretty nice bar. I also homebrew and have a two tap head so a nice bar is important. Cabinets are cherry, raised arched panel, all inset doors. Few people appreciate the craftsmanship of an inset door until they see one. The gaps are so tight (yet even all around) the doors won't slam shut because of the escaping air.

Nonetheless, building essentially big boxes is getting old!! My wife wants the kitchen redone - so I'll be at this a while. I do a little turning, but my real interest is high-end furniture. But first I need to fill the house. To date my nicest piece is actually my workbench!! Much to my wife's chagrin. A 3" thick solid maple top, dovetailed aprons (7"), trestle base that is wedged tenons or pegged tenons. Her jaw fell open the first time she saw it. Told her I needed practice. Next best piece is my sons loft bed. Bought a pile of soft maple and as luck would have it some incredible tiger maple figure in there. Cut into 1/8" veneers. He doesn't appreciate it but I do. His ladder has the rungs in sliding dovetails. I admit I go overboard but that's why it's a hobby.

God knows how many bookshelves to date. Still, my fantasy is some Krenov-like hanging cabinets in exotics. Someday...

Most of my tools are cheap from when I had very little money to spend on them but they turned out some pretty nice stuff along the way. When I first got into it I only had a cheap ($29) B&D circular saw, a cheap hammer, some assorted screwdrivers, tape measure and a few clamps, but I wasn't afraid to take on any kind of project from toys to outdoor furniture. I just figured out how to get it done.

For a while I got into making scale model wooden trucks, mostly tractor-trailer rigs. A typical rig would be about 3' long. I gave them to my clients. Then a company wanted me to make some for their awards program @ $1,000 each. I thought it would be a great way to earn some fun money during retirement but an eye surgery went bad and I lost vision in an eye. Now I have a bit of a problem with doing high-detail type work. But that hasn't stopped me from building an outdoor kitchen for my Eggs.

I like being creative and have used plans only two or three times to build something. To me it's easier to do it without plans. I have a feeling you are the same way.

Anyway, Egging and Making Sawdust are my two hobbies these days and I enjoy both.