# Shelf Mod to the Austin XL



## smokinq13 (Feb 19, 2019)

So I just did my first modification to my Pitboss Austin XL. How I came across this idea was that I was just exploring YouTube looking at different videos about the Austin XL and I found a video where a guy did it to his and it turned out awesome!

Video link: 

Also while at Lowes I saw the new Pit Boss Pro Series 1100 which basically is the Austin just with a build in folding shelf and newer cooking grates.

folding bracket link: 
so the brackets are suppose to be about to support up to 300lbs, while I find that hard to believe... there is no reason to be worried of going over the limit with just supplies and meats being on it










I took some sand paper and cut down the edges so they were not so sharp and got most the burs off it

staining:










I grabbed the wrong clear coat so that's going to have to wait, which I might have to add another layer of stain depending on how much the wood soaks it up 

stained:





its still wet so it'll change some more and once I get it to where I like it, I'm going to clear coat it to seal and protect it. 

The most difficult thing here was trying to figure out where to drill the holes for the brackets cuase they have to be level with each other or each bracket would be fighting with the other and it will not close successfully. Each mine closes good, rubs a little towards the bottom but it'll work itself out.

I did leave a 1 to 2 in gap before the smoker and the back of the wood so it could get air in between so the wood shouldn't get hot enough to burn or anything

once I clear coat, I'll update with a finished picture!


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## mike243 (Feb 20, 2019)

cool,got to call them and going to ask about the shelf and brackets see if they might sell them ,may end up doing what you did thanks for posting


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## gmc2003 (Feb 20, 2019)

Looks like it will come in handy. Nice job

Chris


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## smokinq13 (Feb 20, 2019)

mike243 said:


> cool,got to call them and going to ask about the shelf and brackets see if they might sell them ,may end up doing what you did thanks for posting


If you mean call pitboss, they do not sell the shelves as an option. At least you'd think they'd have them on their website at least if they did. I did find this on Amazon:


Which it says it fits a couple different brands of grills and in the Q&A section, people have had it'll fit pitboss but its 50 bucks alone for what looks like a whimpy shelf. I got 40 bucks in mine, 20 for the brackets, 20 for the wood and stain plus personally me, it looks alot better than a wire rack shelf and its stronger as well!


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## ostrichsak (Feb 20, 2019)

Looks good.  I made a suggestion on your YouTube comments that I'll paste here in case anyone else finds your mod through this link since it's an easier adjustment when you're first rounding up parts:

Nice mod.  My suggestion would be to replace those zinc bolts with a higher grade bolt though.  The brackets are beefy, that board is beefy and the weak link here is clearly the bolts.  That's actually quite a bit of laterally sheer force to be placing on bolts that were designed to fasten two surfaces together and they present a failure point in this solution.  I've seen those types of bolts sheer in half before and this looks like the exact sort of strain that would do it.  Spend a few bucks at a hardware store to get some grade 8 or above bolts that will withstand that sheer force or you're going to be fixing it after it breaks which is almost always more difficult.


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## smokinq13 (Feb 20, 2019)

ostrichsak said:


> Looks good.  I made a suggestion on your YouTube comments that I'll paste here in case anyone else finds your mod through this link since it's an easier adjustment when you're first rounding up parts:
> 
> Nice mod.  My suggestion would be to replace those zinc bolts with a higher grade bolt though.  The brackets are beefy, that board is beefy and the weak link here is clearly the bolts.  That's actually quite a bit of laterally sheer force to be placing on bolts that were designed to fasten two surfaces together and they present a failure point in this solution.  I've seen those types of bolts sheer in half before and this looks like the exact sort of strain that would do it.  Spend a few bucks at a hardware store to get some grade 8 or above bolts that will withstand that sheer force or you're going to be fixing it after it breaks which is almost always more difficult.


Thanks for the advice! I just had these bolts laying around but I be replacing them eventually


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