End Grain Butcher Block For Counters?

[Matt Hutchinson]

Hey all,
I have a customer who is interested in having all her new counters made of end grain butcher blocks. She also wants to seal it/finish it with poly cuz she wants the look and will never actually cut on it. My question: Do you think the tangential movement (movement across the flat sawn face) of the wood pieces in this end-grain-up orientation will cause a film finish any problems over time? I've never made an end-grain slab this large. Also, she is open to having wood strip counters, but would prefer end grain if possible.

Thanks,
Hutch

[Jeff Duncan]

My two cents for what it's worth.....get them from a company that specializes in end grain tops. End grain tops are significantly more difficult to manufacture than edge glued, and if you haven't done them before could cost you!

I would think an oil finish would be preferable to a poly, but will leave that up to others to debate.

good luck,
JeffD

[Bill White]

With all due respect, RUN from that job. Long term structural issues as well as the finish would give me the hives.
Bill

[Mel Fulks]

I agree with all. But before you leave tell her you did three of them last month,there's a good chance that will change her mind.

[Richard Shaefer]

It's not impossible, but to do it right, your edge jointing on all 4 faces of your base stock lumber has to be dead on balls perfectly 90* corners or you will have gaps and cumulative errors. you could flop match stock to counteract this, but you will go crazy trying.

You will also have to build the top THICK to keep it stable. Like 3" thick minimum, and you really should be in the 4-6" range. Even then, the slabs are brittle and you will have to be very, very careful moving them to the job site and installing them, and they will be HEAVY.

Also don't forget that after you do all this, you still have to get the top flat after glue-up, and unless you have a 30" planer, that's gonna suck, too, and be prepared for fixing some tear-out. maybe a 30" helical planer cutter head will be better, but a shop that has that kinda hardware is gonna be rare bird.

No poly on end grain butcher block. mineral oil and lots of it. end grain is super thirsty.

tell her she wants copper. it's naturally anti-biotic and fewer people have that than butcherblock, so it'll be more 'exclusive' than anything else. I'm sure that'll solve her real (first world) problem ;)
I still say the msot durable countertop out there is good old Formica. you can't kill that stuff.

[jud dinsmore]

we specialize in wood tops and what she is requesting is not out of the ordinary or impossible. stable lumber is more critical than any other factor but if your equipment and technique are not up to par then turn it down or sub it out. we have a 1/64" dip in our widebelt sander that we discovered on a small end grain top when the ends mated nicely but there was a gap in the middle. most guys cannot intentionally build to a 64" (i'm not even sure i can see one) but multiplied over 20+ joints and the mistake is noticeable from across the room.

here's one that turned out okay.

247851

[Matt Hutchinson]

Thanks all!

Jud- Very nice work. What is the finish on that? You have given me something to think about. I am currently moving to a larger shop space and was planning on upgrading to a 37" wide belt. But it looks like I would need a little time on it to see if it's up to par before I would know if it could handle this job. I've got some thinking to do. :)

- Hutch

[jud dinsmore]

finish is our permanent finish in a satin sheen (film finish).