My client came to me over Christmas with a page torn from the Southern Living magazine depicting a kitchen island built from reclaim porch posts and lumber.  The caveat was it had to be down-sized to 24x24x36 and move-able.  Sure, no problem says I...hmmph!  First, has anyone priced used porch posts since Pinterest?  Then I priced new posts.  Both are cost prohibitive.  Then I got an idea, build my own.  So my wife found these balusters at a yard sale.  But only three.

 

So I cut them in half (giving me six tops) and bought a 4x4 pine post to recreate the bottoms, 

 

 

Drilled out the bottom sections to accept a 1 /14" dowel, 5 inches long

 

Then centered up the tops and drilled matching holes.

 

Cut my dowels using a stop for consistency

 

A little sanding and then assembly

 

Now I have six legs completed.  Four users and two for testing.

 

Some detail work to make everything flow and these are ready to sand.

 

Now the key here was the use of reclaimed lumber, so I plundered around the rathole and found this fir.  Cut to length for the rails and pocket holes added.

 

I have some 5/4 red cedar ratholed in a buddies barn, so I went and pulled two planks out to create the bottom. Resawed and planed.

 

Cut to length and placed on the assembled leg frame

 

And the finished bottom assembly.

 

 

Now I'm ready to paint.  The request for the legs and rails is to be painted in bright white.  I'm going to polyurethane the shelf rails and use that as an accent piece.  After paint, I'll attach the hardware (casters.)

 

Next up:  Creating the top.  

 

(BTW, I've kept up on the site, but with work and life just haven't had a chance to chime in much over the last few months.  W)

 

 

Edited December 5, 20178 yr by Ron Dudelston
tags added

That is a really AWESOME looking project Will - GREAT JOB!!

Well, you know what they say about "necessity being the mother of invention". What yo don't have (or is too expensive), you make!

 

Nice job, Will! Looking forward to seeing the rest of the build.

yea... this is outstanding...

Nice work.

 

The Parks planer caught my eye, too.   (Used to be) made right here in Cincinnati.  A friend of mine bought one before they closed the doors.

Nice job on making the legs. That looks really nice. 

Work continues on the island.  Third coat of bright white enamel on, three coats of semi-gloss on the cedar shelf pieces, and hardware in place.  Base moved to the spare bedroom for safety (because I can break a crowbar in a sandbox)

 

Now for the top.  Back to the rathole for more lumber.  But first true up the edges and flatten everything down to 3/4" in preparation for glue up..

Keith you have a good eye.  My old Parks planer has served me well for a number of years.  DC Morrison still makes parts for these incredible machines, so I will keep her running for years more.

Glue up was anti-climatic, and after drying overnight its time to start scraping and prepping for cutting to size and easing all the edges.  

 

First time using card scrapers.  Found a set of four at a school auction and this seems like a perfect time to hone this skill.

I"m going to size this at 26x26" and trim out the base.  Thanks for the kind words and more to come

Will

nice...

Pretty cool work. That's going to be beautiful. 

And, I love your way with words. Break a crowbar in a sandbox. 

My Dad had a Parks Planer when I was a kid, I was the off bearer for a lo of lumber

 

Good build you got going there, and love the pictures.

Herb.

Great Job!!

 

Really looking great. You will like the card scrapers. I use them a lot on joints for cabinets and tops.

 

 

Awesome...great idea to cut the posts and extend them...who said there is no such thing as a wood stretcher anyway...

A little late recognizing your project here Will, but fantastic job on the re-purpose. I really am enjoying seeing all the PIP's. Gotta' tell you though, I'm just as fascinated seeing all of your vintage machinery in this build as the build.

Once you get the project complete, maybe you can take us on a "tour" of your shop equipment and some of their history.

On 4/27/2017 at 8:58 PM, Grandpadave52 said:

Once you get the project complete, maybe you can take us on a "tour" of your shop equipment and some of their history.

I'll second that! And beautiful work!!

John

Good Lord this is finally finished!!!  Normally I stain most of my projects, but the client wanted an enamel finish for the top.  Well, with the damp weather, work and other vagaries of life this took forever.

After priming, coats one and two went on and were sucked up by the driest boards I've ever tried to paint.

 

Followed by coats three and four along with sanding edges that had run, a 24 hour dry cycle and wet, humid conditions that complicated the whole thing.

 

So, after struggling along I finally got to set the top this week.

 

Then put the trim on to finish it out.

 

And a finished roll-around kitchen island is ready for delivery.  It is pussy cat approved as well.

 

Lessons learned:

(1) I need a better approach to squaring up the legs and rails, I wasn't as happy with how the legs turned out.  Cutting down a 6x6 would have provided a more consistent dimension top to bottom.

(2) Finishing is a bear with brushed on enamel, I needed to spray it for a cleaner finish, and I've really got to clear some space in the garage for working on projects out of the weather.  Inclement weather really slowed me down, as I couldn't work outside as normal.

(3) I enjoy retro-engineering projects.  This project has led to a second request for an island and may provide an interesting side job.

(4) This hobby is better than hanging out in the bar...but might not be any cheaper!

 

Thanks for following along.

 

Will

2 minutes ago, Will Downing said:

This hobby is better than hanging out in the bar...but might not be any cheaper!

 

That looks really great, Will!

Looks awesome

Nice Job! Great fix on the legs and I love your old machinery.

Great end and finish to this creative project Will...enjoyed it...

Now that you're done and have all this "free time"  can you take us a tour of your OWWM? You've got some really cool stuff!