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Thread: Walnut countertop a fabrication advice

  1. #1

    Walnut countertop a fabrication advice

    I was hoping to get a few ideas for my walnut countertop project. What im looking at right now are 3 options.

    1. Use 4/4 walnut strips 3" wide, laminated together and then epoxyied to a purebond plywood substrate,

    or

    2. going the full 9 and using 8/4 walnut strips laminated for the whole kitchen.

    My question is, with the first idea would there be any issues with warping or cracking with wood movement,

    I'm really trying to save money here, but still give the counter that solid walnut look, without having to pay for 200 bdft+ of black walnut.



    A third option would be to make 1/16"- 1/4" walnut veneer on a plywood substrate.



    With every option, I will be using a 3/4" x 2" solid wood edge banding for a router profile.



    Thanks

    Robert

  2. #2
    I wouldn't do 1.

    If you really want save some $$ then you can do 4/4 for the field, 8/4 for the edge, and then use plywood battens under the field that are screwed to the cabinet tops and then screwed to the underside of the counter with elongated holes to allow for expansion.

    I'm partial to 2 if you can afford it. If you truly need 200bf, it may be economical to have it shipped.

  3. #3
    Robert,

    I built 6' x 7' x 1.75" island top of solid b.walnut in butcher block style. I'll spare you all the steps, but end result was big and heavy (I posted pics somewhere on SMC).

    Only surprise was the amount the top will 'cup' with humidity changes; over 6' width this was as much as 1-2" originally. Twice, I have removed it and added another layer of finish trying to slow down or, more importantly, balance the moisture uptake between top and bottom. (There is amazing difference in %RH of air IN the cabinets vs. the surrounding air.)

    Cupping in a 24"(nom) counter top may be less dramatic, but will still happen if built of solids, so plan accordingly if option 1 is chosen. Maybe use breadboard ends and stretchers underneath in select locations? Upside is you can just use a food-safe oil on it and use as a cutting board. Sand or plane and then renew the finish when its gets worn.

    Veneer on ply will certainly be more stable, and the thinner the better. Downside is it doesn't mix well with meat cleavers.

    My choice? SWMBO said "I like that one", pointing at the butcher block mock-up. End of choice.

  4. #4
    Join Date
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    I built an island top out of reclaimed bowling ally and banded the whole thing with 1 in x 2.75 walnut. total size is just over 5 feet by 6 feet. used waterlox satin as the finish. The endgrain sides have not had any movement issues and it is somewhat loosely attached with angle brackets to the cabinets to allow for movement. The Ally pieces are a combination of maple and long leaf pine and about 2.5 in thick. the strips are each nailed to the next with very little glue.

    #1 will become cracked and warped in a hurry. Why do you want to use pieces 3 in. wide? quartersawn and 2 in. or so wide in a glue up will be more stable. Make sure the wood is well acclimated to the area as well. I was lucky and the ally had not been in an un-conditioned space for a span of about 50 years.

    I would not want veneer for a counter top, this will really limit you for repairs. I have thought about using an approach like flooring. a sub-strait of ply and nailing tongue and groove material to the top. you would have to tongue the perimeter and groove the banding to hide some of the movement.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
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    To be sure it's been done but, personally, I wouldn't consider it. It will, likely, produce many problems : dents, scratches, stains, constant surveillance to avoid standing water and regular maintenance. It will look beautiful if you don't mind the followup.

  6. #6
    I made a hard maple, "butcher block" style kitchen countertop earlier this year for my own home kitchen remodel. It is about 24" wide by about 11' long with a cutout for a kitchen sink. I also made a smaller cutting board sized countertop (same material) to sit on top of a detached cabinet next to the range. I started with about 60 bd ft of rough 8/4 hard maple (should have had about 80 bd/ft) and eventually ended up with strips that I ripped down to roughly 2" x 2". I chose to make a staggered pattern similar to the way hardwood flooring is installed. I had 16, 32, and 48" lengths that I staggered from one row to the next so I didn't have joints breaking next to each other. I also did this to avoid jointing/squaring/flattening,handling,glueing 11' long strips of wood but in the end I don't know if it was any easier when the time came to glue everything up. I should have used some sort of registration method to keep my butt joints super tight and from sliding up and down when the glue was applied. That was honestly my biggest challenge with the project. It came out well enough, but I ended up with a couple of butt joints that I filled with wood putty bc I wasn't comfortable with the gap left (1/64" probably) relatively close to a place with water around. The glue-up process for something this size is substantial and definitely takes lots of clamps, time, and patience. I recommend first dividing your total finished width down into smaller sections that you can glue up initially and run through your planer and get them all to the same thickness before you do the final glue-up, which will result in a much easier time with thicknessing and getting the top ready for finishing. In my case, there was just no possible way to spread that much glue quick enough to get it all in one shot. I think I had 4 or 5 different glue up sessions by the time it was all said and done.

    I finished with several (6+) wipe on coats of Waterlox original / satin finish and it has held up quite well so far and is easy to clean. I recommend it for a natural look that will also be durable.

    I would strongly advise against your option 1. You don't want to epoxy or glue solid wood (dynamic) that will move seasonally and with humidity changes to a something stable and relatively lifeless (static) like plywood or you will get warping/cracking issues.

    I wouldn't feel very comfortable about a wood veneered countertop being durable or very forgiving should you need to repair it, but that's just me. We use our kitchen counters like it's a counter.

    Also, someone else may have more advice on this particular topic but I'd be cautious of "edge banding" across the grain (end grain areas in the case of a countertop) for similar reasons as stated above with the seasonal expansion and contraction of the width of the wood. I put a band of 3/4" cherry with a comfortable roundover along the front edge of my countertop both to add some overhang on top of my cabinets and for some visual contrast, but I chose not to band all the sides of the counter bc of the wood moving at potentially different rates. Something to consider.

    Securing the counter to the cabinets with a sliding style bracket where the screw has a bit of room to move front to back is also a good idea that helps this situation.
    I'll see if I can snap a photo of the finished product sometime for reference.

    Good luck!
    Last edited by Phillip Mitchell; 09-19-2016 at 9:17 PM.

  7. #7
    What is the finished dimension of your countertop?

  8. #8
    Im using a slow set epoxy resin to waterproof the countertop. Standing water won't be a problem.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Phillip Mitchell View Post
    What is the finished dimension of your countertop?
    the countertop will be split into sections of 24"x40" because of the layout.

  10. #10
    Join Date
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    Using 10 mm thick veneers on a ply substrate works. The veneers are thick enough to look solid and thin enough to work as a composite whole with the ply provided they are bonded with epoxy. Epoxy is easier to use like this anyway as you have a much longer open time than cross linked PVA.

    Don't band/breadboard the end grain with any option. Thicken up the ends by stacking short end grain pieces butcher block style.

    Alternate the planks crown up/crown down and use the same polishing product both sides. This will avoid cupping. Cheers

  11. #11
    Join Date
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    Often the problem is at the seams where water can leak into cracks. As a homebuilder friend of mine used to say, "Water is insidious."

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