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Thread: Live Edge Mystery Wood Kitchen Island

  1. #1
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    Live Edge Mystery Wood Kitchen Island

    It's definitely some pretty wood but I still don't know what it is.


    Anyway, we decided to use it in a kitchen island. The next step was designing the cabinet that would hold the three slabs.

    I set up the outside shop in the lanai. Working on the driveway out front probably adds 10 or more degrees to the working conditions. I'm learning how to escape the heat!

    Once I moved all the furniture and covered it, the next step was to set up the sawhorses. These sawhorses were built for anything and I laid down (1) 3/4 MDF, (3) 1/2" sandply and (3) 3/4" pine plywood on them.

    Time to start ripping!


    We decided to put (2) slabs at 42" and make that an eating/socializing area and the third slab would be at 36". In between, I'm thinking river glass. So the first thing was to establish the two heights.


    This is somewhat of what I'm trying to accomplish...
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  2. #2
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    I like the idea of what you're working on.

    It's also very kewel that you are able to "work things out" (quite literally) in the space where something is actually going to go.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    I like the idea of what you're working on.

    It's also very kewel that you are able to "work things out" (quite literally) in the space where something is actually going to go.
    My SO is in Chicago for a couple of weeks so I have run of the place.

    I got the glue up done and added the face frame.



    Then I temped in some extensions for under the hang over on the stool side.


    That cherry billet will fill in the gap between the maple overhand bracing.

    I'm still working on how I will finish the plywood area. I don't want the whole thing to be wood because that will take away from the live edge planks. Right now I'm leaning on frame and panel with the frame being pewter-dyed maple and the panel being something in white. I took a maple cutoff and whitewash stained it. It was almost identical to the horizontal paneling I did on the walls, except more finished. Maybe I can find some 1/4" rift or quarter sawn maple plywood to use for the panels. Hmmmmm......
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  4. #4
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    Looks great so far, Julie. With those beautiful, heavy-looking cherry slabs, it may overwhelm the rest of the cabinet and make it look top heavy. I don't know what you have in mind for doors but you may consider something with lots of overlays or inlay combining cherry and some other woods and different surface heights. It's going to be a very beautiful eye-catching piece.

  5. #5
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    Thanks, Yonak. The doors will be 1-1/4" overlay which leaves 1/2" spacing between them and 1/4" to the edges. Yesterday I picked up some "whitewood" (my guess is it's from Asia or China and they don't know what it is) from Lowes that's reversible, smooth on one side and beaded on the other.

    I've been going back and forth on the frame and panels about which to dye white and which to dye pewter. It might look interesting whitewashing the maple frames and dying the panels pewter. I'll have to see how the "whitewood" takes the pewter dye. I bought enough to do the door panels but I'd have to glue them up to some 1/4" plywood if I go that route. I'll consider using the whitewood if I use the beaded side. Maybe I need a mind camera to speed the decision making along.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  6. #6
    I like the contrasting colors and the pattern of the cabinet doors under the net. Looks like you put a lot of care into every design and the results are amazing. Just one question... where is the kitchen sink?
    I make dirt out of woodworking tools.

  7. #7
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    Julie- admit it, you are just showing off that incredibly beautiful "mystery wood" again to make us all even more jealous.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jerrimy Snook View Post
    I like the contrasting colors and the pattern of the cabinet doors under the net. Looks like you put a lot of care into every design and the results are amazing. Just one question... where is the kitchen sink?
    What kitchen sink?

    Jerrimy, this is 1964 Florida with some crazy boat house design idea running the show. The sink is far enough away you will actually burn up some calories. And I'm not saying that's a good thing.

    Quote Originally Posted by Bill McNiel View Post
    Julie- admit it, you are just showing off that incredibly beautiful "mystery wood" again to make us all even more jealous.
    Um... uh... What are you talking about, Bill? But if you want to see how crazy this gets...


    This is the cherry sandwiched between the maple. So I had this crazy idea I'd make the extensions look like the bow of a sailboat. And I took the glue up to the bandsaw...

    No serious damage so far...

    Then I marked some lines that approximated what a sailboat deck would look like and went back to the bandsaw. And used rasps and spokeshaves and seriously crossed my fingers...

    On the left is the container ship.

    What I found is if you want something to look like a sailboat hull, the entire thing has to look like a sailboat hull.

    After a lot of work, hoping to save the patient, this is where my day ended


    Who knows? This could be a trend! NOT!
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  9. #9
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    I'm making the drawers out of 1/2" plywood. The plywood is from Home Depot and who knows where they bought it. All I know is the thickness varies so I set the dado to nominal 1/2" plywood thickness and trim it during dry fitting.

    Those 98 & 99 rabbet trimmers come in very handy during this phase of assembly.

    I made 5 drawers according to Blum Tandem instructions, but for the 6th one, I had to modify it. It will be a pullout for trash and recyclables.

    The cans just fit the 23-1/4" cabinet depth. The drawer depth for the slides has to be 21". That won't work for the cans.

    I made the overall drawer depth 23" and notched the back to 21" where the rear pin will go. I also had to allow for access to the side-to-side adjusters.

    Hope it works!
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  10. #10
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    The mystery wood is no longer a mystery. Peltophorum pterocarpum, dubium is what the supplier says it is. According to the information they supplied, the tree is indigenous to Southeast Asia and Australia. But I discovered it is also found in Florida - https://www.south-florida-plant-guid...ltophorum.html
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  11. #11
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    The slabs have been flattened. The router sled worked pretty well. About a week ago I applied BLO to the tops of the slabs and I'm waiting for it to gas out before putting a sealer and finish on them.




    I'm working on a new cabinet for the miter saw right now. The setup I have at the moment can't make repeatable cuts accurately, which I need to make the doors and drawer fronts.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  12. #12
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    Those are some really beautiful hunks of nature's finest!

    What's the plan for the area between the two slabs on the raised eating side?
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    Those are some really beautiful hunks of nature's finest!

    What's the plan for the area between the two slabs on the raised eating side?
    Jim, one of the things that has prevailed with practically everything we've done since moving to Florida is kind of like finding your way out of the middle of the woods. "Let's walk that way..." Then you begin to doubt yourself and turn in another direction. We were at a neighbor's house the other day and I said it's like opening a curtain only to see another curtain only a few feet in front of you. This is totally new to me. I've always been very decisive. Maybe it's changes in latitude.

    But I have been working on the island, though very slowly. I cut the high section down by 1-3/4". It does make a noticeable difference. We bought some adjustable height bar stools that got tippy with the 42" bar height but now that I've cut it down, the stools work.

    My neighbor across the street had a project he was doing for a friend with a boat. He came over and asked if I had anything to create a roundover on a piece of teak he had. We decided on the roundover dimension and I shaped the teak to his satisfaction.

    A few days later, as I was contemplating what to do with the maple trim on the island and I thought of how we were going for a boat-kind-of-theme for our remodel. Then I remembered that the router table was set up for just that kind of thing. So I took the maple trim and went to town.


    After I made the doors and drawer fronts, I wondered if I should do a serious roundover on them too.

    Okay, not so serious but it seems to work.

    Still not sure if the back side of the drawers and doors will get the same roundover. But at least we're moving along.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  14. #14
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    Yea...but curious minds (or at least my mind) want(s) to know how you're going to keep your spilled soup (or margaritas ) from spilling through that gap between the beautiful natural edge boards shown in Post #11.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    Yea...but curious minds (or at least my mind) want(s) to know how you're going to keep your spilled soup (or margaritas ) from spilling through that gap between the beautiful natural edge boards shown in Post #11.
    Oh, that one's easy. River glass. Problem is many businesses here are run like vacation mode is the norm. I made a template for how I want the glass to be made and gave it to them over three weeks ago. Two weeks ago they said they sent it to their supplier. I've been trying for a week to get an answer as to the status but they may have closed between Christmas and New Years.

    Anyway, it will be something along this line, with the glass very much the same color.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

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