Making Kamado Compact furniture from an Ikea rolling table

A Kamado Compact is an ideal kamado if you live smaller or usually prepare food for smaller groups. This size kamado is perfect for up to about 4 people, but can also be used well to cook a large piece of meat such as an attorney. However, what is sometimes seen as a disadvantage is that most compact kamados come without a raised base. This makes it low to the ground, which means you have to bend down to prepare your dish. Not a very big problem but not ideal. Fortunately, there are also raised bases for sale for the kamado compact but these often come with a price tag. Another option is to make your own undercarriage! This can save money, is easy to do and can be customized to your liking.

I too ran into this problem with my kamado compact. After poking around for inspiration on the Internet, I saw that Ikea’s Bekväm furniture was perfect as a kamado table. In terms of dimensions, this furniture is perfect for a small space and also inexpensive. You can get a new piece of furniture for as little as €39.95, but you can often pick it up even cheaper on Marktplaats. I had gotten mine for €10 after a good deal.

Supplies

• Ikea Bekväm rolling table
• Jigsaw
• Power drill with wood drill bit
• Sandpaper / sander
• 16 x Reinforcement angles
• Screwdriver
• Colorless lacquer
• Stain natural or color of your choice
• Brushes
• 2 Bricks
• (2 Ikea Kungsfors rods and a beer opener)

Bekvam Kamado furniture making

• Unscrew the worktop from the Bekvam rolling table.
• Measure the circumference of your kamado compact. Measure this circumference about 5cm below the “thickest edge” of your kamado and mark it on the underside of the worktop. Be sure to make the circle about 2 to 3 inches wider than the circumference of the kamado. This is because it is important to leave some space between these so that heat can escape. This is easiest to do by first measuring the exact center of the worksheet and then using a string to which a pencil is attached to draw a circle.
• Now you can cut a hole in the worktop with the jigsaw. The easiest way is to first cut a hole near the marked off circle and start cutting from there.
• Sand the work surface from which the circle was cut with fine sandpaper.
• Next, measure exactly how high you want the kamado to protrude from the hole. You will see that the middle shelf sits too low. You will have to take these off and attach them higher. In my case, it was about 10cm apart. I then attached the shelf, and additionally reinforced it, with reinforcement corners. The kamado compact weighs about 44kg, which is why it is important that it is secure.
• You will find that a 15-inch kamado compact will not fit perfectly between the wooden partitions of the rolling table. This will require you to loosen the two bulkheads on the long side and attach them a little more toward the outside of the legs. This is only inch work but important to do.

• Then sand the roller table completely with fine sandpaper and put it in stain. I chose an anthracite-colored stain myself. I did want to keep the worktop natural and put it in a colorless lacquer. Let this dry for about a day.

• Attach the work surface to the roller table legs using reinforcement corners.
• It is important that there is also enough space at the bottom of the furniture between the kamado and the shelf so that heat can escape. So I laid down 2 bricks on the sides of the shelf.
• To make sure everything fits properly, it’s best to first try putting the base of the kamado compact into the furniture. If you do this right away with kamado and all, and it doesn’t seem to fit right then you will have a very hard time getting it out. If in the worst case something does not fit properly you can still adjust it if necessary.
• Does everything fit and is it secure? Then remove your base from the worktop again and set it on the floor. Put the kamado in here and lift the kamado with base and all into the furniture. In my case, the weight of the kamado is absorbed twice: through the levers of the base resting on the worktop, and the legs of the base resting on the bricks. This ensures that the weight is evenly distributed.

• Pro tip: Also attach rods like the “Ikea Kungsfors” to the kamado to hang your barbecue tongs. Furthermore, of course, a beer opener is also a perfect addition to complete your furniture!
• Grill them!!!