Wood Tips for Butcher Block Table Tops

[LeftyTom]

Disclaimer: I did not want to hijack the thread about wood not for cutting boards.

Any combination or 2 or 3 woods to avoid when building a butcher block table top? Suppose dimensions of 30"L x 26"W x 2" thick.

Tips appreciated for both tops with side grain (30"L x 3/4"W x 2"T) and end grain (for future reference).

FWIW, I am using only white oak for one top, and ash for another top.

 

[CrealBilly]

I think any closed grain wood would work well (like WO / Maple / Alder / Sycamore / beech / Gum, ...) I would avoid open grain woods like (RO / Ash / Locust / Hickory, etc...) only because I would always wonder about another place for bacteria to hide. Plus I don't think open grain woods would be very easy to clean, the wife might not appreciate that very much.

Here's a link to a decent Wood Toxicity and Allergen Chart ---> http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/wood-allergies-and-toxicity/

Closed grain woods ---> http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/closed-pore-woods/

 

[CrealBilly]

Sorry I had another thought... I would also consider using cheap flat sawn stock like 1x6's, rip the center out out of the boards and glue face to face. That way the edges are facing up and what your going to see would be a Rift and QS grain patterns which is much more pleasing to the eye than flat sawn cathedral grain is.

 

[CrealBilly]

one more thought :gar-La; you may want to consider using lengths of thread rod instead of clamps cause you know whats gonna happen when to try and glue that many pieces together (slide city). Drill holes in the faces of the boards at the desired locations and apply glue and drop them over threaded rod. Once you have your desired width tighten up the bolts and cut off the excess rod length. The last board would be a cap that's not bolted to the others to hide the fact that the whole thing is held together with threaded rod. I think 36" lengths of threaded rod are quite common.

Bad idea perhaps... but worth considering, Threaded rod would go pretty quick and you could use TB WWII. It might be better than a bunch of dowels or biscuits and slow set glue to align everything while to spend a bunch of time getting everything just right before clamping it all up.

 

[LeftyTom]

Thanks for the pointers, Jeff. The white oak I have is flatsawn. I may alter my plans to use ash bases for both roll-around kitchen carts, with white oak tops and shelves.

An area I forgot to mention in my original post:

When gluing up panels, I alternate the boards so growth rings on adjacent board point in opposite directions. The concept being that this reduces the chance of the panel warping due to wood expanding and contracting.

With 2" wide strips of wood, as in my example, should I pay attention the the orientation of the growth rings when face gluing the table top? I can get the layout of the growth rings from the end grain before cutting the strips.

 

[CrealBilly]

Thanks for the pointers, Jeff. The white oak I have is flatsawn. I may alter my plans to use ash bases for both roll-around kitchen carts, with white oak tops and shelves.

An area I forgot to mention in my original post:

When gluing up panels, I alternate the boards so growth rings on adjacent board point in opposite directions. The concept being that this reduces the chance of the panel warping due to wood expanding and contracting.

With 2" wide strips of wood, as in my example, should I pay attention the the orientation of the growth rings when face gluing the table top? I can get the layout of the growth rings from the end grain before cutting the strips.

Although alternating growth rings on glue ups appears to be the best way to attempt to control wood movement and reduce cupping and wrapping. The truth of the matter is wood is wood it swells and shrinks all the time. Fact is wood is going to move and there is not a lot one can do to completely control it. I seen a tagline somewhere that said "wood moves - get over it". That tag line really drove the point home for me and I think differently about wood movement now than I did before.

 

[Robert]

Is there any change in the open/closed pore concerns on the surface between Rift/Qtr sawn (the sides) and End grain? Say for example, for white oak, is there any less concern when using the end grain for the cutting surface than when using Qtr Sawn for the cutting surface?

Or maybe there is more need to fill the pores on end grain?

Thanks for the education...I need it.

Robert

 

[CrealBilly]

Is there any change in the open/closed pore concerns on the surface between Rift/Qtr sawn (the sides) and End grain? Say for example, for white oak, is there any less concern when using the end grain for the cutting surface than when using Qtr Sawn for the cutting surface?

Or maybe there is more need to fill the pores on end grain?

Thanks for the education...I need it.

Robert

Well Robert now that you ask... Take a look at the pic below. WO endgrain on the right RO on the left. The grain of the growth rings on red oak are noticeable open. Yet WO grain is closed, this is what helps make white oak suitable for water-tight vessels, and gives it increased resistance to rot and decay.

Thanks

 

[CrealBilly]

I didn't really answer your main question did I? Sorry about that. Strictly speaking to the orientation of the grain, be it quartered, rift or flat doesn't really matter. If the species of tree is closed grain it's grain pores are closed, no matter which way the grain is originated in the board.

 

[Robert]

Thanks Jeff, I've looked but never found that answered.

I would presume that you wouldn't mix end grain and Qtr sawn/rift due to the natural variances in seasonal movement of the different cuts......or I could be wrong. (Unless it was carefully planned.)

Robert