Flattening a long countertop

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks, guys!
Brett, yes, I'm applying it inside. I've got about 4 coats on it. But my coats are really thin; Just enough to barely moisten the top and do a decent amount of rubbing in (which actually rubs most of it off). I normally apply like this on smaller stuff, because it gives so much control in the build, and allows a patient noob like me to get a good finish. I put down a coat b4 work, one when I return, and one before I sleep. Done this way, you never have to sand.

It's a lot of work on something like this though.

I've had luck with Waterlox (talking about the original sealer here) brushing it on thick, wiping it on slick, wetsanding it in, and 'polishing' with it. It just seems to like being applied any way. Just keep in mind: the thicker you put it on, the less you should fuss with it once it's on.

[Pat Barry]

This turned out really nice. I can see your point about getting the grain direction matched. To do that do you need to do a test cut on each piece? Also, the pegged half lap joints are a great idea. I'm thinking about doing a hidden bridle joint for my project which is very similar to yours, but I may reconsider the pegging idea. Curious about what glue you used for the lamination, and whether you did the lamination in stages or all at once?

[Prashun Patel]

I used Titebond II.

I did the lamination one strip at a time. This allowed me to keep each strip flush to its neighbors. Takes longer, but is much easier.

[Johnny Kleso]

When I did my bench top I did two stacks of boards that I added one board at a time and then glued to two stacks together and made one..
This takes mamy more clamps but is easy to move around and keep the boards even on the faces since only have one board per stack to worry about moving.

[Stephen Pereira]

Nice work and a good post..lots of information to be gleaned. I like your idea of making long boards out of short pieces..always wondered how to do that.

Applying shellac with a squeeze bottle..I'll have to try that, sounds like a good idea.

[Prashun Patel]

Johnny- I actually did that too. I made a 13" slab and a 7" slab, thinking I'd run them thru my benchtop planer, and then join them. The issue I had was that the two slabs were hard to clamp together. I had to joint and rejoint by hand several times to get a gap-free (mostly ) joint.

The individual strips were flexible under clamping pressure, so as long as the faces were jointed smooth and square, the clamps were able to pull any tiny spring out of the each 2"x10' strip when it was added to the slab.

So, next time, I'll do it all strip-by-strip and skip the planer (which I skipped anyway!).

Working with shorter stock is of course SO MUCH more work than 'doing it right', but I was able to be extremely efficient in my use. I had ZERO waste.

[Prashun Patel]

Here's some pix of the counter installed. I'll do the corbels next week.

[Prashun Patel]

Here's the install with corbels. Pix not so great...

[Johnny Kleso]

Looks Great..