Kitchen Island Countertop

Plain maple butcher block is pretty overused, but I havn’t seen one in a kitchen that uses multiple woods. Strips of Walnut, Maple, Oak, Purpleheart, Hickory, Cherry…just check out some of the smaller cutting boards here.

-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com

Maple (Hard Maple) is typically the wood of choice because it is tight grained and doesnt flavour food.

A miter joint is the best as both sections will expand and contract with each other.

Finishing both sides of the wood top is a must. I have done a few dozen BB tops and the two times I did not apply equall finish to both sides, the top culred up and literally tore the cabinets apart. Screwing the top down should allow for the screws to “float” to accomodate the shrinking and expansion of the top.

Good Luck

-- http://www.furnituremann.ca/

Brian, I think the trend lately has been for darker looking tops…assuming you have light cabinets. Mahogany with a bit of red is popular. Mostly you decision depends too on what use your island will get. If it is mostly a dinning/assembly area then grain is not as much a problem. I believe, don’t know for sure, it looks as though they fill the grain and use a poly or lacquer as top coat. But like all these types of things, you have to look at it, so what you like is what counts. And ditto what roman says…screw slots and finish both sides equal. What I do it look at different commercial cabinet sites and sites like Better Homes & Gardens (http://www.bhg.com/bhg/remodeling/ ) to get ideas. Hope that helps.

-- Jim Hallada, Chesterfield, VA

I used silicon to attatch the Butcher block top to my cabinets. More on the backside than the front so one side would release first should it expand too much (NOT YET, been 3 years). Silicone is flexible, so it goes with the expansion of the wood. When I sell the house, I could flip my coutertop over, peel off the silicon adhesive and have a brand new side without screw holes to fill. Don’t worry too much about it coming off, gravity also holds it down. As for wood species, if you plan to use it for cutting and food prep then Maple’s hardness, closed grain and relative cost really is the way to go. If it’s for decor/countertop space, then it’s all about the color and I can’t help you there.

-- Thuan

Thanks ALL for the comments and suggestions… I’ll take it from here and post the pics when they are done. Happy Holidays to all!
Brian

-- Brian, Alabaster, AL

Oh yeah, forgot about that one… great idea – thanks!

-- Brian, Alabaster, AL

PS: here is a link to one in a woodworking magazine:
http://www.totallybamboo.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=67&CFID=3467818&CFTOKEN=74793702

-- Brian, Alabaster, AL

Watch out for the end grain bamboo. It’s a grass that gross really fast, I’m talking about you can see it grow -fast. The fibers consist of capillaries that carries nutrients up the 20+ foot stems at a very fast rate. I HAD an engrain chopping block and poured 1/2 a bottle of mineral oil into it. It kept sucking up the oil as I poured it. It leached out the other side, it was two inches thick. Imagine if you spilled something on the top and and forget, it would soak what ever right down to the core. After 6 months of use and hand washing, the thing cracked in half. Some along the fibers of the wood, some at the glued up joints. That’s probably why the Chinese don’t use it for chopping blocks and I go to Hong Kong once a year.
The edge grain bamboo is good and the compressed weaved ones are excellent products. We sell it as flooring.

-- Thuan