I need some advice on making a table using a slab of butcherblock. I have a good quality piece of commercial, maple butchblock that is 25″ X 48″ X 1-1/2.”. I want to use it as a freestanding island/table in my kitchen. I have four tubular chrome legs that are about 2″ in diameter with a flange at the top so you can screw them into the underside of the surface. I was just planning on finishing the wood and screwing the legs to the corners and being done. However, I got thinking that it might not be a bad idea to run a pair of 24″ pieces of maple across the underside to reinforce it (something on the order of 5/4 by 3″). I got this idea when I was cutting the butcherblock to size from a longer piece: when the 12″ X 25″ cutoff fell off the saw table and onto the concrete floor, the piece fractured along one of the glue seams.
I originally thought that I’d just glue and screw the reinforcements across the bottom, but then I remembered the issue of seasonal wood movement and thought that maybe I should forget the glue and use slotted holes in my reinforcing pieces where I screw through.
So…I’m asking for advice on three things:
1. What’s the best way to reinforce this top?
2. Does it matter whether I screw the chrome legs directly into the underside of the reinforced table or to the reinforcements instead?
3. What would be a good way to finish this surface. I plan to use it as a cutting and food prep surface, as well as a place to eat breakfast. I’m not going to abuse the surface, but I don’t expect it to stay pristine, either. So what should I put on it, if anything, that will be fairly easy to renew and won’t pose a food safety problem?
Replies
Hi,
I'd build at least a four-sided maple frame to support the tabletop..two end stretchers and two side stretchers..and attach your legs to that.,,although, if you're going to go to that trouble, go ahead and build some maple legs and do it right...smile.
Then float the table on the top using cleats or table clips that allow top movement.
Otherwise, the directly-attached legs may put enough stress (combined with the screws separating the butcher block laminations) that the whole thing comes apart.
In terms of finishing, there are lots of threads on this....I like shellac, others use salad bowl oil...look at the threads and garner experience there.
Good luck.
lp
I don't think the table will be very stable due to racking. There is very little preventing the screws from the flanged legs from pulling out, especially if you plan to move the table around.
I don't plan to move it at all once it's in place.
If the table is leaned on it may collapse unless you tie the legs together somehow. I second the stringer approach.
Regards,
Ken
"Do as you would be done by." C.S. Lewis
Hi:
The key is that this is a 'butcher block top". This top will not be any more stable than a piece of MDF with the legs screwed into it. The top must be supported by some sort of stable frame that will absorb the potential racking/bending forces on it. There are some nifty alternatives . . . . you could make a workbench like base (see the Taunton Workbench book for some examples) for instance. You could also use Metro metal shelving - anything that is strong enough to absorb the forces the table top can't resist . . . . .which are at the end ofthe day any forces greater than cutting.
Cheers
mark
David Marks, Woodworks, on DIY did a show on a butcher block table. http://www.diynet.com click on woodworking and search on butcherblock to see the details/pictures. Might be work a look.
Regards,
Ken
"Do as you would be done by." C.S. Lewis
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