kitchen island help please

[Bob Riefer]

Sorry for the re-post, the design forum doesn't get as many views/comments. In any case:

Our kitchen flooded (faulty dishwasher) so we're forced to do it over again. Thankfully we are insured.

Anyways, I will be buying cabinets already made due to learning curve, tools, time.

BUT, I would like do the island myself. This will be my first project.

We live in a farmhouse, so having the island mismatched from the cabinets is actually fitting. And a simple design is also fitting. Both of these things are good for those-without-skill-yet such as myself.

Here's my plan (and questions):
- Top will be 4' x 4' (what wood, thickness, and clear finish would be fitting for kitchen? After jointing/planing, I just glue up the planks?)

- Base will be 36" x 36". Two sides of the top will overhang by 11" to allow for stools, the other two sides will over hang by 1". I'd prefer not to have a support leg anywhere on the deep overhang sides. (sound ok?)

- One side of the base will house garbage can and recycle can. I would like the top portion to have a flap like you'd see at a restaurant so it's easy to drop some trash in. And the bottom would either tilt out to change bags, or be on drawer runners. (do you think tilt out or drawer runners is better? also, good place for these sorts of hardware?)

- The other accessible side of the base will have open cubbies for my wife to put the mail, her laptop, whatever else. Inside the cubbies, I'll wire electrical outlets for her laptop/phone/cake mixer etc.

- The base will be made of plywood and topped with bead board, and then trimmed out around the edges. All of this will be painted. (any advice on these steps?)

Thank you!

[phil harold]

- Top will be 4' x 4'
(1-1/2" thick Maple Unfinished Butcher Block finished with mineral oil you want no finish on food prep surface
lumber liquidators has an 8' for 260 bucks cut in half, spline, glue, and clamp
bamboo maybe another choice for material )

- Base will be 36" x 36". Two sides of the top will overhang by 11"
( Corbels would be need to support the overhang parallel to grain direction)

- One side of the base will house garbage can and recycle can.
( drawer runners is better. http://www.kitchensource.com/trash/d/built-in/)

- All of this will be painted.
(Sand, prime, putty and caulk, sand, paint 2-3 final coats)

there are plenty DIY sites to guide you
Google is your friend

[hank dekeyser]

Bob,

Being "totally new to woodworking" and not knowing what your level of mechanical aptitude is poses a problem in how to answer and where to point you...

What power tools do you currently own? What hand tools, etc? You need to ask yourself if this is something you can actually do, or you just "want to be able to" If you really are as green as you seem, you may want to consider an alternative? You need to decide that. Also check out the local tech schools as many have "night classes" that can give you the knowledge and hands on experience. plus you can use their shop and tools rather than buying a bunch of tools you may end up not using again, (or you might discover it just isn't your cup of tea)

Like Phil said - "google is your friend"

[Bob Riefer]

Good point.

I have a cabinet saw, miter saw, 6" jointer, lunchbox planer, 14" bandsaw, drill press, compressor/nail guns, circular saw, various carpentry hand tools, and dust collection system, handheld sanders. I have a dedicated workshop that has *just* been completed after 2 years of hard work.

Missing from my collection right now is furniture making hand tools (planes, chisels), router bits (I have just one round over bit so far), dado stack for table saw.

In terms of experience, I have lots of construction experience.. I have entirely rebuilt a 110 year old 2 story barn and built a complete woodworking shop, built an enclosed porch, done two bathrooms, one kitchen, hung doors, built fences, drainage, structural, doors etc. etc. etc. etc..

But, my only furniture experience thus far is a 6 day intensive course with Jeffry Lohr here in PA. We took rough lumber through to a finished table, primarily focusing on machine based woodworking.

In terms of goals with woodworking, I am NOT aiming for building bunk beds and adirondak chairs (although I'll definitely build some along the way) but am rather very interested in designing and developing my own style. If it takes me 30 years to get where I want to go, no problem.

So, I'd say I want to build this island because I think it is an achievable challenge, and will be useful and something I can be proud of too. If I can dedicate 2 straight years tipping and lifting and rebuilding a barn before I've even built my first bench, I think I have the determination it takes to make it through this first project too.

Does this help?

edit: Thanks for the "google" tip. I figured that this being a woodworking forum, it might be fun to discuss this. In fact, if we all just googled exclusively, we could skip talking here entirely couldn't we? ;)

[phil harold]

Like one contractor used to tell me when I bid a cabinet installation

They are just boxes


And he was right, all your doing is putting some boxes together with cubies (another box) and throwing a top on it then adding a little trim on it to finish it out

sounds like you have enough tools and experience to put it together

now you can always use this project to buy more tools ;o)

[Steve Griffin]

Sounds like you are all set.

Good advice so far, but I'd clarify one thing--

If you are not going to use the maple island top for a cutting surface (which you shouldn't), then mineral oil might be a poor choice.

Varnish or poly will be far more resistant to staining, water damage and require far less maintenance.

Use mineral oil on your cutting boards. Or, better yet, go to walmart and buy a plastic one so you can have more time to work on your island.

-Steve

[Bob Riefer]

Thanks fellas, It's going to be fun. This certainly won't be fine high end furniture, but I think it'll fit in very well in a farmhouse kitchen, and most likely outlast my time as guardian of this home.

I did talk with the local lumber liquidators as I think that butcher block top is a good deal. Thanks for that tip! I would like to do a butcher block at some point, but time is of the essence right now (happy wife = happy life... no kitchen = unhappy wife... you know the rest)

For trimming out the boxes, let me refine my question a bit. For exposed plywood edges (assume 3/4" ply), do I just glue and tack a piece of 3/4" trim, caulk any cracks/seams, and then prime/paint?

And, I forgot one question earlier.. For attaching the top, I would screw from the underside, through the plywood box, and up into the butcher block. To allow for contraction and expansion, I should make the pilot hole in the plywood box a slot rather than a tight hole, and that slot should go with the grain or against the grain?

[fRED mCnEILL]

For trimming the plywood edges I used 1 inch solid wood and I made the solid wood wider than 3/4 in. Then I used a flush trim bit and the router. Worked like a charm. No calk or filling required. I then spray laquered the inside. Or you can buy prefinished plywood. In our kitchen the main cabinets are stained and laquered but the is island was painted with milk paint. My wife did the painting.It is bigger than yours but has an eating area on one side. The top is granite and the base is 3/4 inch plywood. I used metal brackets at each end. The top is 8 feet long.

To aleviate the problem which got you started, when we installed the dishwasher(and the washer) we put in a plastic pan made for that use. I think its called a flood Saver. We have hardwood in the kitchen and laundry room so flooding is definitely a no-no.

good luck.

Fred

[Bob Riefer]

Hey Fred, Do you have any pictures you can share?

Also, I'm thinking that the flush trim method... You'd have to put the trim on before you assemble the piece else the router won't reach into corners and crevices, is that right?

----
Side note: I was figuring out the precise cut list for the project last night... Yikes. To get the measurements perfect there was steam coming out of my ears.

---
edit: good call on the pan under the washer. As we redo the room, I'm also taking the linoleum all the way to the wall under the cabinets so that water would stay on the surface if an issue popped up. We're also going to invest in a "whole house shutoff" system. Essentially, remote sensors are placed at each water source in the building - if moisture is ever sensed, a signal is sent to the shutoff on the main water line. So, worst case scenario is that the amount of water in the pipes can leak out, but it will not continue to run and run and run.

[phil harold]

For trimming out the boxes, let me refine my question a bit. For exposed plywood edges (assume 3/4" ply), do I just glue and tack a piece of 3/4" trim, caulk any cracks/seams, and then prime/paint?

r
Rule #1 of trim: never show end grain
prime, caulk, paint

I would face frame the cubby cabinet

Sfelves for your appliances may sag if you dont pre plan
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?27334-sag-distances-of-plywood-shelving