# Kitchen Island



## ChiknNutz (Apr 22, 2011)

I am in the process of building a kitchen island and am actually quite far along, but haven't documented it yet. What my plan is to start documenting where I am today, but give a bit of history on the project. With that, I will say that this is the most complex woodworking project I've taken on and I am certain that many will find flaws in my approach and execution. Oh well, it has been and will be a learning experience.

I am embarrassed to say that I started this thing over a year ago now. My only good excuse is that I traveled for work several times this year and that put pretty much all of my woodworking projects on hiatus. Plus, several other "more important" projects took center-stage during summer (digging a drainage ditch, extending a shed roof, building a hitching post for the wife, finishing the small room addition we started back in March, etc.). Enough of that, onto the project.

Project Summary: The overall size is 2' wide x 5' long. The bulk of the structure is comprised of Red Oak that I purchased for a decent price from my local Rockler. I picked up 4/4 and then jointed/planed to size. The shelves and such will be 3/4" thk Oak plywood. I plan to make the drawer sides from black walnut and also do some simply router-based inlay using black walnut here and there (TBD).

The top will be Black Galaxy granite tile. I wanted to use a slab, but even a small slab this size was gonna be over $600. All of the tile including the expensive edge pcs (Chair Rail) was less than 1/2 of that shipped to my door.

I will be using Blum 120 degree Clip-Top self-closing hinges and KV MuV soft-close drawer slides.

For overall construction techniques, I have already built all of the inner raised panels, rails and stiles using router bits purchased from MLCS. I am now ready to start assembly of the panels. For other joinery, I am just starting the mortise and tenons (planning to use loose tenons). For the drawers, I am planning to do hand-cut dovetails.

Being a mechanical engineer, I designed this using a 3D CAD package I have been using at home for a few years now, called Alibre Design. For me, I find this easier to use than Google SketchUp, to each their own.

As of today, I only have these 3D model screenshots of the project, which doesn't show everything, just the big bones. Not modeled/shown on the far side, I am using three large raised panels to complete the back side (no doors or drawers). I will start taking pix of what I've done so far and posting those, then take more as I progress.

Well, I guess that's about it for now. Thanks for following along!


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## robhodge1 (Feb 14, 2011)

I will have to keep an eye out for this one. I'll be having a kitchen island project starting one of these days....


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## burkhome (Sep 5, 2010)

A hitching post for the wife sounds pretty ominous. If the picture in my head had anything to do with your project I'm sure you wouldn't be healthy enough to do further projects. Looking forward to seeing more of your current project.


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## dbales (Jun 21, 2011)

This looks great. I love the black marble.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Looks good so far. Are you using a stone type profile for edge moulding?









 







.


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## ChiknNutz (Apr 22, 2011)

If you mean for the top, YES. That is the last picture in the bunch. It, too, is the black galaxy granite.


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

Looking forward to this!


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## ChiknNutz (Apr 22, 2011)

Providing a few REAL pictures of what I've done so far. These first few are just to show all the pcs to make the carcass and doors.


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## ChiknNutz (Apr 22, 2011)

The first two are just to show dry-fitting the parts to form one of the doors. The last pic is a simple jig I made up to route the mortises (using a guide bushing in the plunge router). It is not all that good and not really stout enough, but I think I am kinda stuck with it for the ones I've already cut and the matching pcs as I'm afraid if I made a better one, I would not be able to match these (good, bad or indifferent).


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

That's a great jig man. What kind of bit do you use to plow the mortises?


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## ChiknNutz (Apr 22, 2011)

It is a spiral up cut bit. I think I got it from MLCS. I am actually in the process of building a new jig that is based on one found in "Router Magic." I've been wanting to build a better one and this project provided the impetus to do so.

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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

There you go. Sometimes the jigs are as fun to build as the project.


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## ChiknNutz (Apr 22, 2011)

Please refer to this thread relating to the Mortise Jig I made. I should have posted it in the proper forum to begin with.

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f27/loose-tenon-mortise-jig-44007/


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## ChiknNutz (Apr 22, 2011)

Please refer to this thread relating to the Mortise Jig I made. I should have posted it in the proper forum to begin with.

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f27/loose-tenon-mortise-jig-44007/


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## ChiknNutz (Apr 22, 2011)

Please refer to this thread relating to the Mortise Jig I made. I should have posted it in the proper forum to begin with.

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f27/loose-tenon-mortise-jig-44007/


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

Man, that is a sweet jig. It came out real nice. I bet its smooth to work with, huh?


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## ChiknNutz (Apr 22, 2011)

It sure is, much better than my first method. I will get a better feel for it once I've used it more. One issue I've already tried to combat is chip/dust collection as it's a serious mess as it is now. I rigged up a simple jig to hold the rigid tube from my shop vac and place it as close as possible, but it still doesn't collect but maybe 50% of the chips.


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## DaveTTC (May 25, 2012)

Thought I better see what these jigs are. They look good, now I want some. 


Kitchen looks good, I'll hang in till the end now and see how it comes up

Dave The Turning Cowboy


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## NorthenMN (Apr 26, 2012)

Did you use your bosch router to do the raised panels? How did it work as far as power and splitting? I have been thinking about making my own doors with a similar sized milwaukee router.


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## ChiknNutz (Apr 22, 2011)

I did use the Bosch router. Power...no problem at all. I used the MLCS cabinet bit set here: http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/set6cab.html. I did get some tear-out, but I think it is in places that will not be noticed or will be completely covered by other wood.

However, I really could stand to have a better router table, or at least make my table larger. One of the problems I experienced is the router table hole is not larger enough to accept the large raised panel bit (2-3/4" OD) so it was sitting too high off the table to route the correct profile. What I ended up doing was put a thin pc of oak (about 1/4" thk) on top of the table to put the router bit in the proper position. The problem I encountered was the pc of oak did not have a sufficiently large footprint and so I had to be very careful to keep the workpiece perfectly flat (perpendicular) to the router bit. I don't have a sled or any router table jigs. I simply did my best to hold the workpiece against the fence while trying to keep it flat. I was not successful in every instance.


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## NorthenMN (Apr 26, 2012)

The router insert for my table would also be my issue I think the large hole is only 2 5/8 on my grizzly table so I might need to make a new one and modify it. Thanks for the good info.


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## ChiknNutz (Apr 22, 2011)

Made some more progress over the past week or so, quite a bit just today. Have the inner panels stained and have now started assy. Gluing up some of the panels here.


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## ChiknNutz (Apr 22, 2011)

The doors are all glued up in the first shot. The others are the "front" and "back" panels being assembled.


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## ChiknNutz (Apr 22, 2011)

Assembly of the second large panel assy. The last picture shows a trial assy of all the panels.


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## Rockerbox1 (Jan 21, 2011)

this is looking very nice. I have yet to build any raised panels, but at some point I would like to


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

Outstanding job. Nice mortise and tenon joinery. That jig is paying off in a big way. I need to make myself one. It would make it easier than how I've been doing it. I'm enjoying watching this


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## garryswf (Aug 17, 2009)

Great looking job, i REALLY like your raised panels. That is gonna be a nice island, can't wait to see the final glue up. You and Carvel Loafer have got my attention. :thumbsup:


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## ricarpenter (Nov 7, 2012)

Looking great. Can't wait to see the end result. Love the panels


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## ChiknNutz (Apr 22, 2011)

Making some more progress. Have been working on getting everything stained. The first pic shows a dado I routed on the bottom to capture the plywood bottom. The 2nd and 3rd are the two doors almost finished, just starting to apply poly to them. The rest show prepping to rout dados in the other panels.


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## ChiknNutz (Apr 22, 2011)

Prepping to rout a dado.


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## MagGeorge (Jul 5, 2012)

I'm a follower! Looking great, so far. 
The black marble defines elegance like no other. 





_______________________________

www.sawblade.com


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## harvest (Nov 7, 2012)

Nice job ChiknNutz, the insets are they stained? anything else on like polly or?


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## ChiknNutz (Apr 22, 2011)

I've stained everything, applied two coats on all the outside surfaces and doors. I didn't intend to apply two coats, but the stain just isn't dark enough with just the one coat, even though I took a test piece into the store and we matched it right there with what I'm trying to match. Even with two coats, it's still not as dark as the existing cabinets. We've decided to leave it as-is and move on. I think the problem is that I over-sanded it and should have not sanded it as smooth as I did (I'm a novice finisher). So far I've only got Polyurethane (satin) on the back of the doors, but planning to apply to all of it.


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## ChiknNutz (Apr 22, 2011)

Making more progress, mostly applying Poly to everything, so progress feels like it's slowed to a crawl. These are showing the dados I cut for the interior panels. I am all done with that, now just doing the Poly.


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## Stick (Aug 23, 2007)

Awesome work. Very inspiring thread. This has me wanting to give a go at raised panel construction. You're making it look easy... so I'm sure it's NOT.


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## DaveTTC (May 25, 2012)

Looking mighty fine.


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## ChiknNutz (Apr 22, 2011)

Made a lot more progress over the last couple of weeks, most in the last couple days really after getting all of the Poly topcoat complete. The first shot shows the beginning of assembly. Up until now, no fasteners have been used. I put in a few screws thru the bottom plywood to the two main upright inner plywood panels to help suck everything together as these joints are merely unglued rabbet joints. There are so many panels and parts that I don't think I could successfully glue the panels and get everything together before the glue dried. Actually, I put this thing together about 5 times prior to this, test fitting and taking back apart to fine-tune each joint. I had to massage several of them to get everything to finally come together.

The second shot shows what Bob Ross used to call a "happy accident." I don't know how I did it, but I made all of the inner plywood panels 3/8" too big, which in turn makes the two end panels that much too narrow. So rather than take it all apart, again, rework all the rabbeted panels, I opted to make some thin filler strips. I took the opportunity to add just a bit of visual interest by incorporating some black walnut. I used the walnut as I am making the drawer sides from black walnut, so a complementary couple of strips.

The last couple pix show the whole thing entering final assembly.


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## ChiknNutz (Apr 22, 2011)

This next pic shows gluing on the end panels and oak strips to the plywood edges. The following images show the assembly after all edge strips have been applied. At this point, the carcass assembly is now complete. I also put in a few screws at strategic points to help hold everything together. After drilling and countersinking, I then installed matching oak plugs, then stained and applied poly to each. I took a lot of time on the oak plugs as I had to be quite careful to minimize damaging the surrounding finish. Thru all of this, I found that when chiseling the plugs off, after sawing the majority off, that I got the best results from chiseling across the grain. On some of them, when I chiseled with the grain, the plug actually tore off below the surface ($%^&*#$%). Again, this is my first attempt at this level of finish work, so I am learning a lot as I go.


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## jstange2 (Dec 5, 2010)

Very nice work.


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## ChiknNutz (Apr 22, 2011)

These last two images show the doors installed. My wife and I moved the beast off the table to the floor for the next tasks.

The next task is to install 3/4" plywood to the top, followed by by 1/4" Hardiboard (tile underlayment). I still have to make the drawers and plan to make them with handcut thru dovetails.


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

Totally awesome man!!


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## ChiknNutz (Apr 22, 2011)

I have a question about securing the plywood top. Do I need to be concerned with allowing for wood movement or can I just screw the plywood to the base? I had planned to just do that, since plywood doesn't appreciably move, but am now concerned about any movement in the base being restricted if the plywood. Thanks!


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

I screwed a plywood top to the.base of it. It has done fine in the years since. I think plywood is stable enough. Solid wood not so much.


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## BZawat (Sep 21, 2012)

Very nice work man!!! Looking forward to seeing the completed project.


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## ChiknNutz (Apr 22, 2011)

Getting closer! The first three are getting the top on. The purest may take great offense and how I went about this, but I used pocket screws to install the wood runners. I then installed screws up thru those into the top 3/4" plywood. The top is 1/4" hardibacker. After that I will be applying black granite tile. The last pic is the island installed in the kitchen, though obviously not 100% finished. We brought it in so all pieces could properly acclimate to the environment. I still have to build the drawers as well. My wife has been chomping at the bit to get this into the house, so that's part of the reason we brought it in a little early too.


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

Cool deal 'Nutz. That is an awesome addition to your home. After all this work, drawers should be a cakewalk. Except for the dovetails, which scare me to be quite honest.


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## ChiknNutz (Apr 22, 2011)

They kinda scare me too, partly why I haven't done them yet, but am also looking forward to doing them!


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## ChiknNutz (Apr 22, 2011)

Got the granite tile all finished up. For the grout, I used an epoxy-based sanded grout from Lowe's.


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## Carvel Loafer (Dec 31, 2011)

Looks real nice, I love the granite top.


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## Brian T. (Dec 19, 2012)

Are you absolutely, posi-tootley, certain that you want a black surface?

I worked in a lab for a couple of years that had black bench tops.
Very difficult to focus on small objects, hard to see edges. Most everyone
stuck down a sheet of Bristol board (32 x 40?).

Personally, I dislike stone and or ceramic = there's a high-pitched sound when 
ceramics are set down on stone/tile which really hurts my ears. I wish it weren't so.
I'd do the entire kitchen in either soapstone or serpentine.


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## DaveTTC (May 25, 2012)

Looks great, are they really tiles? It looks good with the small pieces on the edge but are they gonna stay on ok. That is my only real concern, I see them being mocked off. 


Workmanship. ........... .looks great, oh, I already said that.

Dave The Turning Cowboy


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## ChiknNutz (Apr 22, 2011)

I used typical thinset for the tiles and high-quality construction adhesive for the edge pcs (I think it is a polyurethane-based one, said it's 3X stronger than typical construction adhesive). I think the epoxy grout will help hold the edges on too. I, too, am a little concerned about longevity of the edges, but only time will tell. It was my wife that primarily wanted the granite. I kinda wanted a butcher-block style, but I am okay with it either way. She is ecstatic with how it turned out, and I am quite pleased with it too. I have to say that it looks really, really good and nicely complements the rest of the kitchen.


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## DaveTTC (May 25, 2012)

Looks good for sure, hope the glue holds up. On the bright side, if it gives out - you might get the butcher block top after all 

Dave The Turning Cowboy


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## BZawat (Sep 21, 2012)

Very nice work!


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## ChiknNutz (Apr 22, 2011)

Finally getting around to working on the drawers for this. As you can see, doing these by hand following the guidance of the book, "The Complete Dovetail" by Ian Kirby. He goes thru a lot of detail and it has really helped me out. As you can probably see, all the outside faces are proud. This is intentional so you can clean up the outside faces with a plane (I am planning on using my jointer) while ensuring the outside dimensions of the box/drawer end up exactly at the desired size...which is the length of each piece.

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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

Looks like some nice DT. Looking good man!!!


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## MapleMoose (Sep 25, 2012)

"...(I am planning on using my jointer)..."

Are you referring to a No. 7 Jointer Plane or a machine? Not that I begrudge you (or anyone else) the use of machines with/without power tools, it's just that I am going to be that much more impressed if you finish the drawers completely by hand!

Looking great; easy to see why your wife is so happy with it.


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## ChiknNutz (Apr 22, 2011)

Since the only part of the drawers done by hand are the dovetails, there's no real glamor in doing the rest by hand. This project has gone on long enough that I'm kinda in the git-r-dun mode now. And my plan is to use my powered jointer as I don't have a hand jointer. My largest plane is a no. 5, which may be big enough for this task, but again going back to the git-r-dun bit. In any case, thanks for the comments!

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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

Be careful with that end grain on the jointer. It might have a tendency to chip or break going over those knives. Use very small bites. Looiking good.


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## ChiknNutz (Apr 22, 2011)

Actually no end grain would be planed off. That's one of the good things about making it this way. Once you plane the faces down to the end grain of the adjoining pieces, you are done.

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