Cliff Posted March 27, 2016 Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 We're remodeling the kitchen on a bit of a budget. My wife decided she was sick of it, as we haven't changed it since we moved in 4 years ago. We know what we want to do in the future, and it involves replacing all the cabinets, floor, walls, etc. But that isn't in the cards this time around. She asked me to do walnut countertops. After looking around online and past threads on this site, I saw a lot of options. I still haven't decided if I will use Salad Bowl Finish or Marine Varnish. I'm putting that decision off for a while. So I start with the small counter to the right of our stove: Before- Starting with these- My counter is going to be about 25" x 25" and hoping to get it as near 1.5" as I can. So I rough cut everything to between 29" and 32" Off we go through the jointer- So on my last board, I noticed that the fence had gone full retard and my edge was not square. So I adjusted (I think I gotta pull it off and clean everything because it isn't staying at 90, and Eric never mentioned having that problem before so it makes me think it's that sawdust is stuck in there somewhere.) I put the board back on to joint the edge and the jointer started shuttering violently. Looked down and the belt is coming off. So apparently my jointer issues are not resolved yet. I will look into it next weekend Since the boards had one relatively flat face and square edge, I ran them through the table saw and planer. I actually need to decide how much sap I want, if any. The sapwood on this walnut stands out a ton. Also one or two sections have some pretty serious knots but I think I can put the worst of it on the bottom. My wife also likes knots and flaws anyway, so I suppose it will be up to me. But this ended round one of milling on my short counter. I was hoping to do round 2 next weekend with round one on the big counter boards, but this jointer belt issue may stop that. Oh and these final two pictures.. I'm making clamping cauls out of unitstrut. 12 40" cauls. I don't mind buying something like the Woodpecker Flat Bars, but I feel like I need 2 sets of each size and that's where it gets pricy. Did some research online and saw people make some out of these things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted March 27, 2016 Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 That's going to look sweet, Cliff. Unless you're going to fill the knots with epoxy, you probably don't want them on a countertop surface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat60 Posted March 27, 2016 Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 Looking good..Stinks about the jointer man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted March 27, 2016 Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 A bookmatched affect with the sapwood might look good centered on the top. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted March 27, 2016 Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 I'm with Steve...Maybe put two sap edges together to make a 'river' run through it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted March 27, 2016 Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 46 minutes ago, wdwerker said: A bookmatched affect with the sapwood might look good centered on the top. One of those unwritten rules of woodworking.. Turn a flaw into a feature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted March 27, 2016 Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 Actually slightly off centered would look more natural. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradpotts Posted March 27, 2016 Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 Good luck with the jointer and the project Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Posted March 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 21 hours ago, K Cooper said: That's going to look sweet, Cliff. Unless you're going to fill the knots with epoxy, you probably don't want them on a countertop surface. Definitely will fill everything with epoxy. That reminds me, gotta get some tint.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted March 28, 2016 Report Share Posted March 28, 2016 I hope you got a slaMMin deal on that jointer as it seems to be more down than up. I personally wouldn't use salad bowl finish on a counter. It protects ok but does scratch pretty easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted March 28, 2016 Report Share Posted March 28, 2016 On 3/27/2016 at 8:54 PM, Cliff said: So on my last board, I noticed that the fence had gone full retard and my edge was not square. So I adjusted (I think I gotta pull it off and clean everything because it isn't staying at 90, and Eric never mentioned having that problem before so it makes me think it's that sawdust is stuck in there somewhere.) Actually I did have that issue in the very beginning...until I learned that you have to pound the hell out of that locking lever until it's absolutely tight. I used a dead blow. Once it's locked down it doesn't move, but it takes more force than you'd expect to lock it down. On 3/27/2016 at 8:54 PM, Cliff said: 58 minutes ago, Brendon_t said: I hope you got a slaMMin deal on that jointer as it seems to be more down than up. Cliff bought my like new Byrd head for full retail, and I threw in the jointer for free. How's that for slaMMin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted March 28, 2016 Report Share Posted March 28, 2016 32 minutes ago, Eric. said: Cliff bought my like new Byrd head for full retail, and I threw in the jointer for free. How's that for slaMMin? It depends, did you throw in a tank of gas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Posted March 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2016 34 minutes ago, Eric. said: Actually I did have that issue in the very beginning...until I learned that you have to pound the hell out of that locking lever until it's absolutely tight. I used a dead blow. Once it's locked down it doesn't move, but it takes more force than you'd expect to lock it down. Cliff bought my like new Byrd head for full retail, and I threw in the jointer for free. How's that for slaMMin? Wow ok I'll bash the crap out of it. I'll figure the belt out too. I refuse to be bested... Til I give up. 1 hour ago, Brendon_t said: I hope you got a slaMMin deal on that jointer as it seems to be more down than up. I personally wouldn't use salad bowl finish on a counter. It protects ok but does scratch pretty easily. So.. Epifanes? Do you think? I know it will be stronger.. But way more money too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted March 28, 2016 Report Share Posted March 28, 2016 I've never used epiphanes but for my counters, I want to set a still damp pot or pan down and not freak out about it, hence I have all granite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted March 28, 2016 Report Share Posted March 28, 2016 Looking good cliff, that counter top is going to be cool. I like the idea of using some of the sap wood as a small accent as steve mentioned. Could you replace said knob or lever with something that offers more leverage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Posted March 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2016 12 minutes ago, Chestnut said: Looking good cliff, that counter top is going to be cool. I like the idea of using some of the sap wood as a small accent as steve mentioned. Could you replace said knob or lever with something that offers more leverage? Thanks! As for the lever, Not sure. I'm inclined to operate much like Eric in that I will never take the fence off of 90, so I don't mind whacking it into submission with a dead blow then leaving it forever. 9 hours ago, Brendon_t said: I've never used epiphanes but for my counters, I want to set a still damp pot or pan down and not freak out about it, hence I have all granite. I know what you mean for sure. And in the future, when we REALLY remodel we are going with soapstone. We pretty much agree we'll just have to be vigilant about making sure there is no water on the counter. Which actually means, I have to be vigilant, because I'm the problem. My wife doesn't leave water on the counter. As for dishes and such, when we wash them by hand, we are going to pick up some silicone mats to go under these padded drying mats we use currently. Hopefully that will work. I kind of look at the different finishes as.. salad bowl, maybe 7-8 layers and I gotta reapply maybe every year. Marine type varnish I might get a few years before needing to reapply. I think the possibility exists that both might get damaged by regular use, and I think that might be ok, because it's a counter, not a priceless artifact. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Posted April 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2016 Today I left work early and did the second milling on the boards. Then I got crazy and just decided to glue them. I called my wife in and we arranged the boards the way we liked them. We tried to do the sap as a feature stripe but it didn't really look good no matter how I offset it. So we moved those two boards to the ends so the sap will be cut off entirely. Current width of the counter is 33" and I only need 25" so that will be just fine. This is the arrangement. My wife LOVES the knots. So wanted the big one as the middle board. I will be filling all the knots with epoxy once I pick up some transtint. Then I laid out my biscuits. This may be the last time I use them. I just seem to have more trouble with them than not. Also the first use of the TS-32 here, I just got it today from amazon. Finally, I glued up. I used West Systems with 207 hardener. First because it's clear and second because it has like 2 million hours of open time. And I needed every second of it. This is my third or fourth panel and no matter how much I think I am prepared, I always find myself scrambling like an idiot. This time I forgot my gloves and mask so I had to get those. Then realized I forgot the wrench for the cauls. Even forgot to check if I HAD the right size wrench. I used my homemade unistrut clamping cauls and have discovered a very important question.. which do you tighten down first? The Cauls or the clamps? Or both a little at a time? I think tightening the clamps first may have caused my cauls to be less effective. It looks pretty decent at the moment. None are perfectly flush even though they were before the glue up. The board closest to the camera is up by about 1/16" so that sucks. Not really sure how that happened. I can only think I must have screwed up my biscuit slots somehow. I also noticed when viewing this picture at full resolution that my lines are off. The sun was glaring and I couldn't see right. It won't hurt anything since I have 4" of extra length (minimum) on each board. Just annoying. Next I will fill the knots and see if I can't try to flatten one side enough to pass through the drum sander. Taking it to a local woodshop for that since I don't have one. I just ordered my track saw, that is what I'll use to trim this up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted April 2, 2016 Report Share Posted April 2, 2016 Bring the cauls down snug first and then bring the clamps in. The sap wood suggestion was assuming you had to use it so, that worked out well for you! You can build a sled for the sander which should help you out a bit! Looking good! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted April 2, 2016 Report Share Posted April 2, 2016 Do a good job of scraping off any squeeze out epoxy on both faces before you ask someone to run it through the drum sander. Level the filled knots as well, both sides ! Surface glue will rapidly accumulate on the abrasive and cause a nasty burn the length of your top ( at least until they see it and shut down the drum) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Posted April 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2016 3 hours ago, wdwerker said: Do a good job of scraping off any squeeze out epoxy on both faces before you ask someone to run it through the drum sander. Level the filled knots as well, both sides ! Surface glue will rapidly accumulate on the abrasive and cause a nasty burn the length of your top ( at least until they see it and shut down the drum) Planning to do my best on both! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Posted April 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2016 Today I set out to square up my long counter stock. I need 120", and my boards are 140-144". I set up roller bars and such to make it easier and went at it. I had a helper so it wasn't a terrible trouble. It quickly became obvious that I had chosen the worst of my 5 boards to try to joint. You can see it in the second picture a bit where the end is much much thicker than the rest. The board was horribly twisted. After probably 10 or so trips over the jointer, taking a pretty heavy cut, I still had this: I attacked it with a hand plane as much as I could but we're talking about 7-8 inches higher than the last 1/2-3/4". I also had to take the guard off the jointer to fit the board across so every couple of trips I had to plane down that ridge because of how the edge of the jointer is where the guard is. Board - Once I got it most of the way I gave up on getting the rest because I would lose so much more thickness, and I plan to just cut off the edge once I get the track saw. I also figured that on an 8+ inch board, with 7 1/2" flat, it shouldn't really screw up planing too bad. At this point I noticed the bag on the dust collector had more dust than it should. Opened up the drum- Ouch. I had no idea how fast a 55-gallon drum can fill. I ended up with 2 fullish drums from ONE board. I went to the planer to see how close it could get it to square. I gave up on squaring an edge on the jointer, it seemed nearly impossible to keep a board of that size flat to the fence. I've got the board mostly flat on one side and parallel on the other and two rough edges. To get it completely flat and square would bring it down to at least 1 1/4" which is my absolutely minimum thickness for this counter. Like I said, I chose the worst board but 2 of the others aren't that much better. I've decided this is not worth the time and trouble. 3+ hours to almost get two faces parallel is horrid. I'm calling the saw mill I go to tomorrow to see if they'll square my stock up for a fee. If so I'll head there Saturday and get it done. If they won't I may have to consider buying different wood and using this for other projects where I can cut it up into more manageable pieces and square up easier. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted April 4, 2016 Report Share Posted April 4, 2016 It's a lot of work for sure! Real similar to building the roubo! Good job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat60 Posted April 4, 2016 Report Share Posted April 4, 2016 Trying to joint anything that big is a real pain....Great job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Posted April 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 After calling around to different shops and saw mills it seems that nobody wants to or can square up my boards. So, a complete change in direction! I think I have accounted for everything that matters with this: Before i could second guess this decision, off to rough cutting. The board shown here had a lot of waste because the bark/sap took up so many inches. I couldn't get more than 6 inches, and since I need a minimum of 6 1/4" post-milling, that wood is now scrap. After rough cutting I ran the boards through the jointing jig on table saw to bring the width down to under 8 inches on each board except the 4 52" long ones - for that I will use the track saw I think. Now I can properly joint these boards on the jointer. Most of that waste was flawed, had knots, sap or bark so it wasn't a huge waste, though I lost more than I'd like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Posted April 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 Brought these 52" boards down to less than 8" width so I could joint them. This is a pretty good example of why this was such a pain. Because only part of the board was cupped, the rest was twisted. Five hours of milling later, I can definitely say that the enjoyment process I used to feel making wood square has left, possibly forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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