My saga of installing a butcher block countertop continues. Try as I might, I could not do a suitable miter joint in the corner. It just never lined up correctly. So I decided to do a butt joint — long piece against the back wall; shorter piece, grain in opposite direction, on the adjacent wall.
I used miter bolts on the bottom side of the butcher block and some adhesive (probably a mistake) between the two pieces of wood. It feels solid enough, but now I have a very noticeable seam, brought about because I butted the ends of two finished edges — the edges of the countertops are beveled/eased slightly so when they meet, they make a tiny valley where crumbs and such are likely to go.
So…. I plan on using a varnish-based gel for the final finish (provided by John Boos company), so I’m not oiling the final countertop. We are not going to use it to cut on – more for decorative purposes.
Is it advisable to fill the valley with matching putty, sand the entire thing down and put the finish on? Is there any filler out there that is not likely to crack over time?
I feel like this is the project that won’t end. Butt joints are 20 times easier to do, but I really want to find a way to make a near-perfect seam, at least something that doesn’t catch crumbs etc. and makes a solid smooth surface.
Thanks everyone.
Mike
Replies
I'm sure you've seen this. Mitred deck boards at a corner where the runs change direction. One way-individual boards butt-sort of a herringbone. Usually never a mitre because of uneven shrinkage.
Another way is a narrow board that fits in between the mitres-running cintinuously. Breaks up the mitre, solves the problem of fitting so many.
Maybe in this situation it would break up the mitred individ. strip look. All edges would be cut so it would finish out smooth.
Maybe?
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I agree with calvin, the best fix to your situation is to router in a strip of wood in the seam. I can not describe how bad putty would look but the look on your friends face would.
well, I'd have shaved that butt joint so that the bevel was gone and I would not need to deal with this current problem. You definitely don't want that cavy to collect liquids and stain the wood, but any filler will not look good and may not stay in place. Letting in a surface strip with router and guide and epxy would be my next choice, but if you were unable to do the mitre joint nicely, you may not be able to handle this either.
So maybe it is time to call in professional help. Somebody with experience at this - before you ruin it.
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Here is a tip for next time. (Unless you can get you present project apart again)
Use a router with a 2" long by 1/2" diam. bit and a straight edge and route the eased edge off the one counter. Simple butt joint , use glue, biscuits and counter bolts for the connection.
I bet you end up pulling the lamination apart. Bad things happen when you butt end grain to longitudinal grain. Some flexible joint would be better.
Advice I've received locally is to take the butcher block to a local countertop fabrication shop and have them put it together with a miter joint based on my template. Does that sound reasonable to folks?
As long as it will fit in the elevator!
I was going to suggest filling the chamfer with epoxy and calling it a day. Not sure what level of finish you are after.
"When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking." — Sherlock Holmes, 1896
The poly finish I'm putting on will give it a satin finish. What type of epoxy would you suggest? Could it be sanded down to fill the void and have the finish go over it?
lots of questions, is this a butcher block slab, ie is the end grain up, or is this boards laid on edge, how thick is it. Cut it appart, square the edges and start again, the counter will only be a little narrower, 1 pc slightly shorter, then put it back together with bolts, no glue and re-route edge profile if required. You or a shop can do this on a joiner in no time.
Definetly do not poly it, the resident finish guru's please chime in. Also this has to be finished top and bottom or it will warp, and edges of sink, faucet holes.
The slab has the boards laid on edge, 1.5" thick, maple.
Looks like this is the best option at this point to ensure a decent joint.
I'm not sure. If it's feasible there are others here that can answer that better for you.
"When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking." — Sherlock Holmes, 1896
I would rethink the poly finish. if you still have it where you can miter it instead of taking it to a shop why not rough cut it with a circular saw and then put them close together and router it like someone already mentioned? very easy to do and alot cheaper than the shop.you router both pieces at the same time that way you get a perfect fit.
Edited 4/20/2009 12:33 pm ET by mikeroop
Can you explain this process more fully re: putting the pieces close together and routing at the same time? The product I'm using for sealing is EZ-DO poly gel from the John Boos company. It's meant as a food safe alternative to mineral oil or any type of "real" poly. It rubs on with a cloth. It's meant to go on top, bottom, sides, on open cuts, etc.
o.k. lets see if i can explain this as easely as it seems to me.
cut the miter with circular saw on both pieces
then put the two pieces together like they should go but leave about a 1/4 to 3/8 gap
(make sure the two counter are just like they need to be to fit the walls tight)
then clamp on a straight edge so the router with a half inch bit( about two inches long) will cut right down the middle cutting both pieces at once
they will fit together perfectly. :)
in my opinion the poly is just not a good choice for a counter top won't be long and it will be all scracthed up and what not
but do what ever you want your the one who's paying for it :)
Can do the same thing with a circular saw. Or godforbid, a hand saw.
yea, but you need to be good with the saw:) sounds like he already tried that and couldn't get it close enough to please him.
"in my opinion the poly is just not a good choice for a counter top won't be long and it will be all scracthed up and what not"I had the same argument with my wife ... and you know how that works out. Against my better judgment I shot a bunch of coats of poly on our maple counter tops and 4 years later they are doing fine. I was surprised.
I'll assume that the top is edge glue buthcher block.
If it is than what you are trying to do is but adge grain to end grain. that's a no-no because one moves and not the other. A 24" top can move 1/4" seasonally (1/8"+/-)
Same with mitre tops. The joint can open and closed at either the front or back depending the time of the year, heating/cooling, and humity. Mitre bolts will help mbut you must take in account for movement.
As for the front edge detail, you can do a 2-3" deep mitre and then the rest in a butt joint. This works for details like bullnose and ogees.
As for mitre vs butt joint. I'd probably pick butt joint and caulk the joint with something like Lexum. mitres are goo, but I really don't like that 34-36" joint, unless it is a perfect cut. It will still open/move
Plus I'd only use a finsh that penetrates, not thick surface finish.
Finish the top and bottom equally.
I built & installed yellow birch counter tops in my daughter's first home, with the long miter you have run into. After cutting the miter on both pieces I used a straight edge & hand planes to true & smooth the edges until I had a good joint. Once installed they looked great. Tried to talk them into replacing with boughten stuff when they sold & taking the birch with them when they sold. In their current home (totally refurbished 100+ years old farm house) they purchased butcher block sections & butted the pieces to avoid the long miter & all the elbow grease. Sure don't look the same & one 30"countertop expands about 1/2" past the other in summer & shrinks back beyond the other in winter. The suggestion to rout a groove along the seam & insert a strip of wood sounds like the only option, if you don't want to cut the miters. Good luck.
First attachment is a butt joint in the corner of the style of counter you are talking about.
I routered the eased edge off, then routed both pieces using a straight edge
Second is a photo of a part of a 22' long counter.
Counter was made up out of 3-8' pieces.
Not real clear photo of the actual joint in the 22' counter but it is in the darker shaded area . (darker because I had just oiled the sanded joint and hadn't finished the oiling of the rest of the counter).
These photos are about 3 years old, visited the house a couple of months ago and everything looks just as good as when I left after finishing it.
One thing is to allow the counter move, use slots on the cleats and drive screws up to just snug the counter down. Seasonal movement can then occur evenly across both pieces.
You can do it. Good router,good 2" long 1/2" diam. bit, good straight edge clamped down tight and easy does it.
Counter bolts, biscuits and glue.
Your first picture is exactly what I'm going for. Thanks for the advice. I'm going to try that approach tonight.Final thought: I suppose rather than trying to hide the butt joint, you could call attention to it by putting in a thin piece of metal or another type of wood to make it look like an inlay? This might make the countertop look more like "I meant to do that" rather than "I couldn't do the miter cut." Know what I mean? A thin strip of ipe or another exotic wood, or a strip of brass or copper... all would have to be completely flush with the top so food wouldn't get stuck in the cracks, etc. But it's an idea.
"If you can't hide it flaunt it" Friend passed that bit of wisdom on to me years ago. In my case I choose to go with the butt joint instead of miter so as to eliminate yet another joint in the counter. Counter was available only in 8' lengths. Just go slow with the router and make sure things are straight on the lay out.
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
that's what I meant with my suggestion of inletting a fill strip early in the thread
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