I made my teak countertop in 2 sections because, at 9 by 3 feet, it was too big and heavy to handle in one piece by myself. My wood ended up 1 1/2″ thick but the 2 pieces are not quite level with each other with one just under 1/8″ higher in the middle of the seam where they join. What makes teak a great countertop also makes it tough to sand or hand plane to smooth out. I don’t have access to a big panel sander.
I considered inserting some 1/2″ dowels to try to help line them up. I’m worried that the dowels might split the board ends rather than the boards deflecting as intended. Do dowels work to help smooth out a panel like this? Or should I go consider making a box and sled jig and use my router to level it?
Replies
top alignment
If both pieces are the same thickness, get a bunch of the alignment tabs used on dining table leaves. You screw them to the bottom on alternating sides of the joint and they will pull the two slabs level
Dick
If the mismatch is in the middle, it sounds like you have a variation in thickness between the two sections. If the joint is otherwise tight, I'd use bolts underneath to clamp them together, mount them, and then smooth out the difference in place. Just keep the sharpening stones handy. ;-)
drawbolts and biscuits
First of all, are you sure that it's a difference in thickness? Maybe one of them is slightly bowed in the middle?
One good way to keep them aligned is to use countertop drawbolts which are mounted in drilled holes from underneath and hold the parts tightly together. Used in conjunction with a few strategically placed biscuits, you can usually deal with alignment problems. (No glue on the biscuits...just a fast way to keep things in plane)
Thanks
My boards were not quite level causing the problem with the two pieces being a bit out of level. I used the alignment tabs idea which helped. I then used my random orbit sander and 80 grit sandpaper to even up the rest. I read somewhere on FWW that someone avoided random orbit sanders because they were so agressive. I know that to be true now, which in my case was good.
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