I made a few changes to the original plans for this island. I had to convert all measurements to metric to begin with. I live in Portugal and standard size woods, such as 2x4s are simply not available. I found a lumber yard that had some extremely nice German Oak which was a pleasure to work with. Although, this did add some weight to the finished project. All wood needed to be jointed and planed to ensure straightness. The "X" cross braces are full length. I used my router to remove half the thickness where they intersect so that they interlock with each other.
The granite top was a remnant we brought with us when we moved here and was sized and shaped previously. Instead of using pocket screws to join pieces together I opted for doweling all pieces and did not use screws at all, except when attaching the tracks for the drawer.
Fortunately, the overall plans did not require much alteration to accommodate the granite.
I would have liked larger wheels but these allowed for the island to match the countertop height in our kitchen.
Christopher Mathrusse
