Wood kitchen countertop with 90 degree

[Kevin Jenness]

Zip bolts plus a spline will keep the joint together and flush. Glue the spline where you want it fixed and let the rest float.

[andrew whicker]

Hi,

With wood, I'm assuming I'll want a negative reveal around the sink to keep as much water off of the end grain as possible. What are your thoughts / experience?

cheers,

[Dave Sabo]

Hi,

With wood, I'm assuming I'll want a negative reveal around the sink to keep as much water off of the end grain as possible. What are your thoughts / experience?

cheers,

You definitely need the mechanical connectors for any joint. I also prefer a butt joint, but that's neither here nor there.

I would seriously consider designing the sink opening without endgrain. My last top was made with a thin sliver of face grain laminated onto the endgrain. The sink was cube , so it was easy. Not so much with a D shape, oval or round type. Baring that , I'd use penetrating epoxy sealer on the endgrain . CPES is a brand, but Minwax makes one too.

You should finish the underside of the counters with the same finish as the top side.

Waterlox is pretty good and what I used 20+ years ago. It's a PIA compared to newer finishes that also require less maintenance and have much faster dry & cure times. OSMO PolyX is a much better choice, and Rubio Monocoat is even better than that. Though, more costly.

If you have a deep enough reveal , a kerf on the underside to provide a drip break is a good idea. Be sure it doesn't get filled with silicone when mounting the sink !

[Richard Coers]

You are incredibly fortunate they chose the butt joint. If you had gone with the miter, and screwed it down to the cabinets, the miter would have opened up every seasonal change. If you use flat sawn lumber, the width of the top will change about 1/4" and that will certainly open a miter joint. Be sure to allow the top to still float around on the cabinets.