New Number 1 DIY disaster

[Halo Jones]

Thanks for all your ideas. We have accepted that we are not going to make anything like a seamless repair. So, with the idea that at some point in the future I may pick up the courage/will to make a brand new top for the time being we will just hide it!

The part that is damaged is above where our food waste bin is going to be and the cooker sits right behind that spot on the island where the damage is. So - I will make a "feature" end grain chopping board that is designed with a lip to sit over the edge of the island and allow the veggie off-cuts to be scraped straight into the compost bin.

 

[novocaine]

Great. Now delete or lock the thread befote the tirade of discussion about something thats already decided starts.

 

[Setch]

Thanks for all your ideas. We have accepted that we are not going to make anything like a seamless repair. So, with the idea that at some point in the future I may pick up the courage/will to make a brand new top for the time being we will just hide it!

The part that is damaged is above where our food waste bin is going to be and the cooker sits right behind that spot on the island where the damage is. So - I will make a "feature" end grain chopping board that is designed with a lip to sit over the edge of the island and allow the veggie off-cuts to be scraped straight into the compost bin.

Sounds like an excellent solution, good lateral thinking.

 

[doctor Bob]

I think I posted in your previous thread about the SS top we did.
Bad luck, mistakes like this are so frustrating, but they happen and sometimes you just have to suck it up.
Like the chopping block solution.
I wouldn't let the guys do the edge as it's risky and expensive, So I did it, very, very carefully.

 

[AES]

@Halo Jones: Whatever happens mate, I reckon you're going to thoroughly deserve that first part of your Forum handle!

But speaking seriously for a mo, I don't personally know either novocaine or Rorschach. But having been a member here myself for some years now, I have learnt that both of those blokes tend to speak good "horse sense" when it comes to bashing metal about in various ways. Now you have the situation where one bloke says "Yeah. Might be a good idea to have a go at that" (and I tend to fall into that view myself too, though my own welding experience is very limited), while another bloke, equally to be respected, says "No chance mate".

I honestly don't know what you should do, but if you regard your food waste bin chute idea as "only" a temporary solution, I can only suggest you investigate the welding "possibility" more deeply. For a start perhaps a PM to member TFrench???

As I've tried to indicate above, I've got no personal axe to grind here - I just THINK" that done in the "right" way (whatever that may be), welding MAY produce a suitable solution. But one thing you CAN be sure of if you do go further in that direction, novocaine is dead right if my own experience of aviation-approved aero engine component welders is anything to go by - such a welding job would cost an arm and a leg!

How much is a complete new SS worktop worth to you BTW?

Anyway, all due respect to both members above, and again, good luck to you whatever you do (and BTW, novocaine is also right IMO when he says we do NOT want a great long argument about this here)!

Cheers

 

[novocaine]

Ok parting remark on the subject.

Would you let a bloke set a small fire in your new kitchen followed by chucking metal dust all over it?
I would not.

Doesnt matter. Good solution has been found.

 

[Rorschach]

I've seen some amazing work done on incredibly thin SS stock by a good welder but novocaine makes a good point about the cost. A good welder could do it, but it would be expensive, a cheap welder could do it, but might cause damage.

I think your solution is wise and as I mentioned, it will get damaged over time anyway and it might soon blend in after you have "refinished" the top once or twice.

 

[Halo Jones]

I think I posted in your previous thread about the SS top we did.
.......
I wouldn't let the guys do the edge as it's risky and expensive, So I did it, very, very carefully.

Bob - you did post in the previous thread and your island top was the inspiration for ours. Next time the wife does it so I don't get the blame - except she would do it flawlessly! I need to let it go and move on.

AES - the raw materials for the top came in at about £300 so not the end of the world financially. I thought it was really good value for the final look - if I had executed it properly! It is the work and potentially "f@#king it up" at the last minute again that puts me off - for now.

As for the welding back and forth. I realised I know the director of a local engineering firm because his son is a Cub at the pack I lead. Turns out they fabricate a lot of stainless steel.... He said it could be welded and ground back but he wouldn't do it because the steel would warp and distort and never lie as flat as it was.

Thanks again for all the advice and not laughing out loud

 

[Deadeye]

Well, it's a new year and I have probably just made my biggest DIY disaster to date!

Last year I posted about making an island unit with a stainless steel top Stainless steel for island.

Yesterday I was doing the final touches routing the oak lipping so it was flush with edge of the stainless steel. All was going well and was doing the final edge when I caught the corner and the router kicked up across the top causing:


Now, a huge part of me is just very happy and relived that it was the stainless steel and not any of my fleshy parts that got caught. My better half doesn't quite see it like that at the moment .

Scrapping the top and starting again is not going to happen so I have to try and minimise the impact. Does anyone have any ideas about the best way forward?! I have seen kits like repair kit, perhaps used in combination with steel putty. Or, if anyone knows of a company that might be able to fix dings like this and they are in the Edinburgh/Fife/Dundee area then please let me know! The last thing I want to do is take abrasives to the area and make a big patch that doesn't match the rest of the top. Perhaps we just live with the scar - at least we won't have to worry about making the first mark in the top .........

(edited to try and get images to show)View attachment 101340View attachment 101341

Ouch!

Different idea: rub down the worst in just that area, until smooth. Then choose a dinner-plate sized silhoutte you really like; make a stencil and sand/shot blast/etch a pattern on.

In other words...make it a feature. https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/dp0AAOSwq7pfNFxU/s-l1600.jpg

Or inlay a geode slice

 

[foxbat]

Resign yourself to the look, embrace it as a talking point?

 

[Terrytpot]

The last thing I want to do is take abrasives to the area and make a big patch that doesn't match the rest of the topView attachment 101340

A while back I obtained an almost brand new gas hob from my mother's neighbour who "didn't get on with it" and gave it to me as a thank you for services rendered. The only real issue with it was the horrendous mess she'd made of its brushed stainless top by attacking it with , I'd swear, a brillo pad! Before swmbo would let me install it at ours I had to rectify the finish which didn't end up as hard as I suspected it would have been (although very scratched,it was nothing like the bites taken out of yours,more like the bits from 60-95mm shown above). I started by removing all the bits and bobs attached to the hob then grabbed a scotchbrite scouring pad and some olive oil and went at it making sure I followed the existing grain pattern. Five minutes later it was good as new

 

[mikej460]

Ouch!

Different idea: rub down the worst in just that area, until smooth. Then choose a dinner-plate sized silhoutte you really like; make a stencil and sand/shot blast/etch a pattern on.

In other words...make it a feature. https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/dp0AAOSwq7pfNFxU/s-l1600.jpg

Or inlay a geode slice

I like this idea but could be a messy business not to mention expensive. You could make a nice oak chopping block to match and either cut out a hole in the steel or glue it over the damaged bit?

 

[Notters]

Well, it's a new year and I have probably just made my biggest DIY disaster to date!

Last year I posted about making an island unit with a stainless steel top Stainless steel for island.

Yesterday I was doing the final touches routing the oak lipping so it was flush with edge of the stainless steel. All was going well and was doing the final edge when I caught the corner and the router kicked up across the top causing:


Now, a huge part of me is just very happy and relived that it was the stainless steel and not any of my fleshy parts that got caught. My better half doesn't quite see it like that at the moment .

Scrapping the top and starting again is not going to happen so I have to try and minimise the impact. Does anyone have any ideas about the best way forward?! I have seen kits like repair kit, perhaps used in combination with steel putty. Or, if anyone knows of a company that might be able to fix dings like this and they are in the Edinburgh/Fife/Dundee area then please let me know! The last thing I want to do is take abrasives to the area and make a big patch that doesn't match the rest of the top. Perhaps we just live with the scar - at least we won't have to worry about making the first mark in the top .........

(edited to try and get images to show)View attachment 101340View attachment 101341

 

[Notters]

Well, it's a new year and I have probably just made my biggest DIY disaster to date!

Last year I posted about making an island unit with a stainless steel top Stainless steel for island.

Yesterday I was doing the final touches routing the oak lipping so it was flush with edge of the stainless steel. All was going well and was doing the final edge when I caught the corner and the router kicked up across the top causing:


Now, a huge part of me is just very happy and relived that it was the stainless steel and not any of my fleshy parts that got caught. My better half doesn't quite see it like that at the moment .

Scrapping the top and starting again is not going to happen so I have to try and minimise the impact. Does anyone have any ideas about the best way forward?! I have seen kits like repair kit, perhaps used in combination with steel putty. Or, if anyone knows of a company that might be able to fix dings like this and they are in the Edinburgh/Fife/Dundee area then please let me know! The last thing I want to do is take abrasives to the area and make a big patch that doesn't match the rest of the top. Perhaps we just live with the scar - at least we won't have to worry about making the first mark in the top .........

(edited to try and get images to show)View attachment 101340View attachment 101341

 

[Notters]

Looks like a good place for a matching oak chopping board!

 

[johnny]

sorry for your mishap.......you must be gutted .

My advice for what it is worth is that you will never be satisfied with any sort of repair.

Whatever you do it will still show because you will never be able to match perfectly the brushed satin stainless finish of the rest of the worktop.

This is what I would do.


Apply a thin Stainless steel Trivet pad!....... placed over the top of the damage made with the same finish it would blend in perfectly and look designed that way....you could get it engraved or embossed with a picture of your house or cat/dog or something
https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/meta...oL5euQjUre2C9zLQDsxoCJj0QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[johnny]

 

[sirocosm]

I had a full stainless restaurant style kitchen in a previous house. Most of it was purchased used and there were lots of nicks and scratches everywhere. I am going to assume you put stainless there because that area will take some abuse, so it won't be long before you have many more nicks and scratches. So I would just buff and/or flatten anything that might catch, and leave it at that.

A couple of the used stainless furniture items we bought had holes drilled in them for various reasons. One we hid by installing a small steam table, and the other with a trash ring.

 

[GuitardoctorW7]

Bump

 

[Limey Lurker]

I rather like the idea of TIG Brazing; perhaps TIG Silver-soldering is a possibility; it would need less heat than even a TIG Braze, so would likely distort much less. There are several videos on You Tube.