I recently acquired a new (actually very old) coffee table, and so now have a spare one that is stained, scratched, ugly, extremely heavy, and solid wood. I was wondering what the dangers are of taking the table to the garage, putting my banjo burner atop it, and using it as a brew stand. Is the fact that it is wood a problem? Should I cover it with aluminum foil? Sheet metal? Just sell it on Craigslist and use bricks?
It should be OK…but if you want to be sure you could go to the home improvement palace of your choice and see if they have any damages sheets of Durarock or similar (tile backer board) and take it off their hands for a few shackles. If that doesn’t work you can go to the outdoor department and see if there’s any damaged pavers…
Usually you have to schmooze to get stuff marked down when it’s damaged, but especially at Home Depot I have been quite successful with this technique.
I use a cookie sheet under my burners, it works fine and the wood doesn’t seem to get warm.
My stand is wood and I have a banjo burner on it. No problems. One day I plan to put a heat shield under the burner, but I haven’t done that yet.