Add kitchen_island_table.md.
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Kitchen island table
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====================
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or *I built a table without sufficient tools, knowledge, or workspace*.
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I moved into a new place, where the kitchen does not have very much countertop area to work or to hold permanent appliances.
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[](https://files.voussoir.net/writing/kitchen_island_table/2025-02-16_16-18-53.jpg)
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[](https://files.voussoir.net/writing/kitchen_island_table/2025-02-16_16-18-38.jpg)
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[](https://files.voussoir.net/writing/kitchen_island_table/2025-02-16_16-18-48.jpg)
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I wanted to find something that would match these requirements:
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- Needs to fit next to the stove, max size about 2ft × 5ft.
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- Needs to be standing countertop height, not a sitting table.
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- Needs to have empty space underneath, not shelving or bracing, so my trashcan can live there.
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I made a few rounds through some furniture stores, but actually I got it into my head pretty quickly that I would make the table myself, so I didn't really search the stores very hard.
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I decided I would buy a premade 2×4 laminated slab top (purists would prefer you don't use the word "butcherblock" unless the work surface is all endgrain), and assemble the legs and frame from 4×4 lumber. To join the legs, I would try a floating tenon technique with some pieces of dowel since it only requires one tool: the drill. For extra stability against racking I can add some shelf brackets to the inside corners.
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[](https://files.voussoir.net/writing/kitchen_island_table/2025-05-27%20table%20plans.png)
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I went to a local lumber yard and bought some 4×4 douglas fir. I bought a 12ft and a 10ft and had the shop attendant chop that into 3×6ft and 1×4ft to fit in my car. If I had had him do *all* the cuts for me, the final table probably would have turned out a little more flush and plumb, but hey that's not the point.
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[](https://files.voussoir.net/writing/kitchen_island_table/2025-05-27_16-22-34.jpg)
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[](https://files.voussoir.net/writing/kitchen_island_table/2025-05-27_17-09-06.jpg)
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I wound up doing most of this project in my kitchen. Partly so that I would not be leaving the wood out in the moisture overnight, and partly because vacuuming up the sawdust indoors was easier than trying to get it out of the strange fake turf / carpet in the backyard.
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[](https://files.voussoir.net/writing/kitchen_island_table/2025-05-30_21-34-25.jpg)
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I used some masking tape to mark my cut lines. If the tape wraps perfectly on itself, that should mean the cut line is exactly perpendicular.
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I use a Japanese-style pull saw because the Japanese are smarter than us.
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[](https://files.voussoir.net/writing/kitchen_island_table/2025-05-30_22-24-45.jpg)
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[](https://files.voussoir.net/writing/kitchen_island_table/2025-05-30_22-34-18.jpg)
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Rotating the piece throughout the cut, most of the cuts turned out decently flat.
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[](https://files.voussoir.net/writing/kitchen_island_table/2025-05-30_22-37-32.jpg)
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I tried to cut four legs of the same length by stacking them and drawing a line from top to bottom.
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[](https://files.voussoir.net/writing/kitchen_island_table/2025-06-02_06-08-55.jpg)
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[](https://files.voussoir.net/writing/kitchen_island_table/2025-06-03_20-41-50.jpg)
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[](https://files.voussoir.net/writing/kitchen_island_table/2025-06-06_17-02-18.jpg)
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It was time to try the floating dowel joint.
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[](https://files.voussoir.net/writing/kitchen_island_table/2025-06-06_17-36-43.jpg)
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I put the dowels into the short aprons first. The exact positioning does not matter since they are transferred to the legs next. They are wherever they are.
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[](https://files.voussoir.net/writing/kitchen_island_table/2025-06-06_21-41-19.jpg)
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I used some paint to transfer the dowel positions from one piece to the other. This didn't go as easily as I thought it would, and my assembled edges were very far from flush with each other. I had to take another pass with the saw, and several passes with sandpaper to solve those later.
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A big part of my problem is that my drilled holes were often not perfectly vertical. I didn't have a bullseye bubble level on the drill, or a drill guide besides a scrap cut of the 4×4 which itself was not plumb, and my eyeballing was not good enough.
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[](https://files.voussoir.net/writing/kitchen_island_table/2025-06-06_21-47-02.jpg)
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They barely came together as intended.
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[](https://files.voussoir.net/writing/kitchen_island_table/2025-06-06_22-42-35.jpg)
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[](https://files.voussoir.net/writing/kitchen_island_table/2025-06-06_22-42-55.jpg)
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[](https://files.voussoir.net/writing/kitchen_island_table/2025-06-07_11-10-52.jpg)
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But, caulk and paint...
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[](https://files.voussoir.net/writing/kitchen_island_table/2025-06-08_20-08-47.jpg)
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It was time to seal the top. I used a 50/50 mix of oil-based polyurethane finish and mineral spirits, both of which had to be ordered online because these chemicals are known to the state of <span style="background-color:currentcolor;">██████████</span> to cause <span style="background-color:currentcolor;">██████</span> and aren't sold in stores.
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[](https://files.voussoir.net/writing/kitchen_island_table/2025-06-09_17-17-30.jpg)
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Again, I started outside but quickly took it inside so the project would not be outdoors overnight. I ran the stovetop exhaust fan and another fan 24/7 for about a week, doing one to two coats per day. The fumes were not really the fumes were not that really that fumes were not really that bad and my cancer is doing fine thank you very much.
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[](https://files.voussoir.net/writing/kitchen_island_table/2025-06-10_18-16-21.jpg)
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It turned out pretty nice.
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[](https://files.voussoir.net/writing/kitchen_island_table/2025-06-12_23-00-12.jpg)
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I did another set of floating dowels to connect the two sides to the long aprons.
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[](https://files.voussoir.net/writing/kitchen_island_table/2025-06-16_18-46-54.jpg)
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[](https://files.voussoir.net/writing/kitchen_island_table/2025-06-17_18-27-17.jpg)
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And added the shelf brackets, though in a different position than I had originally drawn.
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[](https://files.voussoir.net/writing/kitchen_island_table/2025-06-17_19-38-04.jpg)
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I bought a pack of figure-8 fasteners for joining the top to the frame, but I wound up not using them. I have been satisfied with the good old fashioned gravity joint: the top is just sitting there.
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After sanding some high spots in the frame and shimming some low spots in the floor, the table was done.
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[](https://files.voussoir.net/writing/kitchen_island_table/2025-06-26_18-08-04.jpg)
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As you can see from my photo timestamps, this project was done in May / June 2025. The table has been doing a fine job of holding my stuff.
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[](https://files.voussoir.net/writing/kitchen_island_table/2026-03-01_11-40-02.jpg)
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Approximate materials cost:
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item | price
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4×2 tabletop | $120
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4×4×10 + 4×4×12 lumber | $63
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1/2in × 36in dowel | $4
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Wood glue | $3
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Brackets | $10
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1 qt paint (save for later) | $20
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1 qt polyurethane (save for later) | $15
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1 gal mineral spirits (save for later) | $18
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total | ~$250
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