Replies

1. 
   jfsksa | Feb 26, 2023 08:57pm | #1

   The joints of wood that is properly glued are normally stronger than the wood itself. Meaning if you stress it the wood will break before the joint does.
   Biscuits or similar items are usually used for alignment purposes and do not add strength to the joint. A 7" overhang is not much and I would not worry about it.

   Update: Stan is right - 17" is a big overhang. Corbels are the way to go.

1. 
   stantheman | Feb 27, 2023 09:13am | #3

   The OP said 17" overhang not 7". Thats quite a bit, and I'd want to support it with corbels. Someone's going to sit on that edge someday, and it would already be pretty heavy.

2. 
   jharveyb | Feb 26, 2023 09:44pm | #2

   Stay away from dowels unless they are very short. Biscuits and splines both help with alignment if the top is wider than your thickness planer and you glue up two or more sections after planing them down smooth. Bad glue joints are prone to failure; good ones are strong. If you plan to strip laminate the top 3" thick, and your thickness planer snipes the end of boards, you will need to cut that thinner end off. You can't force the ends together and have good glue joints.

3. 
   hotdogman | Feb 27, 2023 10:05am | #4

   All things already said. I built a 2.5 inch maple island top with a 16 inch overhang. I got some 1/4 metal strapping notched it into the top of the island cabinets and screwed the strapping into the maple top to prevent sagging. I was told that the thick timbers would not sag but nothing like $20 worth of insurance and easy to do. It has been several years and no signs of movement. I just created matching faces and glued the planks together. Glue is extremely strong.

4. 
   _mj_ | Feb 28, 2023 07:39am | #5

   I don't think 3" thick walnut will deflect a bit with that overhang. I would spend some time thinking about securing the far end to keep it from levering up if someone does decide to sit there.