In my kitchen, we are a cramped for counter space so I want to make a flip up cutting-board. The flip-up part would be attached to the side of our “island” which is 3/4” particle board. I’ll have some kind of leg or fold-out-triangle to support the cutting board when it’s up. I have access to the other side of the particleboard, so I could use nuts/bolts as opposed to anchors/screws. I will probably use a wood backer there for extra support as TopamaxSurvivor suggested.
I found a great piece of beech counter top in the IKEA as-is section. After I cut it down, I’m estimating it’ll be about 12 lbs.
The counter overhangs by 1.375” and the cutting board is 1” thick but the counter 1.125” thick. This makes it a little harder to have the cutting board flush with the counter top. I’ll have to add a 1/8” inch piece between the board and the hinge, as far as I can tell.
In the designs below, brown is the cabinet, white is the counter, and orange would be the additions needed for this project. I’m leaning towards design 2 since it will look better when folded down.
Design 1: up and down
Design 2: up and down
If you care to see pics of the actual cabinets: here and here
p.s. I recommend the IKEA as-is section for low budget wood hackers. It’s mostly particle board for $2 but it’s cheap for playing around, making shelves, etc. They have hardwood counter tops and table tops that are cheap too, usually with some cosmetic damage. Not to mention other furniture-related odds and ends. It’s a goldmine for a DIYer.
-- Matt - Brooklyn, NY
4 comments so far
Jei'son
home | projects | blog
946 posts in 1305 days
#1 posted 1218 days ago
If you’re going to have a fold down/flip out supporting brace, design 1 is likely better, since you’ll likely need that space behind it for the brace to fold into.
-- - Jei, Rockford IL - When in doubt, spray it with WD-40 and wrap it with duct tape. The details will attend to themselves.
Broooklyn
home | projects | blog
48 posts in 1245 days
#2 posted 1212 days ago
Yea, that’s a good point. I’m wondering if I could fashion a metal rod as the leg and stash it in the cabinet when not in use. Then I can keep the board flush when it’s down i.e. Design 2.
-- Matt - Brooklyn, NY
Jei'son
home | projects | blog
946 posts in 1305 days
#3 posted 1212 days ago
maybe you could make a kind of lip around the underside of the edges, so that you have a hollow area underneath that can hide the hardware when its folded up as per design 1, but it LOOKS flush when its folded down as per design 2
-- - Jei, Rockford IL - When in doubt, spray it with WD-40 and wrap it with duct tape. The details will attend to themselves.
Broooklyn
home | projects | blog
48 posts in 1245 days
#4 posted 1211 days ago
That would be pretty slick. I think I’d have to buy a router for that! Been looking for an excuse :]
-- Matt - Brooklyn, NY
Have your say...