Kitchen island is underway

With my cut list in hand, I visited my local hardwood dealer and started selecting boards for the project.  I like using chalk to mark out which parts will be cut from each board and mark them off of my cut list as I go.  This works well to ensure that I make it home with enough lumber to actually build the project.  It's also handy when I get ready to break down the boards into components as the chalk map is still there to guide me.  I usually double check to see if rearranging things will lead to a more efficient use of material, in this case I couldn't really improve on my initial layout.

  I let the lumber sit in my shop for a little over a week before starting to break it down this week.  I sticker it so air can flow through the stack

Letting the lumber breath

I couldn't get 12/4 stock so I glued up 8/4 and 4/4 boards to get the thickness I needed for the leg blanks.

Three legs finished and one in clamps

I broke down all the boards into oversize parts and sticker staked them to continue to acclimate for a couple of days before additional milling.  I moved the long stock to the floor the next day so I could use my bench again.

Short parts

Long parts

I spent the afternoon laying out, cutting, and sanding corbels.  At the end of the day I had some respectable looking parts.  The small ones will hold a towel bar at the end of the island near the sink.

Pretty corbels all in a row

I'm having second thoughts about the size of the legs.  In my drawing, I made them 2-1/4" square to match the width of the stiles which looks pretty good on paper.  I'm considering upping them to 2-1/2" since this island will need to support quite a bit of weight in it's six large drawers.  If I had considered this a little sooner, I could have cut the long boards for the web frame a little wider to allow for the change.  Now I'll have to glue a piece onto them to add 1/4" of width.  The rails and panels will need to change too but they will end up being smaller.

to be continued ...