Mobile Kitchen Island - Done!

[Joe Unni]

Hey all,

I'll be delivering this on Wednesday as I've a complimentary pot rack to go with.

The island:
Butcher block top - 2' x 4' with 12" drop leaf (purchased)
Carcass - A1, plain sliced red oak ply
Drawers - 1/2" arctic birch with Miller dowel construction
Doors - Flat panel with applied, custom milled detail molding
Finish (cabinetry) - 2 coats General Finish's semi-gloss oil/poly
Finish (top) - mineral oil
Casters - heavy duty locking - rated at 350# per
Hardware - hand forged iron

Any and all input is welcome.

Thanks for looking.

-joe

[Joe Unni]

...a few more...

Thanks,
-joe

[Jim Becker]

Excellent job, Joe!! As one who also did a mobile kitchen island a few years ago, I have to say that it's a great idea in many situations...practical and flexible. Yours looks super!

[Corey Hallagan]

That is a great looking island. Gives me an idea for our kitchen. Very nice.

Corey

[Brett Baldwin]

Nice bit of mobile cabinetry. I'll bet that extra foot of table top will com in handy.

[Peter Mc Mahon]

Hi Joe. Very solid and well built piece of furniture you have there! Since you are looking for input, I would definately look at some type of skirt to hide the castors. Maybe just corner blocks like some type of foot. Peter

[Joe Unni]

Hi Joe. Very solid and well built piece of furniture you have there! Since you are looking for input, I would definately look at some type of skirt to hide the castors. Maybe just corner blocks like some type of foot. Peter

Peter,

Thanks for your input and a great point. I actually did think about a skirt to hide the casters, however I was very concerned about stability. With the carcass itself being only around 20" deep and the weight of the butcher block (especially with the leaf up) making the unit a bit top heavy, I wanted to get casters as wide as possible. If there was a skirt I'd have to install them so far inboard to enable swivel that there would be a problem.

If there are any better solutions, I'm open for the next time.

-joe

[Jim Becker]

Joe, my Island does somewhat have the "skirt" and frankly, I wish it didn't. Skirting requires you to move the casters in from the corners, resulting in less stability and in my case, I also had to notch them to let them fully swivel...which was really hard after-the-fact. So I think you made a good decision based on the same logic to not skirt the piece. And they are not unattractive casters, anyway...

[Peter Mc Mahon]

I was more thinking of installing the skirt like a baseboard. Or imagine the bracketed feet on a dresser. It 'looks' in the picture like the castors do not protrude from the exterior plane. Peter

[Tom Sherman]

Nice looking island Joe, this is exactly what the LOML has been wanting for our kitchen. I especially like the mobility feature of it.

[Jim Becker]

I was more thinking of installing the skirt like a baseboard. Or imagine the bracketed feet on a dresser. It 'looks' in the picture like the castors do not protrude from the exterior plane. Peter

Peter, that's what I did, but the casters have a pretty big radius when they rotate and they interfere with the "baseboard"...hence the need to make cutouts. If I did it again, I'd leave it off.

[Steve Clardy]

Looks good Joe!

[Alan DuBoff]

Very nice, I like it a lot. Even like the dowels used for the drawer sides, that's a different twist that looks nice, IMO. A change from dovetails, most certainly.

I have a lot of maple shorts, and this could be a project I would take on in the future. Nice cart!

[Ralph Okonieski]

Love the design ! The end panels are truly eye catching. Nicely done !

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Nice work!

[Von Bickley]

Great job Joe...;)

[Vaughn McMillan]

That's a great cabinet/cart, Joe. Looks like it'll be very useful, and you did an excellent job on it.

- Vaughn

[Joe Unni]

Thanks everyone for your kind words.

I'm very pleased with how the island came out - I actually want one for my house. I only hope the customer reactions will be as positive as yours have been when I deliver it on Wednesday with the pot rack I'm finishing up. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks again,

-joe

[Larry Crim]

very nice great design, I'll have to steal a few ideas from it.
Larry