Kitchen cart/Butcher block

[Scoony]

Been wanting to make one of these for our kitchen for some time now. I had some 8/4 ash on hand, but when  friend traded me some 3" curly maple for a chicken coop I was getting rid of, plans changed.  The maple had been sitting out side with a torn up tarp for some time, so I had to let it dry out and trim away a bit of rot. I ripped the wood milled it so that I would have QS grain on top with the exception of the front and rear strip.

The top is finished with walnut oil / mineral oil / bees wax mix that I use on all my cutting boards. 

The base is maple and poplar and finished with milk paint. You may notice the crack in the right rear leg. In order to use up the wood I had on hand, I had to use that piece. I orientated that leg so the crack would not create any weakness in the joinery. I will just call it instant antiquing. 

   

There is a cut-out on the other side so I can clamp on hand crank grinders.

The top was glued up in two halves, milled then glued up into one. I was getting a lot of chip-out with the planer so to flatten the top, I had to pull out the low angle planes and keep the blades sharp. Despite what some may think, hand planing a top this size does not take much time at all. THe top did get some final sanding, however there was no sanding on any of the base as all the parts were finished with a hand plane which is much faster then sanding. 

   

[barryvabeach]

Nice work.  I agree that hand planes can be much quicker, and quieter, then sanders.

[Hank Knight]

Nice job, Scoony! I like the dark green milk paint/tiger maple combination a lot.

[jstraw]

Nice work.  The selection of wood for the top is beautiful.  Great execution.

[Belle City Woodworking]

Great job on the cart.  That wood is spectacular!

[giradman]

Like the cart - great look and top - congrats!  Dave

[Stwood_]

Very nice. Wisp wisp......

[shoottmx]

Nice clean look. Well done!

g

[Cooler]

It looks great.  Change out the plastic casters though.  They look out of place.

Brass plated @ $3.75 each from Amazon.com

[Scoony]

It looks great.  Change out the plastic casters though.  They look out of place.

Brass plated @ $3.75 each from Amazon.com

Thanks, finding the right casters is not easy. There is an all metal one with an industrial look that I use in the shop. They would look great, but would tear up the floors in the house. I had to go with what I could find locally.

The one you posted would look great if I can antique that brass a little.