Work table top material?

[Nathan Hoffman]

I am working on making a work table for my mother, who has a bakery business. Every fall she goes through about 10,000 apples:eek: to make pies:D and other baked items. All of the apples are peeled and sliced on a machine like the one shown below, and right now she uses it clamped to her counter top. She asked me to make a table for her that would be sized and shaped specifically for peeling apples, with holes for the peels and core to drop into a bucket below. I have attached a picture showing the basic shape of the top, which is about 18 X 22. I had been planning to use a piece of butcher block maple that I have, but after determining the top shape and seeing how thin the web needs to be in the front right corner, I’m not sure it will be strong enough. I know I can’t use mdf due to the juice, but is there another material that will be strong enough and hold up to being wet a lot? What sort of finish would work well? Thanks in advance!

[Jim Becker]

I could be wrong, but since this is a bakery business, certain materials may be excluded to meet regulations and licensing--you both should check on that. But outside of that, "easy to clean" should be right next to "strong"...I am thinking Corian, even though it's not something I'm really fond of. But it's strong enough for what you picture, easy to work with (using woodworking tools) and definitely easy to clean.

[Nathan Hoffman]

You're right about the rules & regs, Jim, but this is a home bakery business that was grandfathered (grandmothered?) in becuse she's had a license so long. I don't think there would be any trouble from the regulatory agencies with using wood, but you're right that another material would probably work better.

I've never used Corian before - where do I buy sheets of it? Isn't it hard on tools?

[Jim Hager]

Might want to get some Delrin plastic from a source that I can't give you anymore. I just threw away the catalog 2 days ago and the trash truck has already run by my place. Sorry. Not wood of course but it makes a great "cutting board" and is what is used in lots of places. The cooks in our school cafeteria have delrin cutting boards that they use in the kitchen and they just stick them in the industrial dishwasher. Tough stuff and cleans up very well.

[Jim O'Dell]

On the Corian, you're not going to be able to buy it in full sheets. But, find a counter top fabricator and I bet you can get the cut outs from the sink installations for free, or real cheap. Should have several in the size you posted. Jim.

[Ken Garlock]

Nathan, Home Depot is having a sale on Silestone (http://www.stonemade.com/) counter top for as little as $39/sq ft. We have it throughout our kitchen and it is excellent. I have yet to find anything that will stain it. Week old coffee stains under the electric pot wipe up with just a damp cloth.

The trick is to find out who HD uses as a sub contractor. I stumbled on to a company in Dallas that does all the area HD installs and saved $10/sq ft.

Far superior to the much acclaimed granite tops.

[Hank Knight]

Could you use your butcher block for the main syurface area and inlet a piece of corian in one corner for the web cut-out?

[Nathan Hoffman]

Thanks for all of the replies! That's a good tip about solid surface sink cutouts - I have a guy down the street that installs a lot of it, and since I bought my entire kitchen cabinets from him ($$$$), maybe he could part with a small piece:rolleyes:

Making part butcher block and part solid surface would work, especially if I can only get a small section.

I did some research and plastic would be fairly inexpensive from one of the large industrial suppliers, but the Corian would look nicer if I can get it.

Anything special I would need to know about working with solid surface?

[Jamie Buxton]

If you can't get a sink cutout at the great price of "free", you might consider phenolic. That's what I'd expect to see in an industrial situation like this (10,000 apples!). The stuff is tough, waterproof, and not too expensive. It can be machined with woodworking tools. McMaster-Carr (www.mcmaster.com) is one source. The brand name of phenolic they sell is Garolite.

[Vaughn McMillan]

Another non-wood option would be HDPE. It's relatively inexpensive, mills like a charm, and is intended for food surfaces. I've bought some from a place on the web called "The Cutting Board Factory". (Google will lead you to them.) In my experience, they have good product, prices and service.

- Vaughn

[Mike Cutler]

Aha!! Vaughn has been peeking at 10CFR21. Code of federal regulations for food. HDPE is approved for food storage and food contact.
I could really bore you guys to tears about P,PP,PV.LDPE, and HDPE, and why you have a date code on bread, but I'm sure that Corian would work quite well. I'd rather see a maple cutting board myself, but I don't have 10,000 apples to core and peel. :rolleyes:
So.. Uh... Where exactly does your mother sell her pies. Hmm..... I'm willing to drive quite a ways for really good pie, even with today's gas prices. I mean, I'd have to buy in bulk right :D. To make the drive worthwhile ;)
Did I mention that I really like Pie.

[Maurice Ungaro]

Maple.
I worked as a pastry apprenteice as a teenager, and subsequently spent many years in teh restaurant business. The "regualtory" agency you should be worried about is the local office of the Health Dept. They usually don't care a bag's worth of donuts whether or not an operation is "grandfathered" - they're interested in the daily operation and its clealiness. That being said, all of he plastics shold do for a bakery work surface, but maple is the longstanding hallmark.

[Charlie Plesums]

Ironically recent research shows that wood is a better cutting and cooking surface than the various plastics that the regulators have required. Apparently the plastic "scratches" hold water and support the growth of bacteria, while the wood expands and squeezes the water out, drying and killing the bacteria.

All that said, nobody said the regulations were logical. So you may be driven to the synthetic materials that the regulations favor, even though they are apparently not as safe as wood. Working only from memory. I believe it was Iowa State University that was doing research in this area, and discovered that the regulators were Soooo wrong.

[Nathan Hoffman]

Thanks for the input! I like the idea of maple, but looking at the shape of the board, I'm thinking that it may be weak in the one spot where all of the load is applied. I talked to the kitchen cabinet guy down the street, and he said sure I could have a small piece of Corian, so that's probably what I'll use.

For those who may be interested, the pies are "assembled" and then frozen, to be baked at home by the customer. And let me tell you, there's nothing better than a fresh baked apple pie:D! The pies are sold at an orchard in East Windsor, CT.

So can anyone give me some pointers about working with Corian?

[Nathan Hoffman]

Just and update on this project and a question: I got the corain (free:D ) and cut it to size & shape, but I'm not sure how to attach it to the base. Glue? Screws? Caulk?

The base will be made of oak & birch - picture a tall end table with a shelf down low to support the waste bucket. I had the prototype clamped to the side of another work table in the bakery, but I'm wondering if I make the base partially enclosed if I can add enough ballast to allow the table to be used standing alone. Almost like a podium. Ideas?

Thanks!

[Bruce Volden]

Nathan,I'm no Corian expert but have used quite a bit of it!! DO NOT screw directly into the material as it will most assuredly break like glass! If you need to screw into it you will need to drill out an area and fill with epoxy, let that cure, and then screw into the epoxy. Also you can bond a backing of wood and then attach the base to the wood. Corian is pretty much worked like wood, exception being that it will chip out (minutely) with wood saw blades.It routers well and sands very nicely. I even believe it sands easier than wood as the sandpaper seems to last a looong time. Over all I think you'll enjoy "playing" with it. Bruce

[Brett Baldwin]

I'd think screwing or bolting it on would be best so that if you needed to fix or replace the top, it would be easy to get off. You could hide bolts underneath by putting threaded inserts on the bottom side of the top and bolting it in from below.

[Nathan Hoffman]

Also you can bond a backing of wood and then attach the base to the wood.


Thanks for the replies. What do you mean, Bruce, by bonding - regular wood glue? Or something specific for solid surface?

I did enjoy working with it, it mills very nicely.

[Ken Dolph]

You can Screw into Corian in two ways. The first is to use sheet metal screws. When using this method just drill a pilot hole 1 index smaller than the diameter of the screw (not the shank). this will work well as long as you are not repeatedly removing the screw.

The second and best method is to use a Helicoil or a clone of them. You should be able to get a kit at any good auto parts store. The joint is stronger and can be used over and over again.

If you would like more information on working with Corian contact me. We give away a package called "Working with Corian in the Home workshop" It includes a booklet from duPont.

I hope this helps
Ken

[Nathan Hoffman]

I just thought I would update this thread to show what I came up with. The picture is the finished table with the Corian top, which I just stuck to a piece of particleboard using adhesive caulk. The rest is all scrap oak and birch plywood. The base is enclosed to hold ballast to make the table more sturdy, but it turns out to be stable enough.

Thanks for all of the input.

[Ken Dolph]

Nathan,

You did a beautiful job but I assure you that the particle board was unnecessary. A lot of people think of Corian as just another pretty face, but we sell a lot of it for industrial wear surface. It is even used in Formula One race cars as a rear skid plate. 3/4" is used in banks as a nice looking bullet proof panel. It has been tested and will stop a 357 magnum bullet at 15 feet.

Thanks for the pictures.

Ken