An entire weekend away from the workshop - now that's just not normal. But I had a higher calling as our daughter, Georgii, was dancing at the Sydney Opera House. How could tools, shavings and sawdust compete with that? Mind you it did give me a chance to go back over my notes and plans for the kitchen bench I'm currently working on.
At roughly 3 metres long and 700mm deep it has 10 drawers and 5 cupboard doors. The benchtop is 25mm laminated tallow wood, left over from the stairs. All visible timber is Tassie Oak, to match the windows, or recycled flooring like the stairs. Behind the scenes cabinet work is garden variety framing pine. Drawers are solid dressed pine with rebated MDF bases.
Even using second hand materials the cost, including the butler's sink, is $1,400 and 100 hours, with 20 hours still to go. If I had paid new price for the recycled timber it would have added another $400 or so - but probably saved some 10 hours or so spent denailing, machining and generally trying to make things fit.
I'm pleased with some of the recycling I've done, including:
- A Metter's slow combustion stove door picked up in Sydney for $20.
- Solid polished brass hinges, circa 1880, from Glasgow. A bargain at $20 for the lot.
- 4 singer sewing machine drawers, $5 each. One was missing its fancy front so I carved a copy.
- Floorboard offcuts from my Dad's sawmill, $0. (Dad sold the mill 25 years ago, so these have been kicking around for a while).
- Butler's sink, handmade in India, $400 from eBay.
If nothing else it will be a unique kitchen - you have to love recycling.
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