A project for June

[steven c newman]

Boss wants a new Kitchen Island.

So..I went out today, and picked up 14 planks of 1 x 6 Ash.
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The 3 longest ones are 5' long....we cut down 6 boards that were 9' long, plus a couple scraps he no longer needed...


he still has my old planer, so we surfaced both faces, until they were all 3/4" thick....
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The two scraps were a bit shorter ( drawer fronts?)....all seemed to have decent grain, though...
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Sitting upstairs, to get used to the house....waiting on a design she likes....then I can start in....

Going to be a little different from doing small boxes....

[steven c newman]

Biggest sticking point so far....is working out what design she wants......as opposed to what I might design.....

[steven c newman]

Ok...we now have a plan she approves...:D

Standing 35-1/4" tall...23.5" wide....39-1/4" long. One drawer, and one door....

Not sure about casters under it, yet.
Has two shelves in the left half...may be an adjustable shelf inside the door.
Not sure about a towel bar/handle, yet

Instead of a wire mesh door panel, will make a raised panel door.
Legs? Look to be 3/4" x 3"
Will need two panels glued up, to enclose the door area. And two more for shelves. Handle end will get either a raised panel or a plain one.

Need to get started cutting and gluing up panels....and find 4 casters, in case she wants it to roll around. 2 fixed, 2 non-fixed.

About the only plywood will be the drawer bottom.

Waiting on Moose & Squirrel to deliver a paper plan......

[steven c newman]

Plan has arrived...
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Details..
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Details...
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Screen shot? Found an image she like....
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And wrote down the sizes needed...

Have lots of panels to make, now. Door will be a raised panel.....one of 3 such panels.....single drawer, 5" deep. Back of drawer opening will get a plain piece, like an apron.

[steven c newman]

A cut list has been started....first up was the top for this Island....4 planks hauled to the shop, crosscut to 40"...straight-line ripped to 5-7/8"....Came up just short of the 23" I was looking for...ripped a filler strip, and did a dry fit...
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Was also pre-setting clamps. Had a few spots that needed jointed...
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We have ways....jack plane to knock down the worst of the high spots, No. 7c to joint the entire edge....Then the clamps, cauls, and glue showed up...
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And this is the "good" side, the other will be the underside
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May need those two planes later....:rolleyes:
Shopping trip today....( yard sales were rained out :()
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1-1/4" swivel casters....4 for the price(Lowes) that TSC store wanted for a single such caster...not that I'm cheap....just FRUGAL...

Thunderstorm came through..and so did the "North Branch" of Dungeon Creek...
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Guess things can wait a day.....stay tuned...

[Stew Denton]

Hi Steven,

The drawings are pretty good, so Rocky must have done them with some slight assistance of Bullwinkle. I have doubts that Bullwinkle could draw that well, but you never know. At least the drawings showed up, so good news.
Stew

[steven c newman]

Cut list...more of a general guide, than anything set in stone...
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Case in point. List calls for the top to be 3/4" x 23-1/4" x 39".....glue up resulted in 3/4" x 24" x 40"....finished size is 3/4" x 21-5/8" x 38-5/8".....but, now I can measure from that, to get the rest of the parts to size

Yes, I made a BIG "V" across the panel to line things up for the glue up.....took the clamps off today..
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None were in the right spot, maybe the bottom plank, and the narrow filler strip....at least the defects were all on the same side..
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Just the "good" side is now the underside.....trimmed for length...using the speed square/circular saw guide..
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ends are now squared off....reset the square onto the tablesaw...trimmed the long edges a bit....and square to the ends...then reset the tablesaw back into bench mode...
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While a 80 grit beltsander flattened the underside, a jack plane was used on the "good" side....then a No.7c was put to work...
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Before a #3 came along, and cleaned up a few trouble spots.

Was getting soaked ( clothes dryer wasn't helping things) tired and crampy.....decided I had had just enough fun for today. Had to take the Boss to the store, anyway.

Picked a couple things of screws, and a six of Guinness Blonde....
Not sure IF I'll lay out for the bottom shelf this evening, or just sit and re-figure that cut list....Good thing F. Flintstone hadn't carved it in stone, yet...

Stay tuned..:D

[steven c newman]

Sitting here, picking dried glue off me fingers.....
Had 4 planks IN the shop.....#4 had a huge,nasty knot just about dead centered.....I cut the offending thing out, and saved the two cut-offs for another, shorter shelf....which meant I need yet another plank, just to get 4 planks at ~ 36-1/2" long...without any nasty knots..still wound up with a smaller one...

Then straight-line rips, to get decent enough edges ( STRAIGHT!) for a glue-up of the bottom shelf....set a pair of large pipe clamps on top of the tablesaw(only spot in the shop large enough) and laid out the 4 planks, looking for the best match in the grain, and best face up....
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Some of the short cut-offs worked quite well as cauls, to flatten out the ends a bit...Added a 3rd pipe clamp right about center of the panel...
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And this is to be a shelf? I can build the rest of the Island up from here.....dados, notches, stopped dados...and trim around the bottom. May need a "Page 2" to the Paper Plan? We'll see how long before Moose & Squirrel arrive with that......will all depend on how this shelf gets trimmed up.

Stay tuned..

[steven c newman]

Back to drawing a "Page 2" for the plans....once I get this bottom shelf squared up, and ripped for width.....I can "pull" measurements from that, and figure the rest of the parts.....needs 2 web-frames made, needs 4 legs cut for width and length....And all locations of joints laid out....and maybe another panel glued up?

Then wait on Moose & Squirrel Delivery Service to deliver the paper Page 2.....

[steven c newman]

Well, that was an expensive day....round trip to Lima OH, to get a new beltsander ( $45!) to replace the cheapy that chose today for it's motor to lock up....trash canned it. First off, I needed to trim the ends of the panel...after the clamps and cauls were removed...
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Square a line across on the ends, wasn't taking all that much off...
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Set up the saw guide...
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Distance between the edge of the saw blade to the edge of the saw's foot plate.....to where the cut will split the lines. Then just run the 6" SKIL saw along the guide.
Then about 1/2" was ripped off along the worst of the 2 edges....panel is now done to size, and square....

Then the episode with the beltsander.....got back home, and used the 36 grit belts to buzz the bad spots down flat.....was getting close, but not quite there....drastic measures were called for...
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Arms were too tired to shove the No.7c around....was a bit sticky down in the shop ( no shop fan, yet) so, this plane was drug out and put to work..
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Stanley No. 6, Type 9? Was made just before Stanley added those frog adjust bolts to their planes...also used the #3 on a couple stubborn spots....
But, then again, this IS just the bottom shelf...right?
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Tomorrow, I start to draw up what sizes the rest of the parts need to be....have already laid out where 2 dados need to be

Stay tuned...

[Michael J Evans]

Thanks for sharing Steven. Looks like your well on your way.

[steven c newman]

This working from a photo ain't all that easy....too many details do NOT show up....Single Brain Cell Sketch Up is trying to figure a few things out enough that I can make a few parts.
Spent about 2 hours this evening....hauling a plank or three to the shop...needed blanks for the four legs...3/4" x 2-1/2" x 32-3/4".....was supposed to be 2-7/8" width....rip cuts came out better at the 2-1/2" wavy edge syndrome..
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The angled ends? well..according to the photo..
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Needed to figure out how to lay the angle out.....Right angle trianle..base is 3/4", straight side is 2-1/16", angle side is 2-3/8".....
Photo also showed they had doubled up at the feet, as well...so
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There were 4 bracket feet made to match...Idea is to glue the 2 parts together..
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So a caster can be attached...
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Trick was to glue 4 legs up, so all 4 brackets were on the inside...
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Part 2 of today's follies is coming right up ( did I mention I also had to change out a bad filler valve in the toilet's tank.....and help lay the last of the pavers....and weed-eater the yard..:eek:)

Stay tuned...:D

[steven c newman]

OK, Part 2...Before I lost the tablesaw to that glue-up pile....had other parts to rip and cross cut, and rip again...
Bottom shelf gets a thickened edge...at 2-1/2" wide, since the rip fence was still set up...thickened edge?
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Right now, I am just doing the 2 ends...I also wanted a rebate...so
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Near as I can figure out, that rebate goes...here...:confused:
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The middle shelf ( need to glue that one up, yet.) get a thickened edge also, just not as thick..
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Reset the fence to 1-3/4" wide...and run a short piece of 1 x 6 ( wavy edge and all) through a few times...and cut off the big knot on the end of one ..
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Trimmed one goes on the end, other 2 will be the sides.

Legs will sit in a notch in each corner of the bottom shelf...
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My back saw is still out at Chuck's....so, how to do such a notch....I used a "Vintage saw", of course..:rolleyes:
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Even had a never been used blade for it...didn't take too long...
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Bench IS getting a bit ...full..
Maybe tomorrow, after I get my saws back from the sharpening service, I can clear the top of the tablesaw....have a bunch more parts to mill...
Stay tuned..

[steven c newman]

Well, Road Trip to pick up a couple sharpened saws....didn't pan out...too many mower blades ahead of my two little saws...

But, BEFORE that trip....
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All four notches were done.
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All four legs were out of the clamps...one was even cleaned up
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Rebates were made, parts for ONE webframe was milled
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Ends and sides of the bottom shelf were resized, and rebated...still need to draw a curve, saw it, sand it smooth
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Had enough pieces, a divider panel could get glued up.....it goes here
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Will sit in a dado in the bottom shelf, the middle shelf attaches to the divider, and the webframe as well. will add a bit of trim fro along the door.
Need to start a few sub-assemblies, before too much longer....I'm running out of room...and Lumber...
Been a long, HOT day.....will see what I can get done, tomorrow...

Stay tuned :D

[steven c newman]

Lumber run was made, today....needed to rough cut a couple to better fit in my van....then run all the planks through a Delta12" planer...S4S...load up about 14bft of Ash lumber, and pay the fellow $14...

Too dang hot out, today. I do NOT "do" heat very well, anyway.....once the boards were safely in my house....I took the rest of the day off.....may try again tomorrow, after I get a few other, more important tasks done....

[steven c newman]

Was a little cooler today....Needed a couple curves laid out and cut...
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Then a spokeshave to level things out..
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Seymour Smith & Sons.....then mill a dado across the bottom shelf....then I could attach the curved aprons...
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Was a bit trying, as I glued both aprons in place at the same time...then made sure the divider would still fit into the dado...
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Cleaned a couple more legs up..might as well install them..
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Which was ....fun....:rolleyes:small clamps first, then the pipe clamp....needed a way to keep things plumb, and square to the shelf....also needed ends for the webframes....2 birds?
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With a 3rd clamp right at the front corners...

Weight of the Ash and clamps...is as much as I weigh.....will let this mess sit a bit...will try tomorrow to get something done..
Stay tuned..:D

[steven c newman]

A little assembly work..one web frame..
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Then an assemble "Table"
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Divider installed last legs installed, other 2 needed repaired..
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More plugs to mill....3 hour day.....
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End cap for the bottom shelf....and a Gatorade....
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Had enough fun, for one day.....
Stay tuned...

[Nicholas Lawrence]

Great looking project Steven. Not sure how I have missed this till now.

[steven c newman]

Ok, for those complaining about too small of a shop...
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This is what I had to work in, today...add in a 1 x 6 x 8' plank...
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And then try to cross cut it down to the sizes needed....
there was an Assembly Area...
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I did get the drawer area worked on....a 1x across the top of the drawer, the end panels and a drawer front..
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End panels just got glued in place...
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Even if things were a bit...cramped...2 more planks hauled to the shop...one needed "quartered"
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Then 2 panels glued up from these parts..
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The last plank I had was cut into 3 sections, and a filler added to them..to enclose the end of the door compartment..
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Which wiped out any more work being done. I got 2 out of 4 corner blocks made...I use those to attach the top to the case. Need to add a kicker for the drawer's back to rub against.

Next lumber run will be to Blue Borg....1 x 6 x 8' Pine, 1/4" x 2' x 4' plywood ( drawer bottom) and a 3/4 x 2' x 2' plywood panel for the middle shelf....

Letting the panels sit overnight...will pick out the best of the 2 for the door. Need to square up all the ends, flatten the panels on the "show side". Next Wednesday will be the Borg lumber run.

Will wait until the Island is upstairs and finished..BEFORE adding the casters...

Stay tuned...:D

[Mike Manning]

Nice work as usual Steven! Always enjoy following along as execute your projects.

[steven c newman]

Mondays should be banned. Just got done with 3 hours in the shop....film at 2300 hrs....

Sometime this coming autumn.....I change from being a Grandpa...to adding Great to the title....One of the oldest grandsons is going to be a Daddy.....

Sitting here having a couple COLD "Not your Father's Root Beers" to cool down....

[steven c newman]

Blank for the end of the Island was removed from the clamps....cleaned up, ends squared up...glue and clamps...
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Then one of the narrow panels was taken out of the clamps...a rebate milled along one edge...
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After the ends had been squared...then glue and clamps...
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Back of door compartment is installed...
Needed the kicker installed....worked on a dovetail to the front...
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and to the back of the case...
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Before I could glue the back of the drawer compartment in place...
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Then drill and countersink the corner blocks...
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and then install them
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Other than sweeping the floor....Monday's work was...done....
Still have a drawer and a door to do...have to leave something for the next day, right?:rolleyes:

Stay tuned...:D

[steven c newman]

Not a lot got done, in the shop....was on Laundry Detail, anyway....

There was a blank to make a door with..
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It needed to be flattened, trimmed for length, ripped for width..and another rebate made like the back had..
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Once that was done, a test fit was done..
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Rebate this time is on the right side. Looks like it fits. I went and dug up a couple things of hinges...
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Just in case I need 3 hinges. The plugs? A Veritas 3/8" Tapered Plug Cutter was used. Had to slow the drill press all the way down, else the cutter will burn this Ash. First 30 weren't too bad, slow though, as I had to keep blowing away all the chips it made.....#31 lost a bit off the end....#32 got stuck in the cutter and snapped off...dug it out...may try to use it...
And that was it, for shop time, today...

Lumber run tomorrow...among other items.
Stay tuned..

[steven c newman]

Honey-do list this morning, bills to pay....buy new hinges for the back door's screendoor ( plastic one broke...but they came with the door)

1/4" Luann plywood for the drawer's bottom panel.....1 x 6 x 8' Pine board for one drawer back, and 2 drawer sides. 3/4" x 2' x 4' for the middle shelf....will edge it with Ash parts.

1 hour of sleep last night...no way am I heading to the shop. About all I got done was install the hinges on the screendoor...and throw the old plastic ones in the trash...

[steven c newman]

Well...I WAS just going to haul a board to the shop, and get set up for tomorrow....that WAS the plan....

Instead, the 1 x 6 was cut to make 2 drawer sides....they also needed slimmed down a bit..too wide....saved the 2 strips of 1x...trimmed for length..and now I have drawer guides..
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One on each end...bead of glue, couple clamps...then the drawer front needed a hair less in width....then some pins were made...
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Might as well do both ends...
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Marked for "Top" , Bottom, and inside.....and number the ends to match the sides, so the tails will match up..
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Once I got them milled....then sweep the floor, turn off the shop fan, close up shop...
Sometime tomorrow, I set up for grooves, and dados....and fit a back and the bottom to the drawer

Stay tuned...

[steven c newman]

Grooves? Used two very different planes...a Stanley No. 45..
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and a G. Roseboom plough.
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Except, the Plough has not depth stop...so, I got close to the depth, and finished up with the #45.

dados were milled a bit rough...we have ways..
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of making things smooth...then the pilot holes and counter sinks...
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Just how I do a drawer, YMMV, of course. I crosscut and ripped a pine back for the drawer. Then cut the 1/4" Luann Plywood to size for the drawer bottom....couple of LONG clamps, a few screws through the dados, a few dabs of glue...slide the bottom panel into place...check for square with a framing square..
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Once it showed things were squared up, a few screws were added through the bottom panel, and into the back of the drawer...
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And just leave things sit, until the glue dries...
Stay tuned..:D

[steven c newman]

Clamps came off this morning....drawer does fit it's opening....front is a tad loose, but will be ok.....at least it will not swell and stick....has enough room to swell, without any sticking shut going on....no need for a piston fit.

Maybe about 1300 hrs, before I head to the shop to start.....film at 2300 hrs...

[steven c newman]

Had to mail out a box of block plane parts...round trip to the Post Office is making the schedule get behind.....will try for 1400 hrs....Gatorade on ice, too..

[steven c newman]

Gatorade Break, and a LATE Lunch! Even with the shop blowing right on me...still soaked...
Door has been installed, even has a magnetic catch to keep it closed

Drawer is fitted, handles installed....

All counter-bores on the handle side of the Island now have plugs glued in place....
Need to clear off a space, and make the middle shelf, next....might even install the top of the island...
Stay tuned...

[steven c newman]

Ok, here we go...laid out hardware and tools for the drawer...
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Hinges installed..
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Drill pilot holes for the door's handle...
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Door hardware installed..
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Then the door latch...
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Drawer fitted, it's handles installed, counter-bore holes plugged..
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And then lay the panel for the top in place, to see how it will fit...
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Later, I can attach the top....plug the counter-bores on the other side....and make the shelf....then, maybe a coat or two of that Witch's Brew?

Stay tuned..:D

[steven c newman]

Middle shelf has been built.
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3/4" plywood, with Ash edges on 3 sides ( too many clamps?)
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A cleat, set to the correct height, using a 2Lt Coke bottle as a gauge. Other end is notched to go around the legs at the other end..again, a bottle to set the height..
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Pair of counter-bored screws through each leg...then plugged...

Got ALL the holes plugged....
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33 plugs...then came back and trimmed all of them flush...
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Chisel, 60-1/2 block plane, and sanded smooth..
Slotted holes were drilled...
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And one hole in the center of the kicker....might as well do it now.
Kicker?
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It is what keeps a drawer from tipping down, when you pull the drawer open....
So....fun is about to begin...I cleared off the top of tablesaw.....decided which face of the top looked the worst...set the top "good side" down on the saw.

No way was I going to lift the case by myself on of the saw....had to rotate it til the feet stood up towards the joists....and miss the ductwork...
Brief pause, while I go get some help...
Stay tuned..

[steven c newman]

Ok, case is set onto the top, centered. Then a few screws were added...
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One screw, into the center of each slot. The screw through the kicker does not need a slot. Adjust the latch for the door....moved the steel plate a bit, adjust the magnetic closure to match up better...

Detail of the leg notch in the underside of the shelf
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I'm at Page #4 of The Plan....deals with this shelf...had to allow for the Ash edgings..
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Figured I could add a coat of Witch's Brew, getting the undersides of some of the areas...
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Then get 2 people to help..move the tablesaw out of the way, rotate the case and place it down on it's own 4 feet...then I could stain the inside of the cabinet, top of both shelves, and the top of the top..
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May have to do a second coat on the drawer's front....
PIP?
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Letting this sit a day, before a coat of Clear Gloss Varnish goes on..
Stay tuned...

[steven c newman]

2nd coat, as needed.....top was sanded @150 grit...before the 2nd coat was brushed on..
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Waiting to see how it dries....before any varnish goes on...

[Mike Allen1010]

Very nice Steven – that finish looks great! Can't wait to see the finished product. Thanks for sharing the build and pictures.

Best, Mike

[steven c newman]

Waiting on the Stain/BLO mix to finish drying....before a coat of varnish can go on....will see how it goes, later today...


Edit to add: First coat of Clear Gloss has been applied.....now waiting on that to dry....

[steven c newman]

1st coat has dried, been sanded @ 220 grit, with a sanding block, by hand. Then wiped down....

This morning...added the second coat, to areas the actually need it....like the top ( Boss wants a high shine gloss)
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This is what you'll see coming down the steps to the shop....I leave the drawer open, to prevent it from getting stuck..
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Had a few other spots, where the grain was running strange...that also got the second coat...first had simply filled things in...
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Was trying NOT to stir up any dust down in the shop.....have no need for Dust Bunnies in the finish..:mad:.
Will let this sit for today....then rub it out...and see about hauling it upstairs....should be a lot of cussing involved with that.:rolleyes:...then add the "wheels" and let the Boss fill it up.

Stay tuned...:D

[steven c newman]

Well....Kitchen Island has been delivered
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Casters installed....tried a 2 wheel handtruck to get it up the stairs....didn't work...two of us then just kept rotating it, until we reached the top of the stairs....then plopped it down to where I could install the 4 casters...
The Boss was busy unloading the old island....which soon was hauled out to the curb.
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The Sun was coming in the back door a bit on the bright side....
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Boss wanted a better way to store her pop bottles...and an upper shelf to store other items....
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Had this one cooking pot..that needed to go on the bottom shelf...
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Methinks I've earned a cold one...thanks for looking in...

[Michael J Evans]

Looks really nice. Thanks for sharing

[Jerry Olexa]

Good work Steve..You do deserve a cold 'un..