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by
Cathy Dalrymple
photos by John Gaucher
illustration by Len Churchill |
KITCHEN ISLAND |
| Tabletop
convenience with storage to spare |
No man is
an island, but if you build one for your kitchen you’ll
rarely be alone. A great kitchen island draws people together,
giving them a place to hang around and talk as the chef prepares
a meal. It also boosts storage capacity and food prep area in
your kitchen.
You’ll probably need to adapt the size and shape of my
island to suit your kitchen, but don’t worry. The design
is simple and easy to customize.
Top Job
I began by planing some rough maple to 1 1/2" thick for
the top. When you’re edge-gluing boards into a large assembly
like this, it’s best to alternate the arc of the growth
rings from one board to the next. You should also alternate
your clamps above and below the assembly to prevent bowing.
Use just enough pressure to squeeze out a bead of glue, then
stop tightening. If you squeeze out too much glue, you’ll
create a weak joint.
 |
| Handsome
and sturdy, this island creates a central hub in
a kitchen. Its design is very practical, yet stylish. |
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Let the tabletop dry for a day, then sand it and joint one edge.
Trim the ends with a circular saw. (The tabletop is too large
to cross cut on a tablesaw.)
The end-grain edges are capped by breadboard ends. They reduce
the tendency for the top to warp and also create a more refined
look. You can attach them in several ways; I chose a half-lap
joint. Use a straight bit in a router to mill the last 1 1/2"
of the tabletop ends down to 3/4", with a matching profile
on the breadboard pieces.
Since the grain of the tabletop and breadboard ends run perpendicular
to each other, you only need to secure these joints in the middle.
This allows seasonal expansion and contraction of the top to
occur unimpeded. Add a bead of glue only in the middle of each
breadboard piece, then secure the rest of the joints with #10
1 1/4" wood screws driven every 4" from underneath.
Be sure to predrill oversized pilot holes in the lower part
of the wood so the screws can slide sideways as the top changes
width with variations in humidity.
With the top complete, sand the surface and edges. I used a
120-grit abrasive, switching to a 150-grit, then a 220-grit
belt. Be sure to sand parallel to the grain only once you work
up to the finer grits. This demands careful work where the breadboard
ends meet the main area of the tabletop.
Body Building
The body of the island follows a standard design, with the added
touch of the turned legs below an overhang. Although the legs
don’t bear weight, I love how they look. You can leave
them off without compromising strength, although the outcome
won’t be as beautiful.
The cabinet is divided into four quadrants and sits on a separate
base with hidden casters. Begin by cutting all cabinet parts
to size. Use a dado blade along the middle of one side of the
centre divider and at the one-third point on the other side.
Assemble the cabinet’s end gabels with #20 biscuit joints
and glue the door and drawer dividers into the dado slots. I
secured these from behind with #8 x 1 1/2" screws. Anchor
the base from the underside with #8 screws as well. Attach the
top cleats to the middle panels and sides of the cabinet using
#20 biscuits.
The cabinet base is made up of an inner and outer frame. You
could eliminate them for simplicity, but it gives the cabinet
a greater visual presence. The outer frame is made of four pieces
of wood, cut to size with mitred corners. Use a #20 biscuit
to secure each corner joint. The inside frame is 3/4" higher
than the outer one to create a reveal and is assembled the same
as the outer base frame. Screw the frames together, flip the
cabinet upside down, then attach the base to the underside of
the cabinet with wood strips screwed to the base and cabinet
bottom.
Next, screw the casters to the base. I left only 1/4" of
each wheel exposed. This requires you to mill corner blocks
to position the casters just right. Attach the blocks to the
underside of the cabinet base with wood screws and glue, then
screw the casters to the blocks.
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1.
Consider the tabletop and island body
2. Cutting the jigs and hinges
3. Finishing up, required materials |
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