Hey all… my small kitchen needs a new countertop as the original tile one is literally falling apart. We are going to take the opportunity to put remove the old base cabinets and redo the lay-out to eliminate a funnel point in our already tiny kitchen.

So, the main portion of the counter is going to be about 104” with a sink cut out in it. We want wood, and specially walnut look. In order to save money, I sadly won’t be using actual walnut. I was considering using pine and just dealing with the inevitable dings and scratches, but God provided a great alternative:

Free maple!

I lucked into a source of used laminated solid maple table tops. Each one is about 18x25, and I think 1.5” thick. They are made in the butcher block style and have some radiuses edges. I’ll try to post a picture.

Once the 30 years of use and old finish is sanded away they look fantastic.

So, my thought is to first clean the grime off them and then cut them back into the 18 x 1.5 x 1.5 strips that was used when they were originally made. Then I’ll start the rebuilding glue up from there (will get to the specifics of the best way to do that when appropriate)

For now, my first question is this: what table saw blade should I buy for ripping these table tops? I have a 10” Rigid table saw that is likely my best option, but I’ve never changed tbe blade from when I bought the saw, and it was used then. I don’t really know how sharp it is but I think it’s not that sharp. So if I’m going to be cutting a lot of these down, I figure I should get the proper blade. Any advice?

I’ve got about 10 on hand now but there will be around 300 available over the course of the next few weeks. So, I’d like to start ripping them down now and do some here and some there.

Not what you're asking, but why rip, as opposed to cross-cutting and glue up in a checkerboard pattern? I think the latter would look far sharper assuming the the current joints are still tight.

If you feel really ambitious, a section of the counter could be made into an end grain glue up as an integral cutting board.

Nice score on the maple! First, find yourself a local commercial shop that will rent you time on their commercial wide belt sander, and run all that maple through it a couple times, top and bottom, to get back to raw wood. Your arms and back will thank me for that recommendation. Second, as to saw blade, thin kerf ripping blade (your choice of brand and/or cost) should do, though if you have a contractor's saw with a 1.5hp/110v motor, I'd strongly suggest making the cuts in two (or more) passes to try not to bogg the saw. That should produce a cleaner cut and also cut down on burning.

A final thought/recommendation. I've done a lot of home flips and renovations over the years. The one thing I would never do is put wood in close proximity to a sink or other water source. That maple would be perfect topping a kitchen island, but I would be very hesitant to use it as a regular counter top.

quote:

Originally posted by architect:
Not what you're asking, but why rip, as opposed to cross-cutting and glue up in a checkerboard pattern? I think the latter would look far sharper assuming the the current joints are still tight.

If you feel really ambitious, a section of the counter could be made into an end grain glue up as an integral cutting board.

I’ve made several cutting boards over the years and I’ve learned that my wife and I both prefer the look of edge grain to end grain.

The look of the products at this page is the general appearance we both prefer:

https://www.butcherblock.com/p...ages%5Bgrouped%5D/1/

I think it could be cool either way.

I haven’t ripped much maple, and this is going to be front and center where no place to hide. I would think something of a pretty high tooth count like a 80 tooth Freud Diablo. But, there’s a lot of experience here so let’s see how far off I am.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
Nice score on the maple! First, find yourself a local commercial shop that will rent you time on their commercial wide belt sander, and run all that maple through it a couple times, top and bottom, to get back to raw wood. Your arms and back will thank me for that recommendation. Second, as to saw blade, thin kerf ripping blade (your choice of brand and/or cost) should do, though if you have a contractor's saw with a 1.5hp/110v motor, I'd strongly suggest making the cuts in two (or more) passes to try not to bogg the saw. That should produce a cleaner cut and also cut down on burning.

Thanks! So, you’re saying just do a half depth cut then flip it over to get the rest of the way? My saw is just a contractor grade for sure… originally from Home Depot, I imagine.

I *might* have access to a great cabinet saw with huge tables attached, but probably not. Been too long to probably call upon that favor. If it did work out, though, it means I’d also have access to a free-standing band saw…

quote:

A final thought/recommendation. I've done a lot of home flips and renovations over the years. The one thing I would never do is put wood in close proximity to a sink or other water source. That maple would be perfect topping a kitchen island, but I would be very hesitant to use it as a regular counter top.

For sure a concern we’ve thought through… I think we’re ok with the risks involved. We are short timing it at this house with less than 5 years to go. I think we’d be ok with swapping out the wood counter with a more generic and potentially sale-able one when the time comes. I’m not gonna do the plumbing myself so it shouldn’t leak! Lol

I second the suggestion to find a wide belt sander, and the same place will probably have a very substantial table saw you can use.

I would make a sled for whatever table saw you use if I was going to make that many cuts. It’s not that hard, and you can use it for cross cuts too, which you’ll have a bunch of.

If you use your saw, I’ve been very happy with Diablo blades.

Get a new blade, high quality, low tooth count. When ripping you don’t want a high tooth count. Maple is hard so don’t rush it or you’ll get burn marks and possible binding.

Get a high quality 30-tooth glue line rip blade. About $100. Make sure your blade and fence are exactly 90 degrees and check the pieces often for square otherwise your panels will not be flat after glue up. A jointer is a good idea as well to get a good glue surface. Use cauls top and bottom to keep your panels flat during glue up and clamping. You can make cauls with 2x4's and bolts or threaded rods. For a long panel like you are making I would probably set up a flat assembly table covered with wax paper to lay everything out for gluing and clamping. I would use Titebond III for the glue up. Looks like a fun project.

Something like this?

Freud 10" x 30T Industrial Thin Kerf Glue Line Ripping Blade (LM75R010), Multi https://a.co/d/c68TN0z

Home Depot stocks a 24 tooth Diablo ripping blade as well. It says it is a thin kerf and about $30.

quote:

Originally posted by thumperfbc:
Something like this?

Freud 10" x 30T Industrial Thin Kerf Glue Line Ripping Blade (LM75R010), Multi https://a.co/d/c68TN0z

Home Depot stocks a 24 tooth Diablo ripping blade as well. It says it is a thin kerf and about $30.

Yes the Freuds are good blades.

I am a serious hobbyist with a fully equipped woodshop with professional machines. Your project as originally described is doable but would be tricky and time consuming in my shop to get all those short boards glued up flat and straight for a 9 ft countertop. I have about 40 parallel clamps and would use every one of them on this project. A dead flat reference surface for the glue up is a must have. I recently built a 92" x 42" walnut dining table using 14" wide 8/4 clear walnut and the walnut alone cost me just over $1k. If you can get a deal on a factory-made countertop for less than the cost of the material, it might be a good option. But then, there is no substitute for making sawdust building your own project. Good luck with it.

quote:

So, my thought is to first clean the grime off them and then cut them back into the 18 x 1.5 x 1.5 strips that was used when they were originally made.

Sounds like more work than necessary. Why not simply square the existing pieces to uniform dimensions and glue them together, rather than taking them apart and putting them back together again?

104x25 = 2600in2
1.5*18=27in2
~94 sections, more as you cut the glue lines & cut the ends off. that 1/32 kerf adds up when you multiply by 18 & 90+.
I didn't figure out how you're going to get 25" out of 18" length strips. You're going to have some end grain gluing somewhere (a lot of somewheres)
Not going any farther, you're looking at 125-150 edge joints & god knows how many end joints.

I've thrown things & invented curses on glue ups that had joints I could count on 1 hand.

Next we get to flattening.

quote:

Originally posted by snidera:
I didn't figure out how you're going to get 25" out of 18" length strips.

Board stretcher.

quote:

Originally posted by thumperfbc:
Something like this?

Freud 10" x 30T Industrial Thin Kerf Glue Line Ripping Blade (LM75R010), Multi https://a.co/d/c68TN0z

I've been very pleased with that blade as well as Freud's crosscut and another one specifically for laminate.


Also - I'm a little jealous, I've been gathering maple scraps to make an end grain cutting board with an inlay...

quote:

Originally posted by ShouldBFishin:

quote:

Originally posted by thumperfbc:
Something like this?

Freud 10" x 30T Industrial Thin Kerf Glue Line Ripping Blade (LM75R010), Multi https://a.co/d/c68TN0z

I've been very pleased with that blade as well as Freud's crosscut and another one specifically for laminate.


Also - I'm a little jealous, I've been gathering maple scraps to make an end grain cutting board with an inlay...

What size scraps are you looking for?