STEP THREE of the ISLAND PROJECT

Can We Just Be Done Already?

It's early April 2014. Six months prior I had dreamed (a genie) of a beautiful, custom made island in my tiny kitchen. It's main purpose was to house a microwave that took up (oh so!) valuable space on my kitchen counter. 

I had dreamed it. Researched it. Drew and drew and drew it. I wrote down all the features I needed (WANTED.... HAD TO HAVE) and when I dream, I dream big. It would have a butcher block top, a spice drawer, a place for my crock pot and blender, cookie sheet and cutting board dividers. Electric. And... the base of the whole thing would have drawers.

This was to become step three. The base. How very, very much this idea nearly ruined everything.

So first. Let's admire the picture above. Here you can see the cabinet I found for free on the side of the road on the left. The cabinet on the right is the one I built with all routered joints. The joints are all glued and some, that I felt may have pressure as it gets moved and situated, are nailed. 

My future eye can see the spice drawer, top left. The cabinet to hold all my baking tools bottom left. The mircrowave on the top right, the crockpot and dividers on the bottom.... sigh..... I just wanted this to be over already!

But first. I need to finish. FINISH? What's that? 

So My Base was to be about 8" tall. Consisting of three boards (I wanted plywood but my helper balked. No. No. No. You make things RUGGED!) So three boards. Three boards on the top, dividers vertically for the eventual drawers, and three boards on the bottom.

Now I had these three boards on the top of the island because I like to "see" things. I like to keep the finished vision in front of me. But these three boards (actually 6 until we are done) will eventually support the entire contraption for all eternity.

Another view. I do my projects on the weekends - due to my extreme commute there is very little, to no time, when I get home through the week. So Monday through Friday it sat in the garage. And I would pull my car in and just look at her. And I could see a peanut butter sandwich being made. I could see friends and family gathered around, heads thrown back in laughter, oh ha ha ha, what fun we will all have. Oh yea. I gotta finish this first. 

So. I joined these three. And the way I did it was with a biscuit joiner. Ahhhh, I forgot to mention my biscuit joiner! AND that it was my FIRST time using it. 

You see - when I'm doing BIG, IMPORTANT projects I like to use techniques and ideas that have never proven themselves or been used before, in my little garage. Oh yes. I branch out. Can we make it MORE complicated? Why yes. Yes we can. Absolutely. 

So I learned about that biscuit jointer. And I learned I love it. And then I also learned I needed to buy a planer. But that's for another day. 

I joined the "top" and the "bottom" of the base, each board to the next, with my grandpa's biscuit jointer that I had bought at his auction as he readied to move south. It was so special to me to have this tool. And after they were joined I realized I had NO CLAMPS long enough. So I had to buy some. The entire day was devoted to simply cutting to length, sanding, gluing, joining, and clamping and.... waiting.....

OH HOW I HATE WAITING!

Here is my incredibly humble little set up. Someday, I hope to have a nice wood shop. But I'm trying to learn to appreciate the present. And presently I'm just so happy to have the ability to set up and do just about any little project my heart dreams up.

But first I had to finish the damn island.