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I finally managed to get back to the kitchen island project last weekend (see <a title=”part 1″ href=”http://www.grit.com/tools/building-a-kitchen-island-part-1-working-with-homemade-lumber.aspx” target=”_blank”>part 1</a> and <a title=”part 2″ href=”http://www.grit.com/tools/building-a-kitchen-island-part-2-working-with-hand-tools.aspx” target=”_blank”>part 2</a>). This time, I focussed on framing in the drawer slides and enclosing the sides and installing the bottom shelf. As fate, or luck would have it, I ran out of suitable lumber for the sides so I took the opportunity to put a <a title=”Hud-Son Homesteader” href=”http://www.hud-son.com/all_new_mill.htm” target=”_blank”>Hud-Son Homesteader</a> HFE-21 sawmill to work. I cut another 9-foot long length off the long-dead pine that <a title=”I felled last spring” href=”http://www.grit.com/tools/milling-your-own-lumber-granbergs-alaskan-mill-makes-it-easy.aspx” target=”_blank”>I felled last spring</a>. That tree will have yielded all of the lumber needed for the island except the top and then some. Even though sheet goods might make more sense for the drawer bottoms and the cabinet doors, I am committed to building the entire kitchen island from lumber grown and milled right here on the farm. I know that’s no great feat for folks living in New England, but here on the Kansas plains, dead trees of any kind tend to get bucked for firewood, dozed into holes and buried, or dozed into piles and burned. </p>
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<p>This is only the third time in my life that I’ve built and installed drawers in cabinets. This time I am making old-fashioned wooden slides that I plan to lubricate with soap or hard tallow — the slide framing is installed here. I broke down and used some carefully placed screws to help with the installation. As always, bore pilot holes for best results. </p>
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<p>The Hud-Son bandsaw mill came in mighty handy for cutting additional planks from the well-seasoned pine log. One advantage to this mill over the <a title=”Alaskan chainsaw mill” href=”http://www.grit.com/tools/milling-your-own-lumber-granbergs-alaskan-mill-makes-it-easy.aspx” target=”_blank”>Alaskan chainsaw mill</a> is that it wastes much less wood. It’s also faster, quieter and the little 6-horsepower Briggs engine didn’t put me to sleep with both big barn doors open and the Kansas gale-force breeze blowing through. When not in use, it’s easy to tuck the entire mill out of the way.</p>
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<p>Planking the bottom was straightforward. I chose 0.75-inch rough boards, milled them smooth and nailed them to the frameworks. Rather than butting planks against one another, I cut half laps along their edges so they would overlap by about 0.75 inch. These ship-lap style joints will allow some expansion and contraction but prevent opening to daylight. For the sides (and back) I nailed 3/8-inch thick planks spaced about 3 inches apart. The joint cover-boards are about 4.5-inches wide with laps milled into both edges sufficient to overlap the planks by about 0.75 inch. I don’t know what it’s called, or even if you are “allowed” to use such crude joinery anymore, but that’s how the back and sides were planked on a cool antique cabinet I saw at a flea market — so I went with it. </p>
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<p>Here you can sort of make out how the lapped board fills the space between the two wider planks.</p>
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<p>This is the main reason that I believe the kitchen island’s top will be made of American black walnut (pardon my shadow). It felt good to get the bulk of the largest downed walnut converted into some nice lumber. I’m still not certain that the kitchen island’s top will be solid walnut, or exactly how I will join the heavy planks. Stay tuned to find out. </p>
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<a href=”http://www.grit.com/biographies/oscar-h-will” target=_self>Hank Will</a>
<em> raises hair sheep, heritage cattle and many varieties of open-pollinated corn with his wife, Karen, on their rural Osage County, Kansas farm. His home life is a perfect complement to his professional life as editor in chief at GRIT and Capper’s Farmer magazines. Connect with him on </em>
<a title=Google+ href=”https://plus.google.com/u/0/117459637128204205101/posts” target=_blank rel=author>Google+</a>.</p>
