We are in the process of remodeling our kitchen and we are investigating replacing the currently planned granite countertop in our new island with a maple butcher block style top. The island will be 12' by 6'. There's no way I plan on making 12' long pieces, so I'm planning on building it using random length pieces ranging from 2' to 6'. The reason for this is I don't think I'd be able to joint boards 12' long and get them dead straight.
I've never built a butcher block before but I've looked at the construction techniques and feel pretty confident I can pull this off. I jointed, planed and ripped about 20 boards last night, got them 2" thick and 1 1/2" wide and they're dry fitting together very well. I plan on assembling, glueing and clamping this together on site. I'm guessing I won't glue up the pieces where the end grain meets (butted together along the length). Once assembled, I intend to sand out any seams in the joints and then fine sand and finish the assembled unit.
Any advice or pitfalls to watch out for as I take on this project? Anything I've left out that I need to consider? Since this is my first time doing this, I'd like to get a lot opinions from folks with more expertise than I.
Thanks in advance.
Mike