Kitchen Island Top

[Greg Labacz]

What is the best wood to use for a kitchen island top? I was thinking of using 8/4 hard maple, is that too thick? What's the best finish to put on to make it food safe?

[David Keller NC]

Greg - I completed a custom island for a friend's family's kitchen remodel 2 years back. Here are my observations:

Any reasonably hard domestic wood will be an excellent kitchen island top. The only thing to avoid is a wood that would have a low surface hardness - poplar would be an example. My particular project was made from 8/4 cherry, but I've seen very good results from hard maple, soft maple, walnut, mahogany, beech, ash, and white oak.

My particular project entailed making a solid countertop out of the 8/4 Cherry that was 8.5 feet long by 6 feet wide. A couple of tips:

Make some panel clamps out of scrap hardwood and all-thread rod. That might seem like an extra, uneeded step that will slow you down, but it's essential. On small panel glue-ups, removing a 1/32nd of an inch "step" where the board edges didn't quite glue up co-planar is no big deal. Doing it on 40 linear feet for a kitchen island is an ordeal. Even with panel clamps, I still had about a 1/64" mis-match in a few places, and even though I used the fastest, easiest tool in existence to flatten the assembly (which is a sharp handplane, BTW - it's roughly 5 times as fast as a hand-held power sander (I tried that first!)), it still took a huge amount of effort to get the whole panel flat. It would have been a grade-A nightmare if I'd tried to glue up the sub-assemblies without panel clamps.

Buy wider boards. Making a solid wooden assembly out of narrow strips vs. wide boards doesn't appreciably affect the result's stability regarding moisture changes. And spending a little extra to get wider boards is a huge, huge labor savings.

Regarding finishing:

I have a chemistry as well as a food safety background. ALL modern finishes, so long as they're fully cured, are food safe. There is no valid, objective debate about this, though I see the question/argument come up depressingly often. Note that I say "modern" - older finishes from the 1970s might not be safe, because they may contain a significant fraction of lead used as a drying accelerant. But no modern finish contains any amount of toxic heavy metals, and the organic chemical constituents of the liquid finish are irrelevant once it cures.

Now for a (potentially) controversial piece of advice: My clients and I agonized over the finish for this kitchen island for quite some time. They wanted (naturally) a hard, water and liquid impervious coating that would stand up well to abrasion. I wanted a finish that I could reasonably apply with a brush or pad (spraying was out - I don't have a spray booth that would fit such a huge construction, and doing that much area with a flammable solvent carrier would've been exceptionally dangerous), and that I could level by sanding. We both wanted a finish that could be touched-up and repaired without having to strip the entire thing.

The first candidate eliminated was polyurethane. This finish is probably the worst choice for almost all wood working projects - even after several weeks after application, it's still considerably softer than common evaporative finishes. And it can't be reasonably repaired without stripping the whole surface, as subsequent coats don't re-dissolve older ones. This fact also eliminates it from contention as far as sandability - while it can certainly be sanded after an appropriate week of hardening or so, the result of a leveled and smoothed brushed-on surface is the presence of "witness marks" - streaks visible from two or more layers not dissolving into the subsequent one.

The 2nd candidate eiliminated was conversion varnish. While this material is wonderful stuff as far as incredible durability, it's very expensive compared to more common finishes available to the woodworker. And it's difficult to apply without professional spray equipment, and, importantly - a clean room without dust in which to apply it and let it cure. It also can't be easily patch-repaired - the whole surface has to be stripped.

That left us with 2 candidates - laquer and shellac. I finally convinced them to try shellac after dispelling a few misapprehensions about it in a high-use application by running a few demonstrations. Those demonstrations included 1) proving that dewaxed shellac doesn't water spot - I left mountain dew, tomato juice and tap water on test pieces overnight, with no ill effect. 2) proving that it takes a very high alcohol concentration and long contact times to mess up a shellac finish - test pieces easily withstood beer, wine, mixed drinks, and even liqueurs. The only thing that slightly damaged the surface finish was EverClear - and even then only after a contact time of 45 minutes. I also rigged up a few abrasion tests - dewaxed, high-quality shellac made up from flakes and applied in about 6 coats as a 1.5 lb cut is amazingly abrasion resistant - much, much more so than nitrocellulose and pre-cat laquer of about the same thickness.

The experiments with shellac was a big eye-opener. I'd believed the mantra of "don't finish a high-use top surface with shellac, it won't hold up" all my woodworking life. It turned out to be pure bunk. The kitchen island top now has 2 years on it from a family of 5 with several children. And it looks as good as when I delivered it.

[Jeff Finn]

Hard maple is the preferred wood because as it's name suggests it is hard and tight grained. I've built several islands or chopping stations from 6/4 or 8/4 maple. The bigger question may be - how do you intend to build your wood top? If the primary intent if for chopping, the best chopping counter tops are end grain and about any size of stock will work, but 8/4 shortens the task and looks beautiful if you mix in another wood like walnut or purple heart. End grain lasts a lot longer won't dull your knives as much. Edge grain is the second best choice and since you're turing the boards side ways to glue up about any size will work again - but wider boards are easier and I've found it looks best when pieces are square. If you glue these up into a face grain top the 6/4 will net out about 1-1/4 after final sanding and closer match your other counter materials as well as keeping the overall hight close to 36" if you're using standard cabinets. 8/4 will typically end up about 1-3/4" and it gets a little tall if you have shorter people using it much. We'll often shorten the cabinets 1-2 inches on an 8/4 top so it's at a slightly lower height for chopping or food prep. Finish them with butcher block oil - it's simple to apply and food safe. You can sand down and re-apply as often as you like.

[Steve Griffin]

The first candidate eliminated was polyurethane. This finish is probably the worst choice for almost all wood working projects - even after several weeks after application, it's still considerably softer than common evaporative finishes. And it can't be reasonably repaired without stripping the whole surface, as subsequent coats don't re-dissolve older ones. This fact also eliminates it from contention as far as sandability - while it can certainly be sanded after an appropriate week of hardening or so, the result of a leveled and smoothed brushed-on surface is the presence of "witness marks" - streaks visible from two or more layers not dissolving into the subsequent one.



AH Shucks, I've done dozens of kitchens with polyurethane, and now I find out it's the worst choice!

One thing about poly's, is there is a lot of them, and some can be quite different. Most my experience is with minwax products.

It's super easy to repair without stripping the finish. Just sand the top with a little 220 and give it another coat. Never had the slightest problem with adhesion/appearance with recoats whether it's one day, 30 days or 5 years.

It's softness probably contributes to how well it holds up in my kitchens. It's resistance to moisture is outstanding and I've never had it peal off in harduse areas like lacquer frequently does.

[Steve Griffin]

What is the best wood to use for a kitchen island top? I was thinking of using 8/4 hard maple, is that too thick? What's the best finish to put on to make it food safe?


It's hard to think of a better wood than hard maple for counter tops. It's hard, closed grain, interesting looking, affordable.

Not sure about your question about being "too thick". There is no such thing as too thick from a functional point of view, only aesthetic. Personally I like 8/4" milled down to max thickness, which is usually 1.625 or so. If money is tighter than time, you can use 4/4 and fold over all edges about 2" to give the appearance of 1.5" thick.

[Bill White]

David, glad to hear ya touting the value and efficacy of my favorite finish. Shellac rocks.
Bill

[Jaromir Svoboda]

Try Good Staff.Its wipe on finish.FDA approved for food contact.It looks really good.
http://www.grizzly.com/products/Good-Stuff-Wood-Finish-For-Maple-Tops-1-pt-/H2371

[Rick Fisher]

I have done a bunch of maple tops and read loads of threads and reviews.. There are a million and one good practice procedures, end grain direction, smiles and frown.. and on and on and on..

The best advice I can give is buy a brand new bottle of glue, I use Titebond 3 .. get a roller to apply the glue and clamp well. Glue is IMO stronger than wood, if the top is glued properly, your chances of success are very high..

My procedure is to get 2x8 for tops 2" thick. Let it sit for a few days in the shop so if it wants to move due to the new climate, it can do that prior to milling.

I face joint and run the 2x8 thru the planer finishing at about 1-5/8" thick.. I then run both sides of the 2x8 through a motorized sander, it removes planer marks, snipe, and makes a dead flat, smooth finish.. After sanding, I rip them into 2-1/4 - 2-3/8" wide strips .. I usually get 3 strips out of each 2x8 .. Glue the sanded faces together .. The sander makes the glue joints nearly perfect.. Two sanded surfaces that are flat almost suck together.. when glued well, you have a great joint.

My jointer is 12" wide, so I glue up sanded strips to leave me about 11" wide.. When dry, I face joint the glue up and run it through the planer.. this makes an 11" wide glue up that is very flat and straight..

For final assembly, I edge joint the edges, one slab will be jointed facing the fence, the next facing me.. The idea is that if the fence is 90.5 degrees, the other face will be 89.5 degrees, when mated the top will be flat..

My sander is only 25" so I usually domino the slabs together making the surface flush and I have found a scraper works better than sanding the final glue up joints..

I have made them out of Maple, Sapelli and a small one out of Wenge .. I would not hesitate to use Walnut, Cherry, Fir, whatever.. Maple is great but end of the day, its a wooden top .. the look your going for is what really matters.

[fred klotz]

The last kitchen I did, the customer wanted an island with a 'butcher block' top, meaning wood. Grizzly was selling workbench tops, hard maple with a food safe finish, for less than I could buy the lumber for one. It was delivered to the door, was beautiful, and cheap. Used another one on another job, where I had to cut a corner at 45 degrees, and was worried about what I might find inside. It worked out fine, and the customer was very happy also. Grizzly sells a variety of lengths, widths and thicknesses. As much as I like to build my own stuff, I would go with one of these for myself also. I just saw the first one (two plus years old) again on Friday, and it still looks perfect.

[David Keller NC]

One thing about poly's, is there is a lot of them, and some can be quite different. Most my experience is with minwax products.

It's super easy to repair without stripping the finish. Just sand the top with a little 220 and give it another coat. Never had the slightest problem with adhesion/appearance with recoats whether it's one day, 30 days or 5 years.

It's softness probably contributes to how well it holds up in my kitchens. It's resistance to moisture is outstanding and I've never had it peal off in harduse areas like lacquer frequently does.

It's specifically Minwax products with which I've had the most contact. It's possible our standards are different. I consider polyurethane to be unsuitable in a gloss, rubbed-out, flat multi-coat surface. In such an application, the witness marks are quite obvious in glancing light. Perhaps some would be OK with this, others, not so much.

And it's not adhesion that makes it unsuitable for spot repair - it's the above noted witness marks.

I would agree - poly doesn't peel readily from any surface. But on a kitchen island, and for that matter on a wooden countertop, softness isn't what I'd want. Granite hard (without the price and weight from actual granite!) would be my strong preference. If it were a bit easier to apply and a bit easier on the wallet, I'd use conversion varnish.

Having said all of this, I wouldn't hesitate to use poly in a non-critical application in the same kitchen - the cabinet face frames and drawers. I've also used it on wooden-floored kitchens, because its softness and propensity for scratching aren't obvious. However, I've switched to alkyd varnish formulations for wooden floors on the advice of a couple of expert finish carpenter friends. It cures much, much quicker and is a lot more scratch resistant.

[Steve Griffin]

It's specifically Minwax products with which I've had the most contact. It's possible our standards are different. I consider polyurethane to be unsuitable in a gloss, rubbed-out, flat multi-coat surface. In such an application, the witness marks are quite obvious in glancing light. Perhaps some would be OK with this, others, not so much.

And it's not adhesion that makes it unsuitable for spot repair - it's the above noted witness marks.

I would agree - poly doesn't peel readily from any surface. But on a kitchen island, and for that matter on a wooden countertop, softness isn't what I'd want. Granite hard (without the price and weight from actual granite!) would be my strong preference. If it were a bit easier to apply and a bit easier on the wallet, I'd use conversion varnish.

Having said all of this, I wouldn't hesitate to use poly in a non-critical application in the same kitchen - the cabinet face frames and drawers. I've also used it on wooden-floored kitchens, because its softness and propensity for scratching aren't obvious. However, I've switched to alkyd varnish formulations for wooden floors on the advice of a couple of expert finish carpenter friends. It cures much, much quicker and is a lot more scratch resistant.

Our standards probably are different for counters, though it might help that I don't use full gloss and rarely brush it on.

I am always interested in new things though--could you tell more specifics about brand/application of the varnish you mention?

thanks!

[Jeff Duncan]

You can use just about any wood for an island top. As for finish why does it need to be food safe? You should not be cutting on a wood island top, anymore than you should cut on a granite/formica/solid surface etc top. Unless your talking about a butcher block table as opposed to a island top? If your not cutting on it then it doesn't matter if it's food safe....although pretty much all finishes are food safe once dried.

FWIW my kitchen counter is SA mahogany and it's got a water based finish on it with a farmers sink. I wouldn't cut on it anymore than I'd cut on my dining room table. And I personally wouldn't use the TB 3, normal old TB1 works fine for me.

good luck,
JeffD

[David Keller NC]

Steve - I've used various Sikkens, Sherwin-Williams, and Epifanes products. I'm definitely still experimenting with this, and these types of coatings seem to be undergoing a rapid change to pre-catalyzed, water-borne bases. Exactly what the effect of this change from solvent-borne to water-borne will be remains to be seen. The original water-based clear floor finishes weren't too good when they came out about 10 years ago, but the more recent ones seem to be considerably better.

[Greg Labacz]

Thanks for all your responses. I talked with my cousin and she said she doesn't want butcher block look counter top. Sooo is there any alternatives to hard maple? Granite is out due to weight and price.

[Jeff Duncan]

So are you charging for this or is it a favor? Reason I ask is b/c a well made wood top is not going to be much cheaper than granite. Depending on the wood species it could be more expensive;)

As for what woods besides maple.....that's a pretty open question. There's a lot of woods out there and many will be fine for a top. What wood does your cousin like?

JeffD

[David Keller NC]

Thanks for all your responses. I talked with my cousin and she said she doesn't want butcher block look counter top. Sooo is there any alternatives to hard maple? Granite is out due to weight and price.

Greg - This preference was the precise reason I built the kitchen island top out of cherry boards that were about 10" wide. My friends definitely did not want the "bowling alley" look, and building the top so that wide, face-grain oriented boards showed on the top surface avoided that appearance altogether. I suspect the specific reason that the "bowling alley" look was considered very undesirable is that butcher-block constructions made out of maple scraps is just about the cheapest wood construction one can get - there are many companies making these tops that one can order for very little money.

[Steve Griffin]

I don't like the butcher block look either, so most the maple tops I have done have been 6-9" planks.

As far as other woods off the top of my head I've used white oak, hickory, african and honduras mahogany, and cherry. Also consider contacting your source for wood and asking them what they have in 6/4 or 8/4 woods.

[Greg Labacz]

I'm doing this as a favor. The counter top is only 36" x 60". I'm going to a local sawmill tomorrow and will price out some 6/4 boards and hopefully I can get 12" wide boards.