Countertop

I bet you have a huge shop to put that thing together.

It looks great, thanks for letting us have a look at it.

-- Bob, Oak Park Il, OakParkWoodworker.com

Very nice top. I’m not sure what “tough use” will be done on it, but if it is any food prep perhaps you’ld want to finish it like a cutting board with mineral oil? A side note regarding mineral oil for any interested. I went looking for some at the hardware store and only found “Butcher Block” brand that was quite expensive. I ended up getting mine from a drug store for a quarter of the price.

Here’s a company that does it full time with finish recs.

http://www.devoswoodworking.com/Finishes.htm

-- There is no such thing as scrap wood!, http://www.saltrivergallery.com

Great looking countertop! What is the overall length?

-- Martin, Kansas

Great Job!... that looks like I would take six guys to haul it…

-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)

Made a few small versions of this in my time, mineral oil is the way to go.

-- Berta in NC

The overall length is 121 inches and it’s 20 inches wide. I may have given the wrong impression as to how I put this together. I first secured the mdf to the cabinets and stub wall and then planed several oak boards to a uniform thickness (approx 1 inch) and then sliced the 1/2 inch pieces and laid them out on the mdf with the edge grain facing up and leaving a 3/4 inch border to allow for the side and end pieces which are 1 and 1/2 inch thick. I then cut a 3/4 inch dado 3/4 inch deep and 1/2 inch from the top in the border pieces and slid them over the mdf. I rounded over the border pieces with a router I glued everything down and used a belt sander to knock off high spots and then finished to 220. It took me several weekends just to get the lumber milled and laid out. Now if I can get the right finish on it (finishing is a real weakness for me) it will all be worth it. Thanks for the suggestions.

I vote for oil based poly. It is durable and will give your wood a warm hue. It is also food safe once it has cured. Here is an interesting blog about finishes.

-- Depend on the rabbit's foot if you will, but remember it didn't work for the rabbit.

I’ve finished two Maple counter tops in the last 2 years. One with Mineral Oil and one with a Tung Oil mixture, a ratio of 4 parts Mineral Spirits (e.g. white spirit or paint thinner) to one part Tung Oil. Applied with a sponge brush and wiped off with a clean cloth. (I flooded the second top with the mixture keeping it wet in areas that absorbed faster than others and waited for 30 minutes before i wiped it off.)
The first top was for the kitchen and the second was for my shop. The kitchen one spots and stains easily with just Mineral Oil so I’m going to refinish it with my Tung/Thinner finish that I deem to be safe around food “at my house” but others may think it unsafe. I have a note attached to my will to let you people know if we die of Tung/Thinner poisoning ;-)). Disclaimer: Don’t try this at home, YMMV.

-- Only the Shadow knows....................

This is a beautiful countertop. I wouldn’t want to move it to refinish it in the future ( at least not without a lot of help).

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.