Butcher Block Kitchen Countertop

[Steve Brown]

Hi all,
Anybody got any tips on building a butcher block counter top? It wants to be hard maple, 1 3/4" thick. It's 38" wide X 6'8" long, turns 90 degrees and is 25" X 106", I have a 6" joiner, 13" planer and a 16/32 drum sander. I'm thinking I straight line the 8/4 boards, cot my pieces out, join one side, and send the other side through the planer. Glue up with Titebond III and clamp with 3 or 4 cauls. Am I missing anything? Thanks,
Steve

[Ken S]

Steve,

If I could design my ideal kitchen, wood countertops would be my first choice. I spend a lot of time doing food prep in the kitchen, and wood would create a pleasant work environment.   Linoleum and formica are all I have ever used.  They are OK, but wood has a softer feel,  Solid surface and granite seem cold to me.  (I might be tempted to use a granite counter top for lapping my planes, not good for the domestic tranquility!)

That stated, I would never attempt to make the counter top myself.  I could probably do the jointer and planer work.  However, that much maple is awfully heavy and bulky to scribe fit.

Do you have experience with this kind of work?

If not, I would suggest a first project.  Make a work island.  Building a butcher block top of maple say 24" x 48" would give you a feel for the work.

This would not be a "mock up".  It would be a useful food prep and serving area.  If you put it on large wheels, you could roll it to other areas as well.  Include a separate cutting board, perhaps 18" x 24", for the actual food chopping.

The experience of building a smaller work area would help you decide if you want to continue with the large counter or contact a local counter shop.

If you do decide to go ahead yourself, by the time you are through, you will be able to change and sharpen your jointer and planer knives like a GI can field strip his rifle.

Ken

[Steve Brown]

Hey Ken,
I did one of these once before. I think it was right after the Civil War. I had a 10" contractor's saw, a few clamps, a piece of threaded rod, a fairly dull block plane and youth. It actually came out pretty good, all things considered. Planing a hard maple top with a dull block plane was pretty exciting.
Anyway, this is a different lifetime and I have a joiner, planer, good clamps, real glue, Forest blades and most importantly, a Tormek T-7. I have purchased a quantity of 8/4 hard maple and I'm going to make this thing myself. My planer blades are in pretty good shape, they have not been turned to the alternate sides and I have two new blades I can use if I need them. I've restrained myself from buying the black HSS wheel and the planer blade jig. I know it's only a matter of time. People keep asking me why I don't buy the tops pre-made and just install them. I think we both know the answer to that. When I see what can be done with Japanese hand planes, I think the next one I make will be all done by hand. Another reason why the Tormek is so important. Woodworking, my brother, is good for the soul.
Steve

[ionut]

Hi Steve,

If you have some nice looking boards and aim to expose their faces you can side join the boards, the top will be unstable as the wood moves with moisture and temperature and this setting will generate the largest movement so you will have to make sure that the mounting to the lower part of the counter would allow for that movement. Most likely the boards are larger than 6" and probably at that length (~7') would be unsafe and hard to hold the boards to use the jointer, I you use a stand would not be very effective as the extension cannot replace an extended infeed table. In my case when I prepared the 8' wood for my workbench I preferred to joint using hand planes, it takes a bit longer but you are in most of the control you need and after that I used the true face and side as references and sent the wood through planner. Also if the boards are wider than 6" cutting it to the width of the jointer is a waste of wood and wood features in my opinion, I would just plane them by hand for the reference face and then send it through the planer.
If you aim for stability then I suggest ripping the wood to the thickness of the top and join the faces of the wood together, that will give you both stability and strength and depending on the wood it is very possible to have a more uniform grain pattern.
Whatever method you choose I would also suggest using splines to aid the alignment of the top surface and add strength the to joined surfaces. When you clamp do not rush, address one joining only at a time, adding too many boards  at once to be clamped would make it very hard to align and clamp  the boards in time before the glue starts being to tacky or cured, use as many heavy clamps as possible one every foot if possible. The heavy clamping is not for the force, if the surfaces of the wood are properly prepared you don;t need tons of pressure for clamping, it is for the surface of the clamping provided. Also you will want to arrange the clamps in alternating directions.
Make sure you mark the boards for the grain direction before you glue them so you keep the grain running in the same direction to help you with final planning of the tops, I don;t have a drum sander but even if I would, I would still prefer to plane the wood than to sand it but it is your choice there.
I hope this helps.

Ionut

[Ken S]

Steve,

Based on your most recent post, I change my hesitation.  Go for it!

Ken

[Steve Brown]

I'm goin' for it, Dude. Thanks,
Steve

[Ken S]

Steve,

Since we are lean on youth, I would suggest being very sharp with the block plane!

Ken

ps Chris Schwarz's Plane book and Brian Burns, Double Bevel book might be useful to you at this time.  I recommend both.

[Ken S]

ps, Steve,

Don't sell you Civil War era block plane.  A fellow named Leonard Bailey has been pushing metal planes.  It's just a fad.  Stick with the real wooden planes.

Ken

[Steve Brown]

Ken,
I think that Bailey guy gave up on the metal planes and started making something called Bristol Cream, whatever that is. Wood planes are the best. What does he know anyway?

The following is for Ionut, Ken S. and anybody else who might care:
I have about 50 b' of 8/4 X 6" thru 9" X 9' and 10', all is S2S. I plan to straightline one side, flip it and rip 2" pieces. I will run the original S2S planed edge thru the planer once more to to clean it up, flip that and plane the other side. I'll glue up the planed faces with Titebond Delay glue at about 12" centers with Jet bar clamps and about 3 or 4 cauls in 80". I can't figure out if I should let the glue dry overnight or try to scrape when the glue is just set, in about an hour or so. I will run three 13" wide X 10' pieces thru the planer, both sides and then thru the drum sander, maybe just one side. I don't know what grit on the sander, but I'm guessing maybe 120 and 220. I will spray  about 5 coats of Enduro Var, sanding between coats with Mirka 600 grit sponge pads and 1000 grit synthetic steel wool. I have to decide on the edge treatment, but it will be minimal. Did I forget anything?
Steve

[ionut]

Hi Steve,

I never found S2S that has actually true sides, they are parallel but not true. Also when you rip them you have expect bows and twists, the wood is dried in that form so as soon as you rip it the tension distribution gets changed. At the end of the day after ripping and before doing any thickness planning you have to end with a true side and an true edge at 90 degrees of each other. You can use them then as a reference to prepare the other side and edge with the planner. If you don't have those two references nothing will be straight. You can laminate the pieces like that by forcing the boards with the clamps but there at least two major problems, it will be hard to properly align the wood under tension and if you succeed it may still slide slowly while clamped , second the lamination may fail in time and lastly the laminated assembly has will most likely end with no true face or edge and this will get propagated with each lamination. Of course you can take it to the drum sander but not having a reference surface the sander will copy the opposite surface just like a planner.
Whether is done by hand or by jointer after ripping I would true a side and an edge if they are not true and start from there. But again that's the way I work.
It is easier to clean the glue when is set , depending on the temperature and the glue that can start from 20min to an hour.
I never used Enduro Var, if it is a varnish and you have a good quality spraying machine and a very good hand, then you can probably spray it, I would brush it, it is much easier and controllable at least for me. Make sure it contains UV inhibitors if the counter is supposed to be in the sun, I would use a exterior grade polyurethane varnish. I usually sand between coats with 320-400,. The 600 grit and up should be used to finish the finish (including polishing or hand rubbing s desired).

Ionut

[Steve Brown]

Ionut,
After reading your post, I feel more apprehensive then ever. Maybe that's a good thing. I guess the first thing I need to understand is what you actually mean by "true". If the S2S surfaces are parallel, why are they not true? Then, if you do true one side with hand planes, would you start with a foreplane and then a jointer plane and would you take it to a smother plane, or just the foreplane and jointer plane, not worrying about the smother plane since that may close the grain and be counterproductive as a gluing surface? And, if you use a power jointer, why would you joint a side and an edge? I understand the side because the is actually the face that gets glued, but the unglued or exposed face can be planed and sanded after assembly, right? Or are you saying that you would joint one edge as a reference and then flip that edge and run it thru the thickness planer in order to true up those two faces so that after assembly all the exposed faces are true and therefore easier to plane flat? Finally, my power jointer is only 4' long. Will I have a problem jointing one side of a 10' board on a jointer that is only 4' long, or is it simply a matter of keeping even pressure on the outfeed side during the jointing process and using support rollers on both sides of the machine to control the 10' length?
As far as the finish, I have sucessfully sprayed Enduro Var in the past. It is a water based product made by General Finishes and it sprays nicely and lays very flat. I do have a good gun and the right compressor. Thank you for your feedback, all extremely helpful. Next time I'm in Canada, I'll buy you lunch.
Steve

[tooljunkie]

I have done a couple of 10" long maple tops & started by jointing the edge on my 6" jointer (66" long) & I did use roller stands but kept the height below the in or out feed table (only used to take the weight after complete pass)
The client wanted 2 1/2" finished thickness so this allowed me to rip all the material over size orientating the grain so that the expansion occurs in the thickness not the width then I sticker it over night to acclimatize.
Then I jointed 1 edge of each piece & then I ripped the opposing side using feather boards. ( I would have used a glue line rip blade but they say not to be used for 1" & over wood)
If the boards were good & strait I would run the boards tipped edge over the jointer.
I used biscuits to help align during glue-up & laminate planks no wider then my planer (13") then plane the blanks, then glue the planed blanks together using biscuits to help align during glue-up then you only need to do hand plane the seems.
I used Tide bond III & Tung oil, I did not want any film finish because they were going to use it as cutting board & it becomes a mess & is harder to re-finish later.
During glue up the boards are not perfectly straight to each other but it takes so little force to bring the boards together that it does not pose a problem at the glue line.


It has worked for me & has been in place for 5 years now with no problem.
Dan

[Steve Brown]

Dan,
Who's blade was it that said not to glue line rip material over 1" ? Are you using the term "glue line" and "straightline" rip interchangeably? Also, do you thing you would have had allignment problems without the biscuits? Thanks,
Steve

[tooljunkie]

Hi Steve
I have the Freud Glue Line Rip Blade Glue Line Rip Blades
• Produces extremely smooth glue line rips in hard and soft wood from 1/8" to 1" thick

I think I tried it with thicker material & it makes a horrible noise but now I am not sue, I think I will try it again because I can't remember.

do you thing you would have had alignment problems without the biscuits?

I never used biscuits years ago but It can help.
When I worked in a commercial shop we just lined up 1 end & had some one on the other end (usually me) & lifted or tweaked the boards as necessary to aline the top & clamped as you go but this would be very difficult by your self.

The guy I worked for was amazing & what he could do but never used jigs or many other helpers that you see now in wood working.

He could be called a raw woodworker

[Steve Brown]

Got it. Thanks, Dan.
Steve