Looking for advice on butcher block miters.
What i have is a small bar top, basically it is three pieces with (2) 22.5 degree miters.
The width of the material is 13″.the lengths are aproximatly 2′, 5′ and 18″ +-.
I have tried my 12″ makita but have to flip the material over to finish the cut and the saw has a little wobble in it so that method is out.
Tried the skilsaw with a straight edge ,just not clean enough.
Also tried a 1/2″ flush bit in the router(1 3/4 horsepower) with a straight edge , i thought this was going to work but got chatter marks, kinda like corduroy.
also called cabinet shops and countertop co. but no help there.
at this point i have an 1/8″ at most on the 4 cuts to play with,although i dont have any more wiggle room but since it is my house i can live with it.
Sorry dont have digital camera.
thanks,twenty years and still a hack
Replies
Use a larger diameter bit with a 1/2" shank and creep up on it, shaving a tad at a time.
Then tweak it with a belt sander or power planer.
How are you affixing the joint? dog bones or something else?
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"Success is not spontaneous combustion, you have to set yourself on Fire"
I used a 1/2" bit with a 1/2" shank. How would a larger dia. cutter help?
hows the pups ?
I have in my grubby lil hands a 1.25" Dia bit with spiral flutes and a ball bearing.
IIRC it is called a CT overhang bit or something odd like that.
The MASS of the bit and the spiral makes a cleaner cut w/o chatter..you may want to dial the speed down a tad on the router if so equipped.
Pups are driving me nuts..thanx for askingSpheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"Success is not spontaneous combustion, you have to set yourself on Fire"
I will look into a spiral cuuter .thanks.funny, i would of thought a smaller cutter would be better but theh again i cant seem to make a tight miter.
Found a couple pics.
A couple of years ago I had a job that required mating 5 separate pieces of butcher block counter.
I used a clamp on straight edge and skil saw with a new blade for the rough cut , that got me within 1/4" of the cut I wanted.
After trimming with the skill saw I reset the straight edge and used a 3 hp. router with a 1/2" diam. x 2 " bit with a 1/2" shank. Very slow pass as I used the router, and a very light cut.
I managed to get seams that literally disappeared.
Counters were 26" wide and I used 5 biscuits each seam and Titebond 11 for glue.
Joints look good. come on by.
so i am using the same bit in a 1 3/4 horsepwer router.Could that be the difference ? and set the straight edge to remove a 1/16" ?
Did you glue the joints ?
I couldn't actually tell you how much I removed at a pass. I ran the router ever so slowly across the cut edge without pressing the base hard against the "fence" a couple of times then settled down with the base tight to the fence and made the last pass (maybe a 1/16", but I think a bit less).
I think I held my breathe the entire time on the last pass of each piece. ;-) Yes I glued the joints completely. Damp cloth for cleanup followed by sanding and oil finish. Hard part on that job was "clamping" the long counter. It was made up of 3 pieces laid end to end and measured just shy of 20' IIRC.
Original counter had a rounded edge all around the perimeter so I had to trim 4 ends for the butt joints and then glue it up.
Assembled in place and "clamped" end to end using hardwood shim shingles driven in between the walls at the ends of the counter and the counter top itself to wedge it tight at each seam. At the seams I used clamps to keep things flat and square as I applied pressure to the ends with the shims. I looked at counter joining hardware and decided against it's use in that application. The corner counter does have draw bolts to pull that seam tight ( I used stair rail bolts for that one).
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
Was that bearing bit ?
No , Not a bearing guided bit. I used the router base and fence as guides for the cut. Bosch bit IIRC.
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
Thanks.
mabye the bearing is screwing me up.
One thing I did do is to place a cut off piece of the counter a couple of inches away from the end I was working on so as to provide a stable platform for the router to sit evenly on.
Big router and that long bit was giving me trouble with keeping it vertical and stable. Using the cut off provided support for the base to keep it from tipping.
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
Good tip thanks.do you think the more powerfull router is a necesity?
Bigger router. Nice to use but needed? I don't think so , slow and steady and light cut , almost as if you were doing a final pass with a hand plane is the best description I can give. Control is more important.
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
Doing a bump
Fish
I've cut tops like dovetail has. Key is to make that final pass taking maybe 1/32 or less off. When you press that router tightly to that strait edge you can get just a tiny little bit more off. Slow steady pass.
If your getting chatter marks I'm guessing problem is with your router or bit.
I would clean up my cuts with a sanding block, I'd never use a power plane, that seams like a recipe for a bad joint.
I like using tight joints(dogbones) to make my conections. Thats difficult when you have a top go from wall to wall but if you can reach up underneath the top you could still get the tightjoints to work.
Doug
thanks bro.
So 1 3/4 horse is enough router.
Are you using the spiral bit like dovetail ?
do you glue end grain to end grain ?
By the way those radius ext. jambs came out great.
Thanks again
Yes 1 3/4 horse would do the trick.
I've used spiral bits but strait as well, both seam to work. Have to admit that once I started using the spiral I've been hooked on them.
End grain to end grain, I know its not the best glue up situation but yea, why not, cant hurt. I use tight joints with biscuits or splines, whatever will aid in the attachment. The tight joints will assure that the pieces will not separate and make for some really good clamps.
Doug
Right on. thanks.
Remodeled my place a few years ago and the bar top was the one project I never finished.
I had the tops rough cut and sitting on top of the little pony wall for years, people would lean on it and spill shiat all the time,even the dog got taged once.poor guy
mabye manana
Check this link out. Go to the bottom of the page on the pdf, left hand side. Neat bit for creating joints in solid surface counters.
Thanks to edwardh1 ( I think that is correct ) in the thread on wood siding being green for posting the pdf and link to start with. I just happened to see this bit mentioned at the bottom of the page and thought of this thread. Don't know that it would work on wood , but don't know why not either.
Thread post #: 101302.115
http://www.carpenters.org/carpentermag/7803/TrdTlk78_03.pdf
Edited 3/1/2008 3:20 am by dovetail97128
Kinda cool. It is like a mild figer joint.
I think i'll stick with bisquits and coutertop clamps for now.
I wish now that i had done some sort half lap or tongue and groove type joint since the joint is exposed,but I rough cut the material a couple years ago. yikes
Thanks