Planning table for Big Joe

I'm not an expert however a lot is going to depend on use / weight / enviromental conditions. Carriage bolts with some Locktite will make the table able to withstand a hurricane structurally. Any type of screws have the ability to wear / loosen and eventually work their way free.

Anyway...my $.02

EDIT - It'll be more work however you can do a hidden carriage type of deal...use a forester bit to drill out a 1/2'' sizew hole on the backside of the 4x4 and then use a carriage bolt to fit. That way you'll get the clean look of a pocket joint but the sturdiness of a carriage.

I wouldn't go through the trouble of using carriage bolts. Proper length screws will be more than adequate given that's not going to see a lot of movement that could potentially shear the screws. You could also use ledger screws if you really want something beefy with the simplicity of a screw. I built a small deck/landing and a set of stairs for my grandmother and used the ledger screws to attach the ledger to the house and sunroom. I also used mostly screws to hold a lot of the structure together and it was rock solid when i was done. I consulted a structural engineer(my dad) and a certified building inspector( my buddy) on what to use so i know for a fact that it's built like a tank but the true test is the final product. It's very stable and sturdy.

It also depends on how big of a table you're building. I built a small table with wheels to hold my meat slicer and since it weights 100lbs+, it's very strong. I forget if i used 2x4's or doubled up 2x4's for the legs, i'll check and let you know. The tables i built for my grills are a different story though. The grill isn't heavy at all so i used 4x4's for legs and 2x4's for horizontal members. The one i made for my deck, pic below, is about 8' long and it hasn't sagged at all over about a year. When it comes to supporting something heavy, the span of the vertical supports makes a huge difference in determining the sizing of the horizontal members which will support the weight. If you could give us a better idea what you want then we could probably help a little better. I also like to build things a lot beefier than they need to be and for aesthetics i like things to look heavy duty. I'm sure you could use 2x4's and have no issue but it might not look right when built. The Kreg system is pretty cool. I have it although i don't use it was much as i thought i would. If you have any questions about the table for my grill, just ask.

Post some build pics if you can. I would love to see how a table for an XL is built.

Charcoal_Addict said:

I'm working on a table plan for a Kamado Joe Big Joe 24 inch, 250 lbs ceramic Q.

I've seen a lot of tables with screws used to fasten frames to the 4x4. A lot of wood working sites say to use carriage bolt. My table will be made with cedar. It will be on 4 heavy duty 4 inch casters for easy movement for cleaning. 2x4's will be used for the rest of the structural framing. I purchased a Kreg Jig to keep the screws hidden.

Do you guys think carriage bolts will be necessary attach the 2x4's to the 4x4 corners or will the Kreg joints be strong enough to fasten to the 4x4 for the purpose of a table for a 250 Pound XL sized cooker?

Do I need to use 4x4 for this table. Will a well built 2x4 frame hold up over the years? Are 4x4 a neccessity if the table is on casters?

Click to expand...

Cedar is a soft wood. Ceramic is fragile. Myself, any frame supporting 250 lbs had better be sturdy. Adding in the leaning on, shoving, and pulling BBQ tables undergo, I'd use carriage bolts w/ flat washers under the nuts. Screws are fine for things like the boards for the top and shelves.
That said, using screws for temporary assembly can speed things up till all the major pieces are in position. If you are like me, you run out of clamps before you run out of things to clamp. Just run them in where the bolt heads will later go.

No offense...and you can do whatever you want...but I'd rather overengineer the heck outta something rather than risk a flaw or bad wood junking a $600 or $700 ceramic cooker.

But that's my opinion.