Kitchen Range Project

[BrokenolMarine]

That looks awesome.

I've had two problems with the last half dozen gas ranges I've had. At some point, someone turns on the self-clean function, which cooks the oven's thermostats causing them to prematurely fail.

I'm sorely frustrated with my current oven. It will only turn on if you turn it on to 400. If you open the door, the oven shuts off and will not reheat until it is under 200 degrees.

I've kids in college, and other priorities right now. Other wise I would be replacing the oven and stove top.

That's why we didn't get self cleaning. We usually put a pan UNDER The pan we are baking in to catch drippings. If something boils over, we clean the cook top that evening, never letting it go and go and go, until you have to replace the surface. We bought a home with a gas stove in it years ago and would have had to replace the burners, the top, and the drip pans. Let's just say the previous owner hadn't cleaned well. When we sold the place the stove we put in still looked new. (okay, the coatings had burned off the various parts exposed to flames, but the enameled surfaces were clean and rust free and the drip pans were still bright and shiny.)

[BrokenolMarine]

Out in the shop for a couple sessions today. First, I got the shelves properly spaced and marked so that I knew where they were going to be located. That let me know where I had to drill.

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I set those aside after disassembly and it gave me room to work. Back to the chop saw and I cut the pieces for the base. I needed the three pieces for the top and sides then three spacers to keep the sides square. I got those test fitted, and was happy, one piece was a hair too long but that could be trimmed later. The base won't be seen at all anyway.

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I set up the table saw to rip all the various pieces to width. Feather board to keep the pieces against the fence and a push stick to protect the old hands.

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I cut all the pieces for the spice rack at 3-1/4" wide. I cut the sides for the base to width to produce the proper height combined with the top, then the top to the same 3-1/4" width to match the spice rack. I cut a 6" piece to the same width as the sides, then cut it at the width of the gap between the sides to use as spacers and decided I only needed one for each end, inset about an inch. (Otherwise the screws for the top would strike the screws holding the spacers coming in from the sides.)


That done, I measured and marked all the holes to be drilled, and drilled ALL the holes on the drill press needed for assembly in both the spice rack and the base. Then I Re-assembled the base and used a pilot bit marked with tape for depth to predrill into the board to which the screw would feed. Assembly was accomplished.

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I reassembled the spice rack, and clamped it all together. As I moved to each position I used a rawhide mallet to tap the piece into the alignment marks and checked them with a square. Then, with the pilot bit, drilled the holes to the proper depth using the predrilled holes as guides. Screwed that segment together and repeated the process working my way around, two screws at a time. CHECK and recheck each pair before drilling and screwing the joints.

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After slow and steady progress, working my way slowly around and assuring alignment... the spice rack was finally assembled. It was solid and stable.

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I took it, the base, and the drawer slide in to test fit it beside the stove. It was a good fit, and looks as if my design will work fine. There may be some adjustment needed to the drawer slides to make them match up as I allowed a bit of leeway. Better to need a bit of shimming, which is no issue, than to have the assembly too tall, which would be a major issue. I have about a quarter inch of play which I won't worry about until the countertop is completed. Shims on the bottom of the base or under one or both of the Drawer Slides will adjust for the spacing.

Miss T was pleased. Now to look at mounting the dowels to keep the spices INSIDE The racks and do some sanding. I thought of some additional options while I was recovering from the day's labors.

[BrokenolMarine]

A look at the test fit, a visual for the description of where it goes and what it will do. Yes... it will block that plug, but it's only used for the range. I'll make the counter extension removable if the plug should by some twist of fate need serviced, but that's not expected. The spice rack itself will be able to be removed by the clips on the drawer slides.

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Next it was time to set the dowels that would hold in the spices to keep them from spilling out the sides. Originally I was going to cut notches in the sides and seat the dowels. I might have gotten fancy, cut the notches shallow and then routed the bottoms rounded for a nicer look. Sometime over the last few days I came up with a better plan. The dowels were not going to have a lot of stress... so I carefully measured and marked a location for each dowels center on the OUTSIDE of the end boards and then drilled thru from the outside with a 3/32 bit. I cut the dowels to length to fit inside then drilled into the dowels on the inside, from the outside.

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I drilled and pinned each dowel on both ends with a 2" finishing nail, leaving the heads proud until they were all in place.... THEN... I went back and one at a time pulled each nail and coated the shaft with tightbond II glue and set them with a punch an mallet.

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The spice rack was doweled, and I think it looks much better this way.

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As for the base, I cut a pair of "Lifts" from scrap and glued and clamped them to the bottom. I'll measure the overall height of the base once the clamps come off tomorrow and if necessary, I'll plane off any excess lift. We WILL Have a perfect fit when the time comes. Adapt and overcome any issues.

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Tomorrow I'll start on the cutting board top. Sanding can wait until last....

[BrokenolMarine]

Out in the shop yesterday afternoon, and preparing to put some finish on the spice rack. First I needed to remove any marks on the rack. The pencil marks were easy... used a pink eraser. The chalk marks, a damp cloth. Glue residue from price tags or bar codes, Acetone. But, the blade burn marks from too slow passes thru the table saw... ?

26 blade burn marks.jpg (325.39 KiB) Viewed 8320 times

My fault, and normally take a lot of sanding... but old men know some tricks. An old woodworking friend taught me one that saves time and lots of money, sand paper is expensive. Use a cabinet scraper. Once you learn to "sharpen" one... it's a breeze. YouTube videos teach various techniques and I tried several and eventually found one that worked. My key was buying an actual burnisher rather than trying to cheap out and use a screwdriver shaft.

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Anywho... once I cleaned the spice rack up, and was satisfied, I applied Watco Oil in Golden Oak. I applied two coats then left 'er overnight to dry. I was pleased with the look. the rack will contrast nicely with the darker finish the oak face will have when you pull out the rack to access the spices.

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Miss T is happy with it, guess that's all that matters. This morning I started on the cutting board top, using the planer and the table saw to bring the rough cut slab down to a more final dimension. I'll still have to do some finish sanding on the top, and front face, but I got 'er close. About an hour's work after using a rule to square off the edge and free handing it across the table saw to achieve a true edge then using the fence to get the working width I wanted. We should be golden.

[Sir Henry]

I just got caught up on your project. Looking good.

[Hatchdog]

I just got caught up on your project. Looking good.

Me too and I agree!

[BrokenolMarine]

Between the work yesterday, and some work this morning, I have the two pieces worked to nearly the final size. The piece on the left is the piece for the spice rack side and it's the proper thickness and width as well as cut to length. I just need to do the final sanding and then I can start to assemble and install that piece. The only thing left will be the oak faux door and the oak kickplate for trim on the bottom, the false front for the base.

The slab on the right is the counter top for the storage cabinet. It's the proper thickness, but has NOT been cut to length or width, waiting for the installation of the spice rack side, so I'll know the width available for the storage side.

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I am getting there. I am going to use a medium walnut or natural watco stain, followed by a sealer of some sort. They are going to be used daily and I want to protect them.

[BrokenolMarine]

I got out into the shop for a while yesterday, and with the planer set up, brought the second slab down to 1-1/2 inch thickness, then trimmed the sides of the rough finish then cut it to the proper width. I have NOT cut it to the proper length yet as I need to decide on the final layout for the storage cabinet. I am still bouncing that design in my head.

I did, however, sharpen the cabinet scraper and remove the roughness from the end of that slab. If you look in the previous post, it looks like that slab has a 5 o'clock shadow on one end. The planer kept pulling up the grain due to the burl. The scraper did a good job after about a half hour of work.

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The keys to good results with the scraper are a nice burr on the edge and keeping the right angle on the card when you pull it. It took me a while to learn both, but as you can see, it's doing the job now. Would have taken a lot longer with sandpaper... and cost a lot more.

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Next, I collected some of the scrapings to use to fill a hole on one of the top sides of the countertop slabs. Best way to do this is to pack it down tight then use my special super glue.

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Since the hole was caused by the failure of a knot, I have a technique I use. I pack the hole with sawdust or scrapings from the same wood, then "dye" the scrapings with a permanent marker. I'll pack the hole with repeated layers until we are within about a 1/16" of the top. I use a tool from my leatherworking bench to pack the scrapings in tight.

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The glue on this smaller hole is the Medium Viscosity Super T from Satellite City. There is a Thin for thin cracks and a very Thick for larger gaps.

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I fill the hole once the build up is complete and add enough glue to leave the hole "proud." I come back the next day and slice off the top with a very sharp chisel then sand it flush and polish it clear with 400 to 600 grit sandpaper. It will look like clear glass and the black underneath will show through.

In some instances, the glue will shrink a bit and settle. You add another layer, proud, and then sand smooth when it finishes proud and can be sanded flush.

[markiver54]

Good info!

[BrokenolMarine]

Out in the shop again. First step for the day, I sanded the repaired hole and it had, as expected, shrunk down in the hole. I cleaned out the sawdust, and reapplied the glue to proud, and set he walnut blank aside, and looked to cut out the poplar for the storage cabinet. Set up the chop saw and vacuum, reviewed the sketches drawn the day before and started cutting. Once they were cut out I put the chop saw away, set up the table saw, and ripped them all to width.

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Once I had ripped all the main pieces, I took one of the side panels and set up the saw for a rabbit cut. This rabbit will support the bottom edge of the 3/16 ply that will serve as the side panel to keep the cookie sheets and muffin pans contained. Two passed over the correctly set saw blade cut the rabbit. (If you are going to cut a lot of this rabbits, you install a dado blade and the repeatable cuts are made in one pass.)

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There was a small ridge in the rabbit, to remove that ridge I needed to choose a plane... what plane would do this job? I needed to check the upper and lower shelves in my custom built plane drawers:

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Hmmm, the decision wasn't that hard. It's all in a name, I chose, a rabbit plane. MADE for just this job.

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now that the rabbit was cleaned up, I could move on.

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[BrokenolMarine]

I took the parts for the base and fitted them together to test the fit. The two narrow internal supports were a tad high and I adjusted the length on the disc sander until the fit was just right. I assembled the base again and it was just right.

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I marked the three main segments of the base for drilling, it's important to visualize where the screws will go when the base is assembled. It would be easy to just put a screw in each corner. Then, (Don't ask how I know this,) the screws would all come in contact in a base this narrow and/or short. Notice the staggered pattern of the markings. The internal supports can be set back as they aren't cosmetic but structural.

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The holes were drilled, then hand countersunk with this really handy countersink. Saves changing bits to a power countersink and does a decent job.

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Over the years I have managed to add a number of special woodworking tools that perform a special task and make life easier. I keep them all together and protected in their own drawer.

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I carefully assembled the base, clamped it into position then with the bit taped for depth, drilled a pilot hole using the existing holes for a guide. Then slowly assembled the base. I used a nice smoothing plane on the joined top to smooth the now wider rabbit. We are golden.

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The back plate can be attached, and the front oak kick plate once the walnut slab repair is complete. We are almost to the point where I pull the new Range and install both cabinets. The false fronts/Door will be installed once we have them anchored in place in the kitchen. Whoo Hoo,
Getting close.

[BrokenolMarine]

Back out for an hour or so. Sanded down the knot and then the tops of both pieces of walnut to 600 grit. Then sanded the end face that will show thru 600 grit as well and LIGHTLY rounded the edge so you won't cut yourself on that sharp edge. Then I wiped them down with Mineral Spirits to remove all the sawdust, check the grain, and check for scratches or defects. Looks good.

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Here is that Hole I had been filling. After FIVE cycles of fill and sand, this is the result. If it was a presentation box I might have gone SIX.

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I will make up a test strip and test the Natural, Medium Walnut, and dark walnut Watco Oil, then compare them to the countertops. Closest Match wins. Then I'll stain the walnut slabs and start the assembly.

[BrokenolMarine]

It's funny, a friend asked me about the cutting board counter top pieces for this project and said he couldn't wait to see the walnut cutting boards. I had to laugh and told him they were an "Average" of 3" wide by 25" long... not really cutting boards but the style. I reminded him that Tina already had two of my custom cutting boards, in fact she had the very first I ever made. The cutting board top to her potato bin was the very first.

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After I made that one, she suggested I make cutting boards for family Christmas gifts. I made one for each of the kids and an extra for her to use in the kitchen, plus a special pair for a friend and his son. She got first pic of the family boards and chose a walnut and spalted maple board and still has it, it still looks new.

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These are the six cutting boards I made for Christmas, you can see the one that Tina chose in that picture. The two in the upper right corner, with the purple heart stripes were a separate project. I made those for my best friend and his son.

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My Friend's Dad had been a bomber pilot in WWII and highly decorated. He had passed the year before, but before his death the WWII museum had flown him down to record a video of him telling the story of one of his missions to preserve it for posterity. My friend had brought me a Coffee table top made from special hardwood from the caribbean the year before. When he was a youngster his parents had moved to an island there, and his dad was a rep for an oil company coordinating operations on the island. My buddy grew up interacting with the locals, shark fishing from the pier, etc. His dad had paid one of the local craftsmen to have the table made for him and held onto it for 50+ years.

My friend told me, "I don't want to throw it out, but the legs fell off in storage and broke, I'd hate to see the wood go to waste." I used to magnet to find and remove a half dozen nails, then made the two cutting boards for them as a surprise for Christmas. The purple heart wood stripe down the center for accent, also represents the two purple hearts his dad earned in WWII. Both My friend and his son were very close to the old man, and Tina and I both liked him very much. It was my honor. When I met them for lunch a few weeks after Christmas I presented them with the cutting boards, ... it's hard to watch two six foot four men cry in public.


HERE is that test strip I made from a cut off of the original live edge slab the walnut was cut from for THIS project, and the two slabs that have now had the Dark Walnut stain applied and been left to cure. I chose the Dark Walnut because they all appeared to be about the same shade, but the dark walnut appeared to bring a greater contrast between the lighter and darker areas in the grain.

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[BrokenolMarine]

Back out in the shop this morning, I started by working on the Spice rack slab. I needed to drill the attachment holes I marked earlier. I chose some 4" torx screws to use for attachment. Four inch screws through a 3-1/4" board won't provide much holding power, so I decided to countersink the hole an inch. To insure maximum holding power I'll insert a washer in each hole. I chose a washer and measured.

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Choosing the appropriate bit, I set up the drill press for the 1" depth of cut and made the first cuts in the premarked locations after center punching the marks to insure alignment of the bit at the start of the cut.

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Hmmm? The next pass on the drill press would be to drill the smaller centered hole completely thru the slab, and I chose the correct sized bit. How to center the bit perfectly in the hole. Oh, simply seat the washer in the hole which will automatically center the bit. Then drill the holes.

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With the washer seated, the three holes were drilled, the back side lightly countersunk to prevent pushoff from the contact when securing the slab to the existing countertop, and then the washers each got a couple drops of glue to secure them in place. While the glue cures, I moved on to assembly of the storage for the left side.

[BrokenolMarine]

Back out in the shop this morning, I started by working on the Spice rack slab. I needed to drill the attachment holes I marked earlier. I chose some 4" torx screws to use for attachment. Four inch screws through a 3-1/4" board won't provide much holding power, so I decided to countersink the hole an inch. To insure maximum holding power I'll insert a washer in each hole. I chose a washer and measured.

52 washer.jpg

Choosing the appropriate bit, I set up the drill press for the 1" depth of cut and made the first cuts in the premarked locations after center punching the marks to insure alignment of the bit at the start of the cut.

53 drill press setup.jpg

Hmmm? The next pass on the drill press would be to drill the smaller centered hole completely thru the slab, and I chose the correct sized bit. How to center the bit perfectly in the hole. Oh, simply seat the washer in the hole which will automatically center the bit. Then drill the holes.

54 washer seated.jpg

With the washer seated, the three holes were drilled, the back side lightly countersunk to prevent pushoff from the contact when securing the slab to the existing countertop, and then the washers each got a couple drops of glue to secure them in place. While the glue cures, I moved on to assembly of the storage for the left side.

[BrokenolMarine]

In beginning the actual assembly of the storage side, alignment was the key. The base was clamped to the woodworking bench and the back panel was clamped to the base with two bar clamps which covered the center of the three holes on each side. I checked and rechecked alignment then drilled pilot holes and secured the back panel with the four exposed holes. Removed the clamps and drilled and secured the last two holes.

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Once the base was secured, I moved to the center shelf. I placed a bar clamp over the center hole and pulled the shelf in tight and made sure it was centered in the alignment marks, checked to insure it was square on the back panel then using the 123 blocks, made sure it was perpendicular to the back panel as well. I then drilled and secured the first hole, moved the clamp and drilled the next two. Each time repeating the positional checks.

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So far so good, we are golden. Waiting for the various glue or stain to dry, then we can drill the last holes and complete the assembly.

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The spice rack slab still needs several holes drilled and the drawer slide mounted on the slab and the base. But we are drawing to a close.

[BrokenolMarine]

The afternoon session was interesting. I got the various holes drilled in the storage rack slab and then assembled that one. Check out the joint I needed to cut and assemble so the poplar back wouldn't show. I think it looks cool, too bad no one will ever see it. YES, it fits properly. The 3/16 overhang matches the 3/16 shelf at the bottom for the 3/16 ply side.

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It was of course clamped tightly in place and then drilled and screwed for assembly. Once it was attached, the basic assembly is completed. I will add oak trim face the end of the middle shelf, an oak kick plate the front of the base, and the ply side we discussed earlier. Then, once it's installed, the oak door. But basically, it's done.

[BrokenolMarine]

I had to order a 7/16 plug cutter for the countersunk holes for the washers. It will be here Wednesday. (sometime... on Wednesday... ) This will allow me to cut walnut plugs to hide the holes until such time if and when I might need to remove the spice rack top to service that plug behind it.

[BrokenolMarine]

After several days in the shop finalizing the assembly, Miss T and I got up this morning and installed the two slim cabinets on either side of the new range. I'd love to say they were a PERFECT fit, but it would be a lie. The floors in the house are NOT level so there were a couple issues, but after some cursing, shimming, and planing... they fit.

A view of the countertops and range.... I still have to install the backsplashes, but they are cut to width already, just need to be cut to height to match the existing backsplash and then stained. An hour or so. Miss T is a happy camper. That's all that I was concerned with.

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This is the left (Storage) cabinet. It will have an actual pull open door. I still have to make that door. Had to get the cabinets installed before I could take actual measurements off the adjoining cabinets and the new cabinets and make the doors. A day for both doors.

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Here is the pull out spice rack... and it will also have a faux door that pulls out with the cabinet. It had to be installed so I could measure and make it as well. Both doors will be made from oak and mock the doors / drawers on the existing cabinets.

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The spice rack was a challenge to install, as the existing cabinets weren't square and I had to get the drawer pulls square so the pull out would pull out smoothly. I installed the base track square, and then installed the track on TOP of the spice rack square. I I left the track IN the top portion and added double sided tape, then set the countertop piece down in place and pushed firmly. It was now aligned to track square even though it was NOT square on the underside of the countertop walnut. Removed the cabinet, and without disturbing the tape, slide the upper track from it's mated piece on top of the spice rack and screwed it to the underside of the walnut countertop where it was STILL taped. Slid the assembly back together, aligned the cabinet in it's location and mounted the base and the Walnut countertop. Worked like a charm.

Now to make the doors... tomorrow. And mount the kickplates, trim and splash guards, tomorrow.
After all, as Scarlett O'Hara pointed out. "Tomorrow is another day."

[BrokenolMarine]

There has been a lot going on here on the farm... (see the post about the new calf ) but I have been working on the Range project when I could find the time. Mostly I have been using oak scraps to try and find a stain or combination of stains that will match the new oak doors to the existing cabinets. NOT as easy as I thought it might be. I finally found something that will get us close, using Miss T's suggestion. Two coats of "classic natural" stain and three coats of varnish.

So, I carefully measured for the doors, and started on that project, then CALF and Molly went down. I tried to work on the doors in between and ... got as far as the first coat of stain. This meant I had cut them to length, routed the profiles around the edges, sanded to clean up the routing, and stained. They were looking pretty good and then laying in bed, about asleep last night, I remembered something...

The LEFT door for the Storage side, was supposed to have 1/4" ripped off. All the distractions... I forgot.
So, this morning I went back out into the shop, set up the table saw and Ripped the left door to the proper width.
THEN, I set up the router and took a trip down the edge. Nope, slightly deeper than the other three edges, so, a trip all the way 'round.
Compared the two doors and actually... ... the slightly deeper / wider profile looked a lot better. Right door got the same pass.

Sanded both to 400 grit, and restained both. Now they are drying, and will get a second coat of stain, and I may go and pick up a pint of satin finish stain rather than gloss as the rest of the cabinets are satin, not gloss. But, I like the profiles and the doors look okay. They will have to be a lot darker to match... but I'll get them as close as I can.

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NO, they aren't the same length. The door for the left is cut to match the height of the combined height of the cabinet door and the drawer on that side. The door for the right is cut to match the height of the pull out spice cabinet with a 1/2" overhang at the bottom and 1/8" SHY under the counter. Has to be that way because it pulls out. I thought about fancy profiles to mask the pullout status, Tina said don't worry about it.