Butcher Block Countertops

 Now with even more butcher block! I have all of these tiny pieces, time to glue up the last sections. 

All of the sections run through the planer

Gluing the sections together

The big boy, all glued up with a big hole for the sink

Both sections ready to install

The older countertops turned out very wavy

That joint used to be flush

The back used to meet the wall

Hard to really express how much these boards dried after I got them installed, but this stuff was all flush

New stuff going in!!

It's flat and beautiful

Cool coloring on the maple stripe

These turned out beautiful. They are flat, and everything fits. Most importantly, the wife & kids are able to use them easily and like the look. These turned out great.

Dressing Oak

 I picked up some green 1x8x16' oak boards from the local sawmill and got started on a couple of projects. My friend Suzy wanted an aquarium stand, so that had to be a sturdy cabinet able to hold 250 lbs. Also my buddy Shawn wanted a bed that I had designed a while ago but never built. So let's start cutting up this oak! Where's my planer at?

The ripping setup

The mighty pile of oak

These are bed parts, rough cut

These are the cabinet parts, rough cut

More bed stuff

Got some time on the planer there, really made a lot of shavings

Cabinet parts are getting there

Bed stuff is more dressed, still some work to go there

Finally starting to glue up some panels. Next up will be more cabinet and bed details, and an update on the countertops

First draft of house plans

 Things are cranking along building the mountain house. I started by drawing out some plans on paper, then everything changes of course. Jan 5 we submitted the permitting paperwork to get the perc test done, and it still hasn't happened so everything has been in a holding pattern for almost 5 months. I haven't been able to get an engineer on the line yet to work through the plans, but I'm hesitant to pay for that anyway before I know the lot will perc. (if the lot doesn't perc [wastewater percolating through the soil] then we can't install a septic tank, and therefore can't build the house)

We had to stake & line where we wanted to put stuff on the lot before the perc test, and when we staked out this house it turns out we were like 5 feet over the property line. So when these drawings actually went into autocad we had to start by flipping everything 180* around and changing the roof line. But this is still a starting point!

Main floor plan

Elevations

It's 40' x 40' footprint, one story, with a huge deck & front porch. Most of it will get 10' ceilings. going to be a blast! Here we are staking out the wrong place for everything

Well & Septic have to be at least 100' apart

Starting more countertops

 I desperately need to replace the rest of my countertops in the kitchen at my house. Better get out the table saw & planer!

Starting to rip these down to 1 7/8" wide

To make these butcher block countertops and cutting boards, I start by ripping the boards down to 1 7/8" wide, a 2" cut minus the kerf of the blade. Then I plane the cuts down to a clean board and consistent thickness. See how wet and raw all of that oak is in the last picture? It starts out as 4/4 rough cut off of the sawmill and comes out of the planer as clean oak.

My butcher block is edge grain glued up from oak, cherry, walnut, hickory, and maple. So get the boards cleaned up and ready to glue, then pick the best edge to stay up. Prepare and glue the faces together, I make sections that are less than 12.5" wide so I can run them through the planer again after the glue cures. 

For this countertop, there are two main sections. I need to start out with boards that are too long so I can trim them to final length after the glue cures. I have to start with 2 sections that are 8' long, and get some other sections glued up to fit around the sink. Then another main build that's about 48" long for the side piece. Stay tuned to see how it comes together!