Kitchen Island

[Tricky Mike]

The black parts are regular old hot-rolled carbon steel, painted black and clear-coated. The shiny bits are stainless. Once it was TIG welded I ground down all those beautiful welds (I know, I know), put on some Bond-O, did tons of sanding, three coats of primer, 4 coats of black base, and about six coats of clear. I don't have a proper spray booth... who am I kidding... I don't have anything approximating a spray booth... and it's way too cold to spray outside, so it made for an interesting weekend. I think the fumes killed their share of brain cells (only the strong survive). Was that six or eight coats of clear? Anyway, I ran out of time, so the drawers still need to be aligned and the drawer handles and the countertop haven't been installed yet, but I figured I'd share some pics anyway... No "in-progress" pics of the actual build process (sorry). I knew I'd be right down to the wire trying to get it done, so I didn't want to waste any time.

Now that this is done I can FINALLY install tear up all that remaining gross, nasty, jive-ass monkey flooring and replace it. Until then it still looks a bit like a construction zone, but I'm getting there. Oh, don't worry... that kitchen window is getting replaced, too... eventually.

[ZX-12R]

Pretty slick looking!

How old is your house? I don't see 2x4's as subfloor very often.

[Tricky Mike]

Thanks! House was built in the 1960's...

[keeena]

Love the overall look of the kitchen - nice taste. Good job on that island, it fits perfect. You planning on using leveling feet and/or rubber caps to protect the h/w floor? Or are you going to bolt it down?

[stoinkythepig]

That's some really slick workmanship and design. Can't say I have ever seen anything like it. Nice work! Is it maple or birch?

Goodrich in Epping NH sells granite slab remnants for $10 a square foot. I bet they'd have something neat to top it off with. You can cut the stuff with a diamond blade equipped skill saw pulled backwards ya know...

[MissTwisties]

Oh, wow!! That is gorgeous. You got some talent. That's different, never seen anything like it either, it's very original. The color of your kitchen is similar to the color I'm putting in mine, I like it.

[Tricky Mike]

Love the overall look of the kitchen - nice taste. Good job on that island, it fits perfect. You planning on using leveling feet and/or rubber caps to protect the h/w floor? Or are you going to bolt it down?

No need for leveling feet... The subfloor is level and the frame is square to about 1/16" or so (good enough for me). The legs of the island rest directly on the subfloor and there's a real, real tight fit with the cabinets which are bolted down and sharing some of the load (which isn't much). I left room under the bottom horizontal pieces of steel so the flooring can terminate under it and out of sight. The pieces that butt up against the vertical legs will get machined to match the profile for a tight fit. Mills cut wood, too!

[MissTwisties]

Would you mind me asking where you got that awsome "square" or diamond shape stainless steal sheets?

Man, I look at this and still thinking this is one of the most original thing I have seen as far as kitchen....I'd be curious to see the rest of your house!

[bigred875]

wow, that is purdey neat....i like the whole kitchen

[Currently]

Anyone that has their own Bridgeport is automatically on my shit list! :

Can I come over and use it some time ... pretty please!

My dream setup! Someday ... sometime ... I am gonna get one!

[Tricky Mike]

Can I come over and use it some time ... pretty please!

My dream setup! Someday ... sometime ... I am gonna get one!

Sure, man... Got a project?

They're easier than you'd think to get. I held out for a long time waiting for a tooled machine in my price range, but passed on plenty of decent machines in the meantime. This one ain't perfect, but it came with a ton of shit and I'm not working at .0001 anyway. They can run just fine on residential power, even if the motor is 3-phase (which it will be), and they're not that hard to move. I moved this one myself with a J-bar, a pinch-point bar and some 1" round bar. Lower the knee, flip the head and go slow... there's not much that can go wrong when it's never more than an inch off the ground.

[Tricky Mike]

Would you mind me asking where you got that awsome "square" or diamond shape stainless steal sheets?

Man, I look at this and still thinking this is one of the most original thing I have seen as far as kitchen....I'd be curious to see the rest of your house!

It's called "quilted stainless" and it comes in different "quilt" sizes, thicknesses and finishes. This is a 4" quilt with a high polish finish. The milled finish stuff is more common, but it doesn't shine... it looks like the stainless fridge in the background. You can get it at some sheet metal shops, but many don't sell to the public, so be able to "talk the talk" when you call around. It comes in fairly large sheets and can be a bitch to work with...

I've had this stuff for a while now... I know I bought it in lovely Lowell, MA, but can't remember the name of the place... Tanner? Kelly? I dunno.