Butcher block countertop (final pics 5/16)

[bigslickwood]

My sister is renovating a 1930's house in Spokane that they will move into when they move up here in June. I'm building a countertop for the island in the middle of the kitchen.

Here's the blocks rough-cut and laid out so that we can make sure the distribution (although supposedly random) is fairly even. I'll start dowelling these into strips, s4s the strips, and then biscuit the strips together. Should be pretty cool when done, I won't be able to keep my hands off it when I go to her house. Wood is sexy.

It's a mix of about 50% hard maple, 20% cherry, and the remaining 30% is split between canarywood, bubinga, padauk, walnut, sapelle, and leopardwood.

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/5rowleys/IMG_0750.jpg

[sunsetpizza]

Looks cool as shit! -- explain this to my though please - not sure what this means.... thanks.


I'll start dowelling these into strips, s4s the strips, and then biscuit the strips together.

[Quads]

That is seriously bad ass.
I looked at a house a while back, which will always stick with me. The kitchen was amazing. The island was a walnut, red oak, Birch, and mahogany measuring about 6' by 10'. It was used / "weathered" like it would be had it been a cutting board, and was just stunning looking.

The rest of the house was cool, but the kitchen and the island stuck with me.

Post picks of the installed product. Looking forward to seeing it.

[Quads]

btw, I'm going to move this to other projects.

[bigslickwood]

Looks cool as shit! -- explain this to my though please - not sure what this means.... thanks.

These started out as 8/4 rough cut boards that were about 6" wide. 8/4 was about 13/16" thick and they were planed fairly smooth on the wide faces and ripped on one edge. I cut these down into the 1-3/4" wide strips and planed them to the same thickness, so when I was done I had a whole bunch of 1-3/4" square strips. Then I ripped each of these into 3" long blocks. All of those blocks are what you see in the picture above.

The next step will be to take each individual block and drill two holes in one face. I'll use 1/4" dowels in each of these holes to form the blocks into a long strip in the long dimension (about 1200 dowels total). Using the dowels should line up the blocks fairly closely along two faces, but the strips won't be perfectly smooth on all sides. I'll then take the 'rough' strips, and use the jointer on the two 'smooth' faces so that they should be perfectly flat and perpendicular to each other. Then I'll run it through the planer to smooth and parallel the other two faces. When done, I'll have 23 strips that are all perfectly square, smooth and identically sized. "s4s" means "surfaced 4 sides".

I'll then take each of those strips and using a slot cutting router bit, put matching slots on opposing faces of each strip. I'll join each strip to the next one using biscuits. By having them already planed, and then using a router to reference from the smooth face, these should all glue up pretty close to perfect. (finger's crossed).

Hopefully at that point we will only need a sander to smooth and finish the top. I'll round all the edges with a 1/2" roundover bit. Then finish the whole thing with just mineral oil.

I'll post pictures of the steps along the way.

[sunsetpizza]

thanks for the explanation... makes sense now.... I think... so the top will not be the end grain side we see now right? beer dulls me senses at times. ;) the top will be the side of the blocks?

[bigslickwood]

It will be the end grain top. They'll just be smoothed and sized so that they glue up nice and clean and tight.

Pics will help, I'll hopefully get some of the strips done tomorrow.

[j p frog]

nice work sir.

[waymac]

Holy Crap! That looks sweet already. That is quite the project, there are so many variables, I don't have the skill or the tools to get something like that done(and square) Kudos to you man! Can't wait to see progress and finished pics.

[bigslickwood]

Holy Crap! That looks sweet already. That is quite the project, there are so many variables, I don't have the skill or the tools to get something like that done(and square) Kudos to you man! Can't wait to see progress and finished pics.

It's pretty stressful. I'm sitting here constantly thinking over the steps in my head. When you've spent $700 on lumber, and you've used it all, you REALLY don't want to mess it up. I thought I had plenty of extra, but have added one extra row in each dimension, so that ate most of it. I've got like 10 extra blocks of maple left if something goes awry.

We'll see how it goes...

[j p frog]

It's pretty stressful. I'm sitting here constantly thinking over the steps in my head. When you've spent $700 on lumber, and you've used it all, you REALLY don't want to mess it up. I thought I had plenty of extra, but have added one extra row in each dimension, so that ate most of it. I've got like 10 extra blocks of maple left if something goes awry.

We'll see how it goes...

I have seen dowels used in one direction with threaded rods in the other to tighten things up and keep them that way. The nuts are recessed into the blocks and then plugged with similar wood plugs. Good luck!

[huge1s]

You sir, are a legend.

[MsprinM]

any progress updates?

[SVTF]

any progress updates?

x2 do you have this thing done yet? ;)

[JbaIV]

Just seeing this for the first time and man that looks fanfunkingtastic! :D

[gator20]

Just seeing this for the first time and man that looks fanfunkingtastic! :D



Me too, would love some during and after pics...I have an idea of building an island when I redo my kitchen. This would be sweet!!!!!

[bigslickwood]

I've been on hold for the last week trying to get a final dimension from the builder. Just starting to glue today and it's a mess. The dowels aren't lining things up as well as I'd hoped. I'll take pictures. It'll either turn out well or will be an epic failure.

Fortunately, I do have some extra wood now as the final dimensions weren't as large as originally planned. Worse comes to worse, I just have to plane more off to get things square...

Thanks for the interest.

[bigslickwood]

It's going to be a miracle if this thing turns out. For some reason I can't figure out, the dowels aren't lining things up as cleanly as I thought they should. I'm marking each piece so that they are using a single reference face for drilling, making sure there aren't any stray sawdust chunks between the block and the fence, etc. ???? I'm sure things will work out, but it's frustrating.

Anyway, here's some progress pics.

First I have all of the blocks laid out in the pattern (or non-pattern) that we decided on. I take a row of them, mark reference faces, etc. and then take them to the drill press.

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/5rowleys/IMG_0754.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/5rowleys/IMG_0755.jpg

Drill one hole, and then the tear out on the back side causes the block to wobble for the second hole so I give it a quick hit on the belt sander to flatten it. Then flip down the flipstop and drill the second hole. Sand both sides and take it over to the glue up station (my tablesaw) where the wifey starts inserting dowels and gluing/clamping.

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/5rowleys/IMG_0759.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/5rowleys/IMG_0760.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/5rowleys/IMG_0761.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/5rowleys/IMG_0756.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/5rowleys/IMG_0762.jpg

Here's the finished strip, waiting for the glue to dry, you can see it's a mess still.

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/5rowleys/IMG_0757.jpg

When it's done, it'll go through the jointer/planer to square up the faces and they will come out like this when done. I'll get some jointer/planer pics when I process these next couple strips.

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/5rowleys/IMG_0758.jpg

[gator20]

Freakin awesome......your shop makes me want to splooge by the way. Very nice...very nice indeed!!!!

[Irish]

Freakin awesome......your shop makes me want to splooge by the way. Very nice...very nice indeed!!!!

x100, awesome shop, I hate you. :mrgreen:

[bigslickwood]

x100, awesome shop, I hate you. :mrgreen:

Not sure if you guys have seen this thread: http://perfectmancave.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5576

It shows a few more pics of the shop that give a little better perspective of the layout. I've already told the wife we're going to have to buy this place because I'm not giving it up... :)

[Irish]

Not sure if you guys have seen this thread: http://perfectmancave.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5576

It shows a few more pics of the shop that give a little better perspective of the layout. I've already told the wife we're going to have to buy this place because I'm not giving it up... :)

Now I hate you even more LOL :D

That's a hell of a layout you got there, I'd probably have a few less fingers and toes if I had that big of an area to play in. ;)

Nice truck too, that looks like the exact model and color I was looking for last month. Really tough to find a good used avalanche with less than 150K, folks don't give them up too readily. I ended up with an '03 in pewter, but I couldn't land a Z71 (still has the 4x4 though).

[bigslickwood]

Love the Avalanche. This was an 03 that I bought in 06 with 36K miles on it. I've put another 35K or so on it.

I'm not sure there are any other vehicles that have the mix of flexibility; namely being able to haul 5 people in comfort, have an 8' bed when needed, and not be 25' long like a long bed crew cab. I've put a couple dings in it in the last year, but I'll probably drive it until the wheels fall off.

If you haven't seen it, there's a good forum of Avalanche owners at http://www.chevyavalanchefanclub.com/cafcna/index.php

[Irish]

Love the Avalanche. This was an 03 that I bought in 06 with 36K miles on it. I've put another 35K or so on it.

I'm not sure there are any other vehicles that have the mix of flexibility; namely being able to haul 5 people in comfort, have an 8' bed when needed, and not be 25' long like a long bed crew cab. I've put a couple dings in it in the last year, but I'll probably drive it until the wheels fall off.

If you haven't seen it, there's a good forum of Avalanche owners at http://www.chevyavalanchefanclub.com/cafcna/index.php

They're definitely very versatile trucks, I've had mine for less than a month and already love it. I came across that forum a few weeks back, lots of good info on mods & repairs. Haven't signed up yet, but probably will eventually.

[SniperD5]

Stop teasing us with new posts in this thread. Some of us are actually interested in the countertop. It's freakin sweet, and I just want to see more progress pics. No offense, but I could'nt give two shits about your truck. Show me more tools, and more wood work!:D

[Irish]

Bump



http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/Thread_Has_Been_Hijacked.jpg



OK, OK, I'm done now. :mrgreen:

[SniperD5]

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/5rowleys/IMG_0750.jpg

This picture gives me wood. (HAHA, get the play on words there??? HAHA, I'm hilarious.)


Seriously, though. Lets talk more about this, and you boys can have your avalanche love in some other thread. ;)

[Oz]

bsw ---- wholly shit batman - that's coming together nicely! When I stopped by the other week - I couldn't imagine all of them together. Looking good. Keep up the good work.

And for the record - I almost killed him when I was there - just so I could take all of his tools -- but they wouldn't fit in my truck in 1 trip.

[Quads]

bsw ---- wholly shit batman - that's coming together nicely! When I stopped by the other week - I couldn't imagine all of them together. Looking good. Keep up the good work.

And for the record - I almost killed him when I was there - just so I could take all of his tools -- but they wouldn't fit in my truck in 1 trip.

We all know what "tool" you wanted while you were there. There's no need to hide it.

[Wedge Rock]

The dowels aren't lining things up as well as I'd hoped.

Turn the block over, dumbass.

;)

[bigslickwood]

Turn the block over, dumbass.

;)


Actually that was my first assumption, that between the first hole and the second I was forgetting to align the face correctly or something.

Then today I stopped by the local Woodcraft and bought a new drill bit. I had been using the $19 32-bit Harbor Freight set that I had bought earlier this year. Bought a new German made 'Colt' bit for $10, and the strip I glued up today was like night and day with the others. This time it actually worked like it should have all along. The reference faces were lining up well and that just leaves some minor jointing/planing to finish squaring things.

Damn it, I'm pissed that I wasted all that trouble on the 8 strips I had done so far. I'll end up with 4 extras, so I'll do all of those and replace the worst of the first 8.

This is going slower than expected. Each strip takes about 1.5 hours for drilling/gluing. I'll update when I get to move onto the next step.

[SniperD5]

DAMNIT.... MORE PICS!!!! I can't get enough of this project, it's awesome.

[Priest]

This is the first time I've seen this thread.... I was about to reply that you needed to change your bit out to a much better and stiffer bit.... Then I saw that you figured that out.

Freakin awesome by the way. I have dreamed of doing that, but I have not the time or budget for anything near that for now.

Looking forward to seeing updates!

[mikeneron]

Not sure how I missed this thread, but that is awesome. As I was reading about your problems with things lining up, it made me think of this tool. Just wish I could afford it :) I bet something like this would have helped you out a ton for this job.

http://www.festoolusa.com/products/domino-joining-system/domino-df-500-joining-system-574258.html

[bigslickwood]

I was at woodcraft buying bits and dowels, and the guy tried to sell me the festool domino system. I'm sure the festools are great tools, but they are way too expensive for what they do. $800 for a domino joiner? That's more than I spent on my drill press (and it's a pretty nice drill press). $600 for a router? I have about that in 2 of my three 'big' routers (the 3+hp Porter Cable and a Milwaukee).

I'll be moving onto the next step of this project soon, I've got two more strips to finish gluing up (this has taken roughly 20x more time than I expected). I hope to be jointing/planing all the strips and getting them slotted for biscuits this weekend. I'll put up some more pictures.

It's nice weather, I've got a brisket in the smoker (out in the shop) so it smells like heaven out there, and I just got in from gluing up a couple more strips. It's a sign of how tedious this has been that with all the pluses for being in the shop right now, I still don't want to be doing it.

Plus I'm really stressing out that I'm still working on this damn countertop instead of the poker table I've taken a deposit on...

[mikeneron]

I agree that their tools are overpriced, but the domino does look to be a sweet tool. Looking forward to your progress.

[mikeneron]

I found this funny, but I just received the Festool TS 55 saw with guide rail and on one of the boxes was a company invoice that wasn't taken off. So it shows a fairly large order and what was actually paid by the dealer. I will just say that accessories are marked up about 2x and the tools about 1.5x.

[MsprinM]

I found this funny, but I just received the Festool TS 55 saw with guide rail and on one of the boxes was a company invoice that wasn't taken off. So it shows a fairly large order and what was actually paid by the dealer. I will just say that accessories are marked up about 2x and the tools about 1.5x.

Thats a pretty standard mark up. But Festools are over priced to being with. They are good tools but they arent that good from my experinces with them.

[bigslickwood]

OK here's some more pics. I think when I left off I was in the neverending hell of gluing all of the individual blocks up into strips. I then took each of these strips and jointed and planed them so that they were all pretty close to the same size. This whole part of things is something I would do differently if doing it again. The wood was expensive, so in order to cut down on material costs I only ordered a minimum of what I needed. As a result, I started with my blocks and strips too small, and haven't really had the luxury of any extra wood for these planing/jointing steps. As a result, everything isn't "exact" as some have required removing a bit more or less. If I had them all oversized to start with, then I could just remove enough until they were all the exact same size. Lesson learned.

So, each strip is getting biscuit cut and then glued together:
http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/5rowleys/0510091419a.jpg

Then the strips get glued together. You never have 'enough' clamps...
http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/5rowleys/0510091419.jpg

At this point, I have one big, solid, very heavy (at least 100 pounds), block of wood. Moved it to the shopbot which will fly cut one side, so we have a smooth face. Then flip it over and cut the other. Since the first smooth face will rest on the already planed spoilboard of the shopbot, the second face should end up perfectly parallel to the first face. Here's the start of the surfacing operation. Each side took a little over an hour with a 1/2" bit that stepped about 35% of the diameter on each step.
http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/5rowleys/0512091507.jpg

In this pic, you can see the planed surfaces. I'll definitely be doing some time with a sander to get rid of the bit passes. However, they look kind of cool. You can't feel them, and they kind of give the effect of like curly maple. In this pass, I'm using a 2.5" long bit to trim all of the edges and round the corners. It's doing it in multiple passes.
http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/5rowleys/0512091847.jpg

I also had to hog out a pocket on the bottom side to match the shape of the island and accomodate the legs. By putting a 1/8" recessed pocket, the top will sit slightly down on the island and hide any gap between the cabinet and top. Here's the island, the pocket matches this outline.
http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/5rowleys/0502091108a.jpg

I also took a 1/2" roundover bit and knocked down all of the edges. There are a couple of minor chipouts along the outside edge (so many different end grains running in different directions, they'd be impossible to completely avoid) here and there, but this will actually add to the appeal for my sister. She doesn't want me to try to fix them, just sand them a bit.

Now I just need to do a ton of sanding. The roundover bit left an almost glossy surface on the rounds. I'd like to sand the faces so they match. If the whole thing ends up as smooth and glossy, it will be sexy as hell. I'm then planning to just flood it with mineral oil as the only finish. Final pictures in the next couple days.

[Wedge Rock]

Awesome.

[j p frog]

very nice .... lucky you have the shopbot or the sanding would have been a killer. You have bragging rights in your sis's house forever.

[bigslickwood]

very nice .... lucky you have the shopbot or the sanding would have been a killer. You have bragging rights in your sis's house forever.

Yeah, this is a project I never would have contemplated without the shopbot (actually in my head, I originally had delusions of not needing it). I suppose there are guys out there that could have done this up, had everything align perfectly, all the strips square, not warp or bend, etc. and done it in one shot, but I'm certainly not one of them. :)

The other big problem was that with it all being end grain, as the strips went through the planer, it really tore the shit out of the ends. If I were doing it again, I'd add an extra block on each end and cut it off later, just to have some backing/waste for the tearout.

I hope there won't be a next one. I'm sure no one would pay what it would take to make this cost effective...

[SevenDeuceOffsuit]

Awesome work.

[JbaIV]

Words cant describe how great this thread is!

[bigslickwood]

I'm applying mineral oil right now. Need to go get some more. Should have final pics today. With the oil, it's stunning.

[bigslickwood]

Here it is. I'll grab another pic when it's in it's final home, but it's done. I'll maybe add a little more oil after we see how this dries. Also, learned a cool trick. Put down a flood of oil and then take your random orbit sander with whatever your final grit of sandpaper was (in this case 320) and sand on top of the oil. It was already baby's butt smooth, but this took it to a new level.

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/5rowleys/0516091259.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/5rowleys/0516091300.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/5rowleys/0516091300a.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc50/5rowleys/0516091301.jpg

[gator20]

Holy shit balls, thats AWESOME!!!!

[sunsetpizza]

that looks so cool - really great great!

[j p frog]

outstanding work

I would think you will need to price it as when outsiders see it in your sisters house they are going to want to know how much for another one!

[SVTF]

Wow ... Outstanding ... Good Job

[bigslickwood]

outstanding work

I would think you will need to price it as when outsiders see it in your sisters house they are going to want to know how much for another one!

You can find 3" thick end grain blocks in this size (~3'x4') of just solid maple for around $1400-$1500 online. The maple is the cheapest wood used in this one, all 7 of the other varieties are more expensive than maple. I have about $800 into materials/supplies for this and several weeks of tedious work. I'm thinking it would probably take about $2000 to get me to do another one...

[j p frog]

since you don't have to be quite as exacting in making it with your shopbot to even the top off.....why not spline join the various sections? less intensive joinery with the same result? I would think you could use the tablesaw to cut the spline groove, use an exotic wood spline to dress it up and the glue ups would be much easier and less time consuming.

in case you haven't had experience with it....a few examples on this link:

http://www.woodworkingjointery.com/page11.htm

[T]

wow!

thats gotta be the most kick ass chess board I've ever seen!

great work.

T

[Quads]

Holy shit balls, thats AWESOME!!!!

He said what I say.

[Doctor_XXX]

It has been said already, a bunch of times, but...
WOW. Just WOW.
Really nice work! :cool:

[Irish]

Nice job! I'm thinking you're even a little low on your estimate - for a custom made luxury item like that, I'd bet you could charge 4K and still have takers.

[SniperD5]

Holy Fuckin Shit!!!! I think I just jizzed a bit when I saw the finished pics.

[Wedge Rock]

Very nice work, indeed.

[antistan]

Sick. Nice work man.

[gator20]

WOW.....unreal Bigslick.....

I really want to try this..........

[bigslickwood]

Just hauled this thing over and installed it. It looks sweet. I'll grab a picture once construction is done and everything is cleaned up.

I completely wasn't expecting it, but my sister gave me another $1K for it. I tried to give it back, she wouldn't take it. I'd argue a little harder except I'm maybe losing my job next month, while he is starting a new job next month (and will be making about $500K/year). They can afford it...

[Quads]

bump for it's awesomeness.
The new crib has a 6 burner viking stove as well a range top in one of the granite counters, which I can't ever see being used, so I'm thinking something like this would go well in place of the cook top. BSW, I may pick your brain on this a little more if / when we decide to go this route.

[bigslickwood]

This makes me miss the hell out of my shop. :(

BTW, this block has darkened a ton over the last year. The only finish it has ever seen is the mineral oil. She adds more once in a while when it starts to dry out. It looks sweet, but the darkening has caused the different types of wood to lose a lot of definition. I maybe should have used a clear shellac or lacquer, which would have made the wood keep it's color. I didn't because of the food safety concerns, but she never cuts directly on it anyway.

[Quads]

I'd be happy with what you did for finish. I wouldn't do anything else due to food being on it. I don't know that I'll do the blocks method that you did, but I was more thinking 2" strips glued / bizkutted together. Or with dowels which would require making a quick jig for the drill press.

Here you can see the island, with the extra cooktop which I want ot replace with the cutting board.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_jukcIfTD5Hk/TJ4WfNLoUJI/AAAAAAAAFNg/d9hkPsiLjwc/s640/DSCN6644.JPG

The other side of the kitchen features a 6 burner Viking stove, so the cooktop is obviously null AFAIC.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_jukcIfTD5Hk/TJ4Wa_fxM-I/AAAAAAAAFNU/g1H72Fyq0-4/s640/DSCN6641.JPG

[bigslickwood]

That would be sweet. I'm jealous of the stove. The strip method (http://www.perfectmancave.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19565)like I did for the bartop in their basement is MUCH easier than the blocks.

[Quads]

Yeah, I'll probably try a 1' X 1' of each and see what I like better.
I don't know the exact model number, but it's a Viking with the cook top configured as 6 burners, the grill, then the griddle. Double ovens down below. Once I walked in, I pretty much sported wood and told the Wifey to go look at the rest of the house.

[timsta007]

Hey Q, I'm not so sure you should remove that 2nd cook top. The first reason is that the location of it isn't really convenient for a cutting board being on the other side of the island from your range. The 2nd is that even if it doesn't get used often, for those holidays when you have a ton of family over (and I know you will now that you are back in Mich) you can have someone else working on cooking something without being in your way. I know I HATE it when I'm working in the kitchen at the range esp. and other people are in there trying to cook something else. GTFOMF!

Just something to consider.


BSW, this thread is so epic. My dream kitchen would have something extremely similar to what your Sis-in-law ended up with.

[Crawland]

Please tell me step 1 in the renovations include getting rid if that god awful boarder!

[Wedge Rock]

Is that your boy with the Michigan shirt coming through the doorway?

[Quads]

@Tim- Yes, I've been pondering that as well, but I a) can't stand electric tops, b) don't expect that I'd run out of burners on a 6 burner range, and c) find it rather unlikely that someone else would be in the kitchen with me... at least at the range.

if I had my way, I'd reverse that entire island so all of the prep side is on one side, and all of the serving / clean up side is at the other. I do see what you mean though with the cutting board being on the other end, which kind of kills the action and traffic pattern.

Crawland- Yes, priority number two.

Wedge - Hells Yeah.