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All posts by myleankitchen
The Metal finishing
Every project we do, commercial or residential, we see more and more custom metal products mixed in with the wood products.
I personally love the look of wood and metal together. It may be trendy right now, but I think they complement each other well. Ultimately we did not want to add another color or finish in the kitchen, so we decided to finish the custom metal brackets and frames to match the cabinet hardware.
Top Knob Brand Handle
The first thing I do when I get metal work back from my fabricator (Classic Welding in North Haven, CT), is wash it down with a cleaner that is adaptable to finish.
I only do a light sanding, I don’t want to take away from the look of the metal. I want the the welds & inconsistencies to come through the paint. I sprayed it first with a rust-oleum aged copper paint .
It is very important to let it dry overnight in a properly heated area.
Give it a light rub with fine steel wool. Then use a tack cloth to wipe it down.
Then I sprayed it with a walnut brown paint. While it’s wet, I’ll take a rag on my finger and wipe the corners to show the copper thru. Inconsistency is key, after all, it is metal.
This handle is the look I am trying to achieve
Again, I let it dry overnight in a properly heated area.
I like to go through and enhance any of the areas such as the welds or other corners with sandpaper and rub it through a little further.
Again steel wool to rub it down and then tack cloth it again. I use a satin clear top coat to protect the finish, it gives it that professional look when done.
Here are some shots of the completed metal work installed:
Another side note, the Blacksmith bolts I used were purchased here.
See more pics on our Facebook page!
BP’s kitchen remodel using time lapse photos
Check out my 4 month project in 4 minutes with 728 Time Lapse photos in 4 minutes 15 seconds.
I used the new FastCam by FastCap Time Lapse camera.
My wife and I discussed our kitchen design for over a year before we started the project. The overall design changed 3 times & we made minor changes through the entire process. Our goal was to create a Beautiful, Lean, user friendly kitchen that is great for entertaining. Thanks to all of our friends for helping out through out the project!
Lean Commercial Kitchen – FastCap style
Paul is my “LEAN” mentor
Open Shelving – nothing leaner…..
From the open shelving on the wall to the silverware on the counter, eliminating doors on residential cabinetry may be trendy right now, but it is also very Lean too! The idea behind this concept is to use open shelving for the items you use most. If you find yourself reaching to open a cabinet door a few times a day, chances are, you will benefit from open shelving.
Everyone runs their kitchens differently. For us, we serve the food on the plates immediately. Thus having them at an arms reach of the cooktop is imperative. Notice the silverware on the countertop. Probably the most opened drawer in our last kitchen. Keeping this on the countertop all the time is not only more convenient, but it is a visual reminder that the silverware (& plateware) needs to be washed or emptied from the dishwasher.
In the photo below, you see the cooking utensils in a ceramic jar, it is sitting on a lazy-susan base so we can grab that tool quickly that always seems to be in the back of the jar 🙂 The knife block holds only knives used for cooking, all steak knives are hiding away in a drawer. Tammy always keeps that little plate on the counter for the stirring/mixing tool that is currently being used. It just helps to keep the countertop clean.
So, what are the Attributes of Lean/Waste here that were solved?
• Transportation – This certainly decreases the transportation of moving around your kitchen ware & not to mention the food!
• Inventory – This open shelving method helps you keep a visual inventory of everything. You will know it is missing before you start cooking. There is no excuse!
• Motion – opening/closing doors & reaching in awkward places for silver & plate ware are no longer a problem
• Extra-processing – Extra processing can include things like opening/closing doors & drawers, taking out plates & bowls form cabinets & re-locating them to counter. Going on that hunt for the missing silverware. Overall, you always want to decrease your movements, therefore saving in processing!
LEAN coffee?
How can this coffee maker be LEAN you ask? For one simple reason… The water is “hard piped” in. We will never again need to pull off the container, bring it to the sink, and fill it up again!The amount of time this saves, is incredible! Especially for a house full of coffee drinkers!
Attributes of Lean/Waste:
- Motion – Motions no longer used are walking the water reservoir from under the coffee maker to the sink, standing there waiting to fill it, then again walking it back to the coffee maker & putting it back in place.
- Waiting – This saves an easy 2 minutes per day of re-filling! (although it seems like so much more…)
- Transportation – A hard piped coffee maker eliminates the transportation between the sink and the machine
- Extra-Processing – Just count all the steps that were eliminated in this process, so much more time to just enjoy your cup of coffee!
We used Kuerig model 150-P
Although this is a commercial grade coffee machine, don’t let anyone tell you can’t put it in your house! Also dont forget to add a good pre-filter system, the minerals in the water are no good for the machine.
The American Innovator – Lean Truck | 2 Second Lean | Lean Book | Lean Culture
I must credit Paul Akers of FastCap for introducing me to the LEAN culture. Although in the video he talks about me being Lean, I was not really aware of term before he explained it to me. Now understanding the long term effects of being Lean, I will continue my journey of continuous improvement & fixing the things that bug me.
The American Innovator – Lean Truck | 2 Second Lean | Lean Book | Lean Culture.
2 Second Lean | What is Lean? | Lean Manufacturing | Lean Culture | Lean Thinking
Pot Filler LEAN
Attributes of Lean/Waste:
- Motion – Motions no longer used are walking the pot from under the cooktop to the sink, standing there waiting to fill it, then again walking it back to the cooktop to be boiled.
- Waiting – Sink faucets have aerators which slow down the water flow. Typically, Pot Fillers do not, therefore speeding up the pot filling process
- Transportation – A Pot filler eliminates the transportation between the sink and the cooktop
- Extra-Processing – Just count all the steps that were eliminated in this process, look at all the extra time you have to write about it now!
Add all this with the storage of the pots within reach of the cooktop & the built in sink colander just a step away as you can see here, and we have just saved a whole lot of time!
If you have ever filled a pot at the faucet and walked it over to the cooktop, then you will agree, a pot filler will make it easier!
Spice Storage Shelving
Attributes of Lean/Waste:
• Inventory – You never need to search & dig for your spices, If you are running low, using this exposed system of spice storge, you WILL know!
• Motion – We used to keep spices behind closed doors, now, we save the motion of constantly opening & closing cabinet doors, and, walking further than we need to to find oils, spices & other daily used items!
Remember, Just 5s it!
Keeping on the spices and oils
exposed at an arms reach to the cooktop was very important to us. The glass containers allow a visual identification as well as printed labels for confirmation.
This iron spice storage rack is custom made by Classic Welding in North Haven, CT. After the iron is properly washed, a 3 step finish is applied. An aged copper base coat (must let dry overnight) then a brown spray paint that is immediately wiped on the corners before it dries. After it is dried, a random lite rub-through sanding is done, to enhance the aged look. When I am happy with the look, I spray a satin clear coat over it to protect and enhance it.
The same process was done on the frame surrounding the tray ceiling.
