Replies

1. 
   sawdustmaker | Mar 28, 2004 09:30pm | #1

   Use a dense, closed grain wood such as maple. Oak, which has more open pores, may absorb unwanted material and liquids. As far as the finish, there are a few companies who manufacture a "butcher block finish", but I have had great luck with vegatable oil.

2. 
   jvs | Mar 28, 2004 10:34pm | #2

   Marina, try an archives search for "kitchen and countertops;" several discussions in the past 6 months and lots of opinions. Mine is that if you like the look and can treat it well or live with the consequences, go for it. Worth what you paid, but pretty mainstream for hear and Breaktime.

   Good luck!

   /jvs

1. 
   Marinah | Mar 28, 2004 11:12pm | #4

   Thanks for the tips.  I sem to be having problems with archives, but maybe I will get the hang of it.  I couldn't find anything under kitchen.  Cheers.  MarinaH

1. 
   jvs | Mar 29, 2004 02:05am | #5

   Searching Prospero archives can be an excercise in frustration--the problem is not you...  :)

   Found these here, too disgusted to go through a Breaktime search, but there is lots more over there if you have the patience.

   http://forums.taunton.com/tp-knots/messages?msg=16071.1

   http://forums.taunton.com/tp-knots/messages?msg=11824.1

   http://forums.taunton.com/tp-knots/messages?msg=322.1

   http://forums.taunton.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=tp-knots&msg=2784.1&search=y

   /jvs

1. 
   wavos | Mar 29, 2004 08:08pm | #6

   I guy at MT. Storm, a great lumber store in the Santa Rosa California area, who sold me my Butcherblock counter top was out of the expensive stuff to treat the counter tops, told me to use peanut oil.  It is relatively very inexpensive and has worked great on my counter tops.  Wavos

1. 
   Gretchen | Apr 03, 2004 03:22pm | #14

   If I read this right the counter tops may be butcher block but are not going to be used as cutting boards. So a heavy duty finish would be in order.And on cutting boards use mineral oil.  Vegetable oils will get rancid and/or sticky.Gretchen

3. 
   Marinah | Mar 28, 2004 11:09pm | #3

   Thanks for replying so quickly.  Would reclaimed wood be as good as new?  I haven't had luck in finding anything under archives.  MarinaH

4. 
   mike4244 | Mar 29, 2004 11:51pm | #7

   Maple or white oak. Do not use red oak,wine. barrels are made from white oak . Finish with Varathane Varnish. This varnish should be thinned , also seal underside with varnish. Four coats of thinned varathane will be enough.Wood in the kitchen looks great, as long as you protect it from water and food stains. The varathane will do that.

   mike

1. 
   Marinah | Mar 30, 2004 04:53am | #9

   Thanks for the advice. MarinaH

1. 
   Robbie | Mar 30, 2004 06:48pm | #10

   Mike:  For the island project, if it is just going to function like a table top (no cutting directly on, etc.) why would one not finish with lacquer -- just like a kitchen table?

   Also, question related - I want to do something similar on an island with a thick top (2.5").  I'd like to rout something like a big ogee edge on it.  How does one go about that?  I've heard you need different bits and have to step it.  My imagination just is not taking me there.

   Robbie

1. 
   mike4244 | Mar 30, 2004 09:12pm | #11

   Lacquer is fine for the island, I thought it was a cutting surface. As far as routing an ogee, check whiteside routerbits website. They may have exactly what you need without using multiple bits.Other wise you will need a bulllnose bit or a large roundover small and large and a cove bit. I didn't mention sizes of bits because you have to draw what you need  and pick the closest bits to your drawing. Also check french provincial bits, they are similar to ogees but fancier. These are fairly large bits and may be close to what you want.Two and a half inches thick means you will have to rout from both top and bottom, I don't think the shanks will be long enough to rout everything from the top. Get a can of Dricote, spray bits with this stuff will keep bit running cooler. Not harmful to wood or future finishes.I use this whenever I rout large profiles.

   mike

5. 
   Quickstep | Mar 29, 2004 11:53pm | #8

   Yes, wood in the kitchen is impractical. Like anything that looks really nice, it will require maintenence. Painted wood siding looks nicer than vinyl, hardwood floors look nicer than carpet. There's a reason you are leaning toward maple instead of Formica, right? I made maple countertops for a house I had years ago. I made it look like butcher block, but it was really strips of maple epoxied to a substrate. Keep standing puddles off of it and periodic light sanding and oiling will keep it looking nice. Back then I had more time and could give things like that the attention they need. In a kitchen that is just getting underway, I will have maple top on just the island; maintenence on a more manageable scale. PS, I used walnut oil on mine.....

6. 
   Neuf | Apr 02, 2004 08:03pm | #12

   I just built a countertop for a desk unit in my kitchen using 3/4 cherry plywood with a solid cherry band biscuit jointed around the perimeter.  Cheap, quick, and pretty easy.  The finished product exceeds my wife's expectations, believe it or not.  Ofcourse, it is an office/planning area far away from water/moisture.  Good luck.

7. 
   ebergh | Apr 03, 2004 07:58am | #13

   I'd recommend maple... used it for bench tops for my students for 25 years and it withstood a lot of cutting! After using lacquer on it for years, I finally just used a fresh sanded surface. For kitchen use, Mineral Oil is safe and cheap - goes on best if warmed up a bit to thin it out.

   A good source of long runs of 24" wide lam. maple is from one of the school shop vendors, like Paxton Patterson. If you glue it up yourself, use an expoy . It can give you a resonable open time and doesn't have a dark glueline like resorcinal or plastic resin glues.

   A island location seems like a more practical application than a countertop - you can restore/sand it down when it gets ratty looking (hard to do up against the wall)

   BTW, my current bench is Red Alder (cheaper than maple around here) and I would NOT recommend it for use around food as it's grain is more open and fiberous.