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Bill Falkenbach
02-27-2004, 4:26 PM
I'm putting out this question for some advice. I'm about to begin construction on an oak countertop. It's about 11-1/2ft long, 25" wide and either 1" or 1-1/4" thick. I can get 6/4 oak from my supplier. My question is this. Should I rip pieces to 2-3" and then do a glue up or should I get the widest pieces I can and do a glue up with them? I know oak expands and contracts across the grain more that with the grain so I've alloted movement it the attaching cleats. Any comments or personal experiences would me most helpful.
Bill

Jamie Buxton
02-27-2004, 4:44 PM
Bill, the theory is that if you make the top with narrow boards, and you alternate the growth rings -- up, then down, then up, etc -- the counter stays flatter over the long term. Each board cups one way, but the boards on either side of it cup the other way. In contrast, if you had one giant board for the entire width, all the cupping would be in one direction, and it might be more visible.

There's two troubles with narrow boards. First, it is more work. Second, many people think they don't look as good.

From the dimensions of your counter, I'm guessing it is something like a kitchen counter, or a bar counter. Further, I'm guessing that the counter will have cabinets underneath it. You'll probably be fastening the counter to the cabinets. The cabinet walls will do a fine job of holding the countertop flat. Use a fastening scheme that allows the countertop to slide a little as it expands and contracts, but not to heave up and down. With those cabinet walls holding on to the counter, it won't matter much whether you use narrow boards or wide ones.

Bobby Hatfield
02-29-2004, 4:04 PM
I'm putting out this question for some advice. I'm about to begin construction on an oak countertop. It's about 11-1/2ft long, 25" wide and either 1" or 1-1/4" thick. I can get 6/4 oak from my supplier. My question is this. Should I rip pieces to 2-3" and then do a glue up or should I get the widest pieces I can and do a glue up with them? I know oak expands and contracts across the grain more that with the grain so I've alloted movement it the attaching cleats. Any comments or personal experiences would me most helpful.
Bill

Bill you could do what I am about to attempt, rip up my plain sawn top material into 1-1/2" strips and glue them up in a 1-1/2" thick butcherblock countertop, this should eliminate seasonal change problems, I hope. I have received my fingerjoint shaper cutter to join the ends of some material pieces because my longest top is 14-1/2 ft with a kickout in front of the sink of 4" X the length of the sink cab. It will be finished natural color (southern maple) and coated with waterborne varnish about a dozen coats on all surfaces.

Greg Heppeard
02-29-2004, 5:26 PM
Another solution might be to do as Bobby says and go a step further. Drill holes in the lumber after you've cut it and install an all-thread rod every so often after the glue up...leave the outside strips off, if you see both sides of the counter, and then glue a solid strip on the outside to cover the nuts, washers and the all-thread. This would make a fairly stable top. You can use a the figure eight fasteners or the "z" type table top fasteners to connect the top to the cabinetry.