Kitchen Range Project

[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.