Hi to everyone, I havnt been on this forum for a while but its good to read some realy
interesting posts, you can learn heaps here. Now for my problem. I have finaly got araund to making my own kitchen. I am a cabinetmaker by trade but you know what its like, I have no storage at home. I am designing my kitchen to be made from individual pieces of furniture. although they will be built in and fixed to the walls, they will have curved doors, drawers and bench tops. As a major part of the design and the first piece that will be seen on entering the room will be a circular cabinet with a 1150mm / nearly 4′ diameter 2”thick butchers block on the top. This may be half end grain half normal or all end grain. The problem is I have never made one of these before. Cant decide on either Maple. Beech, or Oak. or a combination. Could anyone advize me on suitable methods of construction, adhesives and finishing materials as I dont want to stuff this up. I would be greatful for anyones help.
John.
Replies
John
Sounds interesting, and similar to my proposal for our new kitchen.
I'm sure you know, but traditional end-grain butchers blocks use fine grained, hard(ish) and light-coloured wood. Beech, for example, in the UK; a native hardwood like kahikitea or kauri or one of the flooring timbers (matai) here in New Zealand ... but probably not oak, because the pores are too open and the hardness too variable. They were held together by a sort of frame, not just the glue, and over the years/generations were worn down into a hummocky shape.
There's a butcher in my high street who uses his grandfather's block, used father and son anf grandson for 60 years.
In my case, I'm planning a combination of long grain and end grain, from 2 inch/50mm totara. Most of the surface will be made of 2 by 2 strips, but near one end will be an 'inlaid' area of about 2 feet by 2 feet of end grain. I'm going to glue it up as a solid piece (maybe 10 feet/3m, by 30 in/700mm).
Polyurethane glue
No finish
Malcolm
John,
As Malcolm already said, I'd stay away from oak for this. Its grain is too open - it will soak up anything. Maple and beech are better. Personally I'd prefer the maple - slightly less expansion / contraction issues - but either have been used in the past.
I think your 2" thickness is not nearly enough. Most traditional butcher blocks were at least twice that if not more. I've made a few of these, not as big as the one you describe, but never less than 3". The way I built them was to glue up a large slab using 2" material, very carefully jointed, without any splines or biscuits. Afterwards I ran that slab through a perfectly adjusted thickness sander, to get absolutely identical thickness throughout. Then I crosscut it all into strips 3" wide, each of which becomes a row in the final block. These get turned grain-up, and every other one gets rotated to break up the continuity of pattern. Then all glued up and sanded. I used mineral oil on both sides. Maybe no finish at all is an even better idea.
Make sure your stock is uniformly dried. This is more important that the absolute moisture content. If parts of the block contract at different rates, it will self-destruct.
give us a photio of the results,
DR
Here is some info that may help.
The preferred woods are close pored fine grain woods like maple, birch and beech.
There is a little engineering that needs to be considered when building an end grain butcher block. First, choose wood where the growth rings (viewed from the end) run as close to 90 degrees or parallel to one edge. Remember, the expansion/contraction is about double along the annular rings verses perpendicular to the rings. You've got to keep the grain running in the same direction as you glue up your strips. In other words, don't glue a flatsawn edge to a quartersawn edge.
Next, the way butcher blocks are made is to glue up strips of wood like you were making a laminated type cutting board. These laminated panels are then run through a planer to flatten them and bring them to equal thickness. Then the panel is crosscut into strips of blocks equal to the thickness that you want the butcher block to be. These block strips are then glued together again keeping the grain running in the same directions.
Not paying attention to the grain orientation will lead to the block cracking and/or joints being pulled apart.
A type II adhesive will work just fine however, you need to be sure you do everything right to get good adhesion. Your glue faces should be flat and freshly cut. It they were cut more than a few days earlier, freshen them up with about three swipes with 320 sandpaper and block to keep the faces flat.
Generally, threaded rod is not used as maple has quite a bit of movement when it's moisture content changes. Threaded rod would restrict this movement and either deform the block or pull the nut/washers into the wood when it expanded leaving the rod performing no function when the wood later shrinks. Proper gluing will keep the block together.
Finally, it always much cheaper, and a lot less aggrevating to purchase a butcher block than to make one. The firms that specialize in end grain butcher blocks have speciaiized equipment to apply the necessary clamping force, plane the initial boards exactly correctly, plane the first glue up and then clamps to make the final block.
Given the above and the necessity to plan on wood movement, I'm not sure I know of a way to combine both endgrain and long grain in the same assembly. The only way I know of is to build the field out of endgrain and then surround it with long grain. But, the field will have to "float" like the field in frame and panel construction.
H,
I haven't made a butcher block but we have 3 in our house, all inherited and well used.
The one with no surround to the end grain blocks does show some gapping between some of the individual blocks, probably due to the grain orientation issues you describe; but consider the following:
The others two blocks have 1 inch strips around the four edges, with steel bolts right through on the long sides (2 bolts for one and 3 for the other). These "wrapping" strips are butt-joined, with the long strips clasping the short strips. I don't know if there is a spline in the joints.
The bolt heads and nuts/washers show within drilled recesses, so they can be tightened, although I've never had to.
There is no gapping between the blocks in these boards.
I suspect that the grain was not only well-aligned as you describe but that the blocks were put together when fairly dry. Using (and wetting) the blocks expands them a bit and the bolt-clasped "wrapping" strips around the edges keep the whole thing tight - perhaps.
But this is just a theory based on the observations of these 3 blocks, not on any experience of making one.
Lataxe
Howie -- you offer good council. I've made a few end-grain versions out of maple and would have benefitted from your suggestions instead of learning the hard way. Probably the best commercial boards are made by Booz and are available in restaurant supply places (I've even seen them at Home Depot Expo). They have a wide range of sizes, configurations and thicknesses and -- if you get the best price -- they're even cheaper than you can buy the materials for. Of course, this doesn't solve the problem of a custom size/shape unless you can get a big one and then custom shape it.
All the butcher blocks we sold as part of our kitchen cabinet business were by Boos. They are the best.Howie.........
Oops! How would I know how to spell Boos? Yep -- good boards. They even use them on the food channel.
I was given a Boos block cart a few years ago. The top is 5" end grain maple. Wonderful addition to my kitchen. They sell edge grain tops in maple in custom made sizes or in bulk sizes. My hardwood supplier in Houston carries it; I'm sure others around the country do also. Tom
howie, is that hard maple or soft maple
I have a Boos block in my kitchen that I use for an island. It is old, very old. It was used in a butcher shop in southern Louisiana. My wife and I bought it about 10 years ago while on an expedition in search of an old block to be used for an island. Found this one in an old warehouse stacked full of old stuff. The solid maple block was in very bad shape. The top of the block was badly bristled and molded. One of the legs had been cut shorted than the other three presumably to make the block fit in an area in the original butcher shop with one leg on a raised portion of floor.
We bought the block for $400 as is and myself along with three other large men loaded it into the back of my truck. This was not a small task. Once home I got the help of the neighbors to unload the block and I placed it on a furniture mover and immediately cut the legs to be the same height. Then the work began. The block was setup on its legs and I began the task of belt sanding through the bristle. I would work on it everyday for several weeks before getting the surface down to solid maple. I had no desire to flatten the top. I wanted the natural wear to be evident. Once I completed the top work I began the task of getting the block to cabinet height. I accomplished this by making a platform that the block would sit on. I made it out of maple.. The end product looks like a butcher block with a nice shelf underneath. The block was wiped down with mineral oil and gets a good wipe down from time to time. I love cutting things on it. Especially love stabbing a big knife into the top...he he.
It has been a very long time since I measured the block but as best I can remember it is over 3' by 3' square, It is about 12 to 15" thick and is cabinet height. It is end grained hard maple. It appears that the construction of the block was such that it is of a number of 1.5 to 2" thick slabs 12 to 15" long glued together with three threaded rods running through the center with the openings to the rods closed with wood plugs. The interesting part of the block is that the slabs that were 3' long by 1.5 to 2" thick made by jointing together a number of 2x3(roughly) maple boards 15" long are jointed with dove tail joints. I have no idea how much the block weighs, but it is a bunch.
I paid $400 for the block and put little into it other than some maple for the platform and labor. I have been offered over $1000 for the block nearly 10 years ago. I did contact Boos in Indiana to see if it could be dated. They could not date the block but told me 10 years ago that they had stop making that type of block over 50 years ago. So at minimum the block is now 60 years old.
Just thought you might like the Boos Block story.....Wayne
Hard maple is the thing to use.Howie.........
Thanks, Howard, How about what speices you can't use, aside from the spalted woods? I know that walnut woodchips or shavings can be very harmful or deadly to horses.
Steve
My perspective on butcher blocks is that yer gonna maybe use up 1/4" of thickness per decade in a normal kitchen.
So a 1" thick top will in theory last ya 30 years before it's too thin to use. an inch and a half will last you your lifetimA
A 4" thick top will see your great grand kids using in.
I haven't made many recently, but I use 1" material and thicknness it to achieve maximum thickness, perhaps 7/8 or even more , and then rip to 1 1/2 strips. it is laminated on the flat grain, although some "iron shefs might like end grain facing up, you could use the same waste recduction principles if you want
Why? economics, 4/4 material is cheaper than 8/4, and if you watch the width of the boards you select for increments of 1 5/8, yer waste is minimized.
speaking of waste, you gotta make sure that yer not getting 3" of "snipe" on the end of each board, or yer waste; ie cost; escalates.
Sand it flat. Start with real coarse (60) and use belt cleaners, 80. 100, 120 to perhaps 150 is ok.
I uaw PVA glue, standard carpenters glue, and finish with mineral oil from the drug store (consumable quality)
No bolts no biscuits, just standard glue joints. No failure to date, with 30 + years of utilization.
Was it 25 years ago I did a whole stand in Alder, including top. It's still intact. An more economical alternative.
Eric in Cowtown
I like the sound of the kitchen you intend to build I am in Melbourne the timber promotions or marketing council dont know what yours is called can be very helpfull when choosing timber.I am also a cabinet maker,if you can have a look at a book <The Art Of KItchen Design by Johnny Grey published by Cassell in 1994 sold in oz by Capricorn Link in NSW It would interest you best wishes with your project.
You can make it fool proof but not idiot proof
Edited 5/30/2006 1:46 am ET by Bolts
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