Hello everyone,
I'm new here, and have been reading a lot. I have built bar tops for customers before but not of this size or environment and I am trying to decide the joining of this corner.
The bar is 18" wide made of 3 sections to form a "L". The length of the pieces are: 6' butt to a 22.5˚ miter, next piece is 3', mitered on both sides to a 7' long section forming the "L".
The material is 3/4" flat sawn solid oak, 3 1/2" wide planks, alternating grain (smile up, smile down to minimize cupping), glued and joined using biscuits for alignment. There is an apron on the back of the bar to conceal the plywood base and the nose has a beefy apron which I am going about to add a 3'4" round over. The bar will be sitting on top of plywood base with a sheet of rosin paper between the two. I plan on drilling 1/2" holes through the plywood then fastening the bar top down with screws centered through the 1/2" holes with fender washers so the top can move. That's what I am working with. The bottom of the oak will be sealed along with the top. I haven't figured that part out yet.
The bar is going in a coffee shop. Sometimes it is really hot in there, especially when I go for coffee in the morning as the equipment heats up the space quite a lot over night when they are closed and shut off the air.
I am having a hard time deciding on a joint type for the bar corners. I was thinking about doing a blind spline. Not sure if I should glue it.
What do you think? I've read everything from gluing the outside 3" of the corners and bolting the pieces together, to just countertop bolts, biscuits (yuck). I want the corner to stay together if possible due to drink spills and hopefully pull my finish over the joints and not have it crack. I suppose that would be gluing the spline.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Tom
Here is a picture of where I am at:
I'm new here, and have been reading a lot. I have built bar tops for customers before but not of this size or environment and I am trying to decide the joining of this corner.
The bar is 18" wide made of 3 sections to form a "L". The length of the pieces are: 6' butt to a 22.5˚ miter, next piece is 3', mitered on both sides to a 7' long section forming the "L".
The material is 3/4" flat sawn solid oak, 3 1/2" wide planks, alternating grain (smile up, smile down to minimize cupping), glued and joined using biscuits for alignment. There is an apron on the back of the bar to conceal the plywood base and the nose has a beefy apron which I am going about to add a 3'4" round over. The bar will be sitting on top of plywood base with a sheet of rosin paper between the two. I plan on drilling 1/2" holes through the plywood then fastening the bar top down with screws centered through the 1/2" holes with fender washers so the top can move. That's what I am working with. The bottom of the oak will be sealed along with the top. I haven't figured that part out yet.
The bar is going in a coffee shop. Sometimes it is really hot in there, especially when I go for coffee in the morning as the equipment heats up the space quite a lot over night when they are closed and shut off the air.
I am having a hard time deciding on a joint type for the bar corners. I was thinking about doing a blind spline. Not sure if I should glue it.
What do you think? I've read everything from gluing the outside 3" of the corners and bolting the pieces together, to just countertop bolts, biscuits (yuck). I want the corner to stay together if possible due to drink spills and hopefully pull my finish over the joints and not have it crack. I suppose that would be gluing the spline.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Tom
Here is a picture of where I am at: