Aaron’s Knife Block – Viewer Project
This project was submitted by Aaron. Let’s see what he has to say:
I should preface any description of my block with my credentials. This is the first project I have ever done that involved some form of joinery without screws or nails. I started out with every intention to build the block just as “The Schwarz” had. My first mistake was in the layout. Maybe a carpenter’s pencil was not the best marking instrument (joking). I also did not use a marking knife on the first pass, and I experienced a great deal of tearout. I used the jigsaw blade recommended and a fence, but this was not adequate. I experienced a huge amount of deflection from the blade, which led to unsightly joints. Then I tried to figure a way to salvage the project and dadoes were my solution. A live Guild session a while back helped me finish my router table which I had not used yet. I picked up some curly maple from Bell Forest for the body of the block (utilizing my Guild discount of course). 
I figured it was a good time to try it out. I did not like the look of the finished piece so I decided to add the base. It was a scrap piece of paduak with a slight chamfer on the edge. I had an extra bag of bamboo skewers so I decried to add some reinforcement to the dadoes. I simply dropped some skewers in a small cup with some old dark mahogany Minwax for a day then pulled them out to dry. So that is where the dark colored dowels came from. I finished the piece by popping the grain as shown in “Pop Goes the Maple” with SealCoat and Dark Maple Transtint. Followed up with four coats of Arm-R-Seal. The block did not end up like I originally planned, but I enjoyed the process. Thanks again for all of the help and late night emails.
Bubinga Sideboard – Viewer Project
Tom has submitted an incredible Sideboard project for our viewing pleasure. Let’s check it out:
I found this amazing Bubinga at Soboba (in Santa Barbara) and knew I’d find a special project for it. There was enough for most major parts. The amount of figured wood limited my ability to completely match horizontally and vertically, but I am pleased with the outcome.
Sideboard begins as a dovetailed case. Double thickness sides let me make the half-blind dovetails the easy way. That approach also means the sides and legs are flush on the inside, with a slight reveal on the outside. Vertical dividers have through tenons let into mortises top and bottom. Case is joined to the Legs with various stub tenons and dovetails on the outsides of top and bottom pieces. Legs have a very slight taper. This case is so bloody heavy that I was afraid to remove much material from the Padauk legs.
Doors are hung using Soss “invisible” hinges thanks to Marc’s video of the Gadget Station while I was designing this piece. Which created a problem…identified after all else was assembled of course. Without a face frame, the legs interfered with the doors. So last minute taper and rounding of the outside stiles was necessary. Opps. Drawers are hand-cut dovetails with solid bottoms. Inside material is Philippine Mahogany. I had planned to use ebonized something for the pulls but eventually decided to use Padauk which darkens quite quickly and visually ties to the legs rather than creating a separate contrast. Back is composed of ship-lapped slats in grooves at bottom and held at the top with a simple molding strip.
Click here to view photos including quite a few of the progress and process in slide show format.
Outdoor Kitchen – Viewer Project
This project comes from Robert in Houston, Texas. As a self-confessed BBQ and grilling nut, I happen to LOVE this project. Let’s hear about it from Robert:
First let me tell you that I love your website and videocasts as well as the Wood Talk Online project you are doing – and the direction both the website and the show are going in.
Heard you mention a new grill and that someday an outdoor kitchen is in the works. So I wanted to show you what I had recently done. We have a weird shaped lot due to being on a cul-de-sac so to give you an idea of the layout. In some of the pictures you see a wrought iron gate (actually aluminum) that is the gate between garage and house and where most everyone comes in. The green door in picture one is the back door which leads to laundry room and into kitchen breakfast area (the window next to door is to breakfast area)
To the left of that you can see living room windows that overlook pool and then there is large grass area beyond that with kids fort – trampoline etc. So that’s the layout. We had an area outside the kitchen that wouldn’t grow grass so we laid pavers and I built the island where there was little grill that had come with the house. Plus we built the fountain using Mexican Pots. It has turned the area into a nice outdoor living space – far enough from the pool that no one gets splashed (you can see table, chairs and a firepit in the background. The grill is a Sam’s club special. There is also a dual gas burner which you can see (it has a cover on it). Everything is plumbed into the natural gas but you could do with Propane all depending what your grill takes – I just like not having to worry if I run out.
Ok – now back to the island. Wish I had taken construction pictures. Oh well. Oh and let me add a couple of things. First it’s not quite finished yet (do it when I have free time .. LOL). What is missing is I need to level the grill with the top and put slate on the area directly under the grill plus I want to wire electrical into the pole that comes down from the overhead and put an outlet there for the Rotisserie and for a blender or whatever. Second – total cost if you don’t count the grill and dbl burner – about $750 or so for everything. Also I would like to add a small matching cabinet in that space between the door to the kitchen and the gate and put a small sink in it – on the other side of the wall is the washing machine so I can tie into the water and the drain without need for a plumber.
Construction was simple. The whole island sits on a concrete pad that was already there. I put cinder blocks there and filled them with concrete and gravel. Framing is 2×4’ put together with pocket screws. They just sit on the cinder blocks. Kinda like angle iron but made from 2×4’s – make sense? Then the framing is covered by concrete backer board and then thinset and real slate floor tiles. The top is Plywood covered by backer board and then real black granite tiles. Its then trimmed off with Padauk set with glue and screws then plugged with Wenge plugs. Inside the cabinet is lined with cedar (6” fence pickets that I planed to make smooth) gives it a nice finished look and helps keep bugs away. Then the doors and drawers are Padauk as well. The doors are thick with ½” solid panels. Drawer boxes are poplar – dovetailed of course. Bar stool will be replaced eventually – these were $19 each and my wife wanted something fast so they will do.
The Paduak is covered with General Finishes Outdoor Oil. The top trim has 3 coasts –only one so far on the doors and drawers. I haven’t put a final sealer on the slate either. The little outcropping on the back of the island with the double burner is where the gas line comes in. I put a big door on the end of the one section because my wife wanted a big deep area to store my sons stuff rather than a door under the one drawer. That may have been a design mistake but its ok.
In hindsight there are some things I would have done different but overall Im very happy with it so far. We like the large area with the overhang so people can pull up a barstool and talk and snack and drink while I cook. I could have gone with one of those drop-in grills but we bought the grill long before doing the island – and I decided not to take it off the base because it has such nice storage under it. The plus on that is that if the grill ever dies and I need to replace – I have lots of flexibility in size. I can just redo the base it sits on and make longer or shorter and adjust the right island as needed. The islands are free standing except where screwed into the pole. Once complete the weight keeps them in place since they become very heavy.
I like the mix of media (grant, slate, wood and stainless) The cost savings doing it myself was incredible. Thought since you had mentioned getting one someday, you might want to see a homemade outdoor kitchen. Oh people ask why no fridge – well there is one in the laundry room and I just couldn’t see putting another thing that eats electricity out there. But who knows in the long run. It was very easy to build – if you can lay floor tile you can do this. To make it even easier we used premixed thinset on this and we used a premixed epoxy grout. We’ve laid our share of floors but since I did a section at a time the premix was worth the small added expense. My wife is making a cover for it that will hand down about a foot in all directions to keep the top clean. It is under cover and gets minimal direct sun but it does get covered in dust and pollen etc. So it’s more just to make keeping it clean easier.
I’m an amateur – especially compared to you – these were my second ever set of doors and drawers. But I am happy with the results. Hope you enjoyed this. Oh and like all projects this one spawns another – my lovely wife wants me to rebuild the back door out of Mahogany. She bought some clear stained glass panel for it off ebay.
Edit*** – I found two construction pics as I was finishing this up and you can see the double burner in them and some of the internal construction before doors and such. The inside of the door framing where you can see 2×4’s is actually now covered with ½ padauk. That sticks out about an 1/8” past the slate so the doors have a smooth surface to close against.
Collin’s Entertainment Center – Viewer Project
Check out this slick entertainment center made by Collin in Canada. Here’s what he had to say:
“Hi there Mark, I just can’t get enough of your web site and the fantastic video that accompany it. You are one very talented wood worker who takes pride in his workmanship and inspires us all to do the same no matter what our skill level may be. I have posted some photos of an entertainment unit I have just recently finished to house my home theatre gear. The main carcass is maple ply with veneered edges, solid maple legs with a slight taper at the bottom and 7/8 thick top of padauk. The top is 2 boards 12 1/2 inches wide by 6 feet long. The top was glued up using biscuits and the entire carcass is dowelled. I made a jig to attach to the base of my drill press to slide to carcass panels through on edge to drill the dowel holes I have used lots of other joints before and this was a first attempt for this many dowels. I am very happy at how they all lined up, case came out very square. The center section that houses the center speaker and 2 drawers was glued up first as a unit. Then the rest went together around it. I made a long trammel for the router to finish the curved ends. Drawer front and hand pulls are also padauk. Store bought handles are just so..store bought. All parts are finished with many coats of tung oil, the top has 7 coats of oil buffed into it sanding with 400 between each one. The oil really brought out the colors and highlight in the padauk. All the maple pieced received a coat of paste wax and nothing else was applied to the top. As a note to anyone else using of finishing padauk, I finished a test piece same as the final top and tried a coat of wax on it. I did not like the results as I was unable to buff the wax back out of the grain. I already have a list of projects ready for spring. My garage shop is not heated so my equipment is all oiled and greased and tucked away for winter. Thanks again Mark for all your efforts to promote the wood working hobby in a fun, entertaining and safe manner. Looking forward to your next online project.
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