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Jerry Bittner
07-15-2014, 8:46 PM
The missus wants new counter tops and she is pushing for the design I used (copied) to make end grain cutting boards and to make a small end table -- pic attached.

The counter top has to be 30 inches wide and the longest section (1 of 3) has to be 8 feet.
Do I approach this project the same as I did when making the end grain cutting boards? I visualize glueing boards of different species side by side about 3 feet long and 2 feet wide. Then cross cutting these and glueing them up so that I end up with a “cutting board” 2 x 3 feet. Then go on to the next one and son on until I reach the desired length.
Then of course glueing all the “cutting boards” together.

Am I on the right track? Any things I should be looking out for? I do have a friend who has a 36" wide heavy duty sander that would smooth out any variations in thickness from the glued sections.

Appreciate suggestions/ideas.

Art Mann
07-16-2014, 8:49 AM
I think you are on the right track but there may be hidden gotchas going from a small surface to a larger one. In the end, I think you will have a very beautiful counter top but it will probably require some maintenance to keep it that way.

Cody Armstrong
07-16-2014, 9:01 AM
That's gonna be a big top to make.

This is how I would do it. I'm no pro and haven't built a section this large before so take it as you'd like but this is how I've done the larger sizes in the past.

I would set the whole 8' section up in clamps on a perfectly flat surface and treat it as one big glue-up rather than gluing up sections. You would need to have all the crosscut sections ready to go.
If done this way your top(grain pattern will not stop and start) will be random. You would be able arrange the whole top as you want pattern-wise.
You would still only glue up as much as you can handle at a time. Start gluing at the screw end of your clamps and work your way to the end. It will take a few days to do it this way.

You would need 9-10' long clamps. I would use pony pipe clamps. You would have to support the clamps with blocks to prevent sagging.
You would also need to have at least one 8'+ straight edge of some sort, as in angle iron or something made out of plywood to keep the whole top straight or it will get out of square quickly.
You could attach/clamp the straight edge to your working surface.

How did you do the top in your pic?

You may want to dig around on this site. It shows some big glue-ups most are edge grain.
http://www.californiabutcherblock.com/New__Projects__2013.html

EDIT:
I found these end grain pics before the edges are trimmed. The way I'm suggesting, if kept straight through the gluing process, you should only need to trim say 1/4" off either side when done.
http://www.californiabutcherblock.com/Phoenix__AZ_85012.html

If I've confused you I'm sorry. :)

Jerry Bittner
07-16-2014, 4:35 PM
Thanks for the information. I went to the Butcher Block site and that sure is some impressive work.
I did my table as I recall by gluing about eight pieces, eight more and so on and then glued the sections together as one piece.
Worked out pretty well although took a lot of sanding. My drum sander got a workout.