She wants to take this thrift shop dresser and convert it into a kitchen island/breakfast nook.



Original dresser will be stripped and painted white, bottom drawer removed and made into a shelf and an oversized top put on it. The top of the dresser needed to be raised 2" to get the height for the top right.





Back will be covered with v-match panelling and painted to match.



Top will be cherry veneer plywood with solid cherry banding with a medium dark red oak stain and an epoxy bartop finish poured on the top. The top overhangs the original back and one side to act as a countertop/dining surface with bar stool seating.



The banding is dadoed with a 1/8 inch lip on the top to act as a "dam" when the bar top is poured.

Awesome!

On the bar top, what do you use? I'm guessing it will be 1/8" thick?

quote:

Originally posted by Riley:
Awesome!

On the bar top, what do you use? I'm guessing it will be 1/8" thick?

That's the plan. I'll use this stuff.



I used a similar product probably 20 years ago when I did this counter. It wraps from the stove, around the end of the wall and into the dining room. Same process, a new 1/4" birch plywood top, stained, banded with maple, and then the epoxy poured in the resulting "well". It's held up amazingly well.

You have to be REAL careful mixing the pour so as not to entrain air bubbles in the mix. A few are inevitable, but if you're quick, you can work them out with the heat from a hair dryer or heat gun before the epoxy sets up.

 
Nice you left those beautiful Queen Anne legs intact!
 
Otherwise, the project looks great.
 

Both legs have chipped/split "toes", I'll be attempting to repair those when the weather warms up a bit.

Doing fussy work in my unheated garage when it's single digits outside is generally not productive...

Looks good now. Looking forward to seeing it when it is finished

Not sure what kind of epoxy you're using, my dad used to use a heated sewing needle to work out air bubbles.

Update: just saw your link to the epoxy. Probably close as my dad was doing tuna and other private boats along with house type bar units with marine grade epoxy.

Great looking project and if that's an International Harvester shop stool in the background, you rock. Let's see some pics when complete.

quote:

Originally posted by muzzleloader:
Great looking project and if that's an International Harvester shop stool in the background, you rock. Let's see some pics when complete.

Good eyes! It is indeed an IH stool.

Dad was bi-tractoral, owning both IH and JD, but IH pretty much ruled my neighborhood in the 50's and 60's.

The picture is my 1938 Farmall F-14. Just a big toy from a getting things done standpoint, but fun to play with hauling trailers and such.

Weather warmed up enough to permit the next step: Prepping and staining the top.

I've coated it with stain prep, which REALLY brings out the grain in the cherry veneer plywood.

We experimented on scraps over the weekend and the difference in grain between the veneer plywood and the actual cherry hardwood trim is WAY too noticeable. No way to match the stains so she decided to Celebrate Diversity and paint the edging in japanned black laquer. With the natural top and the white base, I think it will be quite distinctive. Shame about painting over the nice cherry trim tho.

Just waiting the recommended amount of time after pre-treating to apply the stain.

Top with a light coat of Red Oak stain. The epoxy bar coating over that will darken it a little.