Stampy Posted September 21, 2014 Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 Well my wife and I took the plunge. We are going to gut about 90% of our little Craftsman bungalow and add a second story increasing our square footage by 800 or so for a total of around 2400 square feet. The upper floor will be done with a 3 foot knee wall and 2 shed dormers off either side to give us 9 1/2 feet at the peak and about 7 1/2 at the eave. The Builder is awesome as we were able to vet his work during our neighbors renovation 2 doors down. Here's a rough idea of what it will look like. In designing the kitchen I'm getting my other neighbor to do our custom kitchen. I'd love to do it myself but he can (with the friend deal) have it done quicker and cheaper then I ever could. My question to you guys is has anyone done a glue up for an island? This will be a functioning cutting board. I'd like to at least make that myself. It will be about 6 1/2 feet long by about 32" wide What species of wood would you use? I love maple (Being from the east) but something a little more exotic with warmer tones would be good to. Style counts as we all know. The cabinets will be a cream color and the island and buffet across in the dinning room will match with a Blueish grey color. Let me know what you think Stampy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted September 21, 2014 Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 Cherry and walnut are nice . I am guessing you are going to do edge grain? End grain that size would require a drum sander and a lot of time ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted September 21, 2014 Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 It really depends on the contrast you're looking for and your budget. Maple would be nice, as would cherry and walnut. Or, you could go more exotic and look at something like Bubinga.. Regardless, Steve is correct in that a drum sander will be huge in getting the finished project you want.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted September 21, 2014 Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 If it's an edge grain cutting board you can glue up 3- 11" wide sections and plane them on a little lunchbox type planer then carefully glue those together, trim to length sand, sand and sand some more ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 If it's an edge grain cutting board you can glue up 3- 11" wide sections and plane them on a little lunchbox type planer then carefully glue those together, trim to length sand, sand and sand some more ! That becomes easier if you have a biscuit joiner or a domino. Great thought Steve! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 Oh and don't forget lots of clamps ! I would guess maybe( 12 -16) 36" clamps and 8-12 or so short clamps to use on cauls to keep the surfaces lined up. Maybe you could borrow a few if you don't have enough ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stampy Posted September 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 Oh I have clamps baby. That was the technique i was going to employ as my little Ryobi planner will only accept a 13" width. And with all that I thought about just buying a couple of Lee Valley bench tops and gluing those together. I'd have to figure out a way to get a few more inches out of the length though as the cabinets are 6' long. Do you really think I would need to sand the you know what out of what will effectively be a very large cutting board? As long as it comes out relatively flat and true is that not okay? I see allot of red meat, beer and wine being opened, consumed and spilled on this thing over the next few decades. I love kitchen parties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 You have to sand at least 120, 150, 180 in my opinion, but I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist . 220 wouldn't hurt either. I like the Watco cutting board and salad bowl finish. It's oil and varnish mix of some sort, just follow the directions on the can. I,would do a couple of coats on the underside before I mounted it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 I wouldn't go any softer than hard maple if it's only going to be edge grain and you plan to actually cut on it. Bubinga would be great. Going end grain gives you more options, but, as noted, a lot more work...especially if you don't have a drum sander. I wouldn't even consider tackling a block that big without one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wouldwurker Posted September 23, 2014 Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 Would the open pores on Walnut be an issue regarding germs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stampy Posted September 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2014 220 for final sanding?! I thought you were going to say work your way up to 1500 or something crazy like that. lol I suppose I might be able to get a commercial shop to do the drum sanding for me if I do go this route Thanks for the input. Stampy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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