So what do you think? - Woodworking Talk

Jason W · 01-09-2009, 11:33 PM

I've been working on this, on the side for a few days. My wife wanted a butcher block top for the island in our kitchen. All I could get my hands on was off the shelf Maple boards that were 1 x 6". The darker boards are Mahogany. I cut them down to 1 1/2" strips and used the Festool Domino to join them all along with edge gluing each piece.

I need a supplier for rough cut soon! I started with 3/4" material and ended up with a 1/2" thick top. We are milling the edge band for it this weekend, everything else is covered with dust in the pic.

Rob · 01-10-2009, 12:49 AM

I like it!

Sawduster · 01-10-2009, 01:05 AM

That's really pretty. What finish are you putting on it? I don't think I'll show it to my wife.

Jason W · 01-10-2009, 01:19 AM

I used John Boos "Mystery Oil". It came from one of my larger local finishes suppliers. It's totally safe on food prep. areas and made for butcher block tops. I sanded out the top with 120 grit and the added the oil and sanded down to 220 and then 400 with the oil on the surface. I wiped it clean and added another coat of oil. It turned out better than expected, thanks for the compliments

GeorgeC · 01-10-2009, 08:24 AM

" I need a supplier for rough cut soon!"

www.walllumber.com if you do not mind ordering long distance.

George

smitty1967 · 01-10-2009, 11:48 AM

I think you should give up woodworking and go back to bricklaying or roofing or some other painless hobby. You obviously aren't very good at woodworking. I'll come over and take all those noisey, dusty woodworking tools and get them out of your way....

good job! looks like it was the perfect color and fit...good on you.
smitty

Gerry KIERNAN · 01-10-2009, 12:03 PM

Very nice looking countertop Jason.

Gerry

daryl in nanoose · 01-10-2009, 12:51 PM

That's assume, extremely nice work

Kenbo · 01-10-2009, 03:34 PM

If my wife sees this, I'm doomed. Great job. I'm sure your wife loves it too.

firehawkmph · 01-10-2009, 04:06 PM

Jason,
Nice job on the top. Nice pattern, nice finish. Make sure you post some pics when you get the edging on.
Mike Hawkins

Ohio Ron · 01-10-2009, 09:41 PM

Looks great Jason, but you may encounter a problem. My wife wanted a cutting board and I made her one that looks similar to yours. It is a yard long and 24 inches wide and half inch thick. I treated it good with mineral oil and she loved it. However it will sometimes warp with humidity changes. It always comes back, but mine is not attached. I was wondering if you have some kind of backing under it. How is it attached? My wife also has to remember that it is a heat sensitive material.

Sure is an eye catcher!

Jason W · 01-10-2009, 10:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ohio Ron

Looks great Jason, but you may encounter a problem. My wife wanted a cutting board and I made her one that looks similar to yours. It is a yard long and 24 inches wide and half inch thick. I treated it good with mineral oil and she loved it. However it will sometimes warp with humidity changes. It always comes back, but mine is not attached. I was wondering if you have some kind of backing under it. How is it attached? My wife also has to remember that it is a heat sensitive material.

Sure is an eye catcher!

Ron,

I used Tightbond III w/100% coverage for the glue up to the 3/4" plywood sub-surface and then back screwed the top down from the plywood to the finished top. I had those concerns when I realized I was down to a 1/2" of thickness so I figured this would hold things the best.

Thanks for the good words guys

I love this stuff

Ohio Ron · 01-11-2009, 12:25 AM

It should be ok, just remember to clean and treat it every few months with mineral oil. Bacteria can get embedded in cutting board, but I don't think that your wife will treat it like a cutting board. She will treat it like a family heirloom that her hubby made.

Tony B · 01-11-2009, 11:30 AM

I'm sure your wife loves it and it will be bragged about for a long time to come. There is nothing so beautiful as something you create for yourself.
I have a few questions.
1) Why did you use the Festool Domino when you could have just glued them up?
2) How did you lose a 1/4 inch off of the total thickness? Was this due to irregularities caused by the Festool ?
3) Was any kind of allowance made for expansion/contraction movement of the wood top ?

Jason W · 01-11-2009, 11:51 AM

Hi Tony, I'm fairly new to this type of work so this is all learn as you go for me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tony B

I'm sure your wife loves it and it will be bragged about for a long time to come. There is nothing so beautiful as something you create for yourself.
I have a few questions.
1) Why did you use the Festool Domino when you could have just glued them up?
My original thought was that this would help keep things lined up and add strength to the joints.
2) How did you lose a 1/4 inch off of the total thickness? Was this due to irregularities caused by the Festool ?
Thats exactly what happened. The Domino is great for cabinet doors and such, but it turns out to be not a good choice for this application. Next time it will be a straight glue up.
3) Was any kind of allowance made for expansion/contraction movement of the wood top ?

I couldn't do to much in regards to that.It had to be glued down and clamped to the plywood. The back screws however are two rows running fairly close to the center. I'm not sure how I would be able to allow for movement of the top in this type of application. If you have any suggestions, I'm all ears. I have two more to do on the rest of the kitchen. Those will not have the Mahogany strips in it.

Thanks,
Jason

**Leo G** · 01-11-2009, 12:55 PM

Looks good. I am worried that the plywood backer glued to the solid wood will make for an expansion difference issue during the different times of years. If it is screwed down you will probably have no issues. If it were me, I would have made the strips 1 3/8" wide and glued them so they were in the vertical position [1 3/8"] tall and 3/4" wide. I have access to someone elses widebelt and would bring it down to about 1 1/4". It would have taken more wood but you wouldn't have the two different substrates glued to each other. Otherwise make it 1 9/32 and sand by hand.

Still looks good, I like the color contrasts.

Jason W · 01-11-2009, 01:41 PM

Do you guys think I should skip the glue and only back screw the other tops? I'd like to keep the thickness at a 3/4" max so the edge doesn't exceed 1 1/2". I built the cabinets and the glued/screwed the plywood top to them. I really don't want to think about removing the plywood top. The Maple tops were an after thought.

Thanks again,
Jason

Jason W · 01-11-2009, 01:54 PM

These are the two areas I have left to do.

sawduststeve · 01-11-2009, 02:06 PM

Wow looks like a big project. I made a countertop only I glued 3/8 " thick strips of Oak to 3/4" MDF and then edged it with 1 1/2" x 3/4" oak board. Also I have a 2' x 6' cutting board that I made out of maple. Did some research and found where they tested wood cutting boards against plastic. They found that when you contaminate both with ecoli that something in the wood kills the bacteria. Where on the plastic the bacteria had to be removed with disinfectant. That must be why all your old butcher blocks were wood. Great looking counter!!!

Sawduster · 01-11-2009, 02:29 PM

I thought old butcher blocks were wood because they didn't have plastic in the old days.

Seriously, that's an interesting point.