Making Oak kitchen worktops

[Pond]

Do you lovely people think it is feasible to make oak worktops in a home workshop?

I have been looking for 'planked' oak worktops, the only place I've found that sell them is 'Norfolk oak' and they are £400 a linear metre for 620mm wide!! :shock:
I ain't paying that! :x
This would work out at £5000 plus for what I need!

So I'm toying with the idea of making my own. Do you know what the best way to join the planks would be, would biscuits be any good, or finger joint the entire length, or glued M&T, or what?

I know I wouldn't be able to manufacture long lengths, maybe 2m max!? So I'd have to have running joins aswell.

I have a router table, TS200 saw, two roller stands, mitre saw, baby PT (cheap Ax one), belt sander, a 2m workbench and a maximum space of 6m x 5m (if all the clutter is cleared to the sides)!

Am I being rather ambitious, or is it possible??

Thanks

Andy

 

[Sportique]

Andy,

I have not done this, but do plan to in the future. It seems quite do-able to me. There is a short article in "Woodworking Plans & Projects" Issue 30 (Aug 2009).

The key points I think are to alternate the grain direction, accurate thicknessing and offsetting the individual butt joints within the structure.

In the article they use a thicknesser, biscuits, LOTS of clamps, and finish with a hand-held belt sander.

HTH

(PM me your e-mail address)

Dave

 

[tomatwark]

If your thicknesser is up to planing up the Oak and you can get a good joint between the boards then yes you could do them yourself.

It is alot of work though and before commiting to buying lots of 2" oak I would have a go with something cheaper and make sample, you can always use it as a new bench top afterwards.

But biscuits and cascamite will work fine and keep the boards no wider than 6"


Tom

 

[Scrums]

Hi

Personally, I think you're pushing the boundaries a bit far, as a full timer I wouldn't be keen on doing it.

But definitely the first place to start before you make up your mind either way is to estimate the quantity of Oak you're going to need, then source and price it (including delivery) - you might get a nasty shock.

As a guess, I'd say you needed probably at least 1 1/2 cu ft per metre. for the 8m you're talking about that's a lot of Oak to be stored prior to working it in a home workshop.

Chris.

 

[Kev]

Andy,

Give these a try,

http://www.worktop-express.co.uk/wood_w ... ktops.html

I used these recently and were cheaper than Norfolk Oak, and so far have had no problems with them. They do need a lot of preparation and care in terms of oil etc (need at least 4 coats before you can even think of starti to fit them) but that's typical of all these type of worktop it seems.

Personally I think these type of tops are expensive for a reason, you are talking a lot of wood and the cost of construction etc must be a fair bit. unless you have some serious kit and a lot of patience I wouldnt touch it, but that's justice my opinion.

Cost wise you are talking about 130 - 150 per linear metre.

hope this helps

Kev

 

[jasonB]

Have a word with Sean at South London Hardwoods, I've used them to make full board worktops in the past like this one with downstand but it will still cost considerably more then narrow stave worktops as they are made from all the scraps.

It is possible to do it yourself either entirely or buy in PAR boards and just do the edge jointing and sanding.

Don't under estimate the time it will take to sand the boards, even with biscuits you will get some missalignment, this is why a wide belt or drum sanding machine is used.

SLH use a proper glue joint cut on a spindle with feed rolers but N0 20 biscuits will do the job, this one I made with biscuits as the shape was not off the shelf.

J

 

[Rob Platt]

Have you thought of using quality ply as a base and gluing and biscuiting 1" thick oak on top and building the whole thing in situ with a decent piece on the front for the nosing? This will solve the problem of having to move chunky pieces of expensive worktop around and will give you space to work in. Did a job last year in American white oak paid £35 per cu ft. plus delivery for full 1" boards minimal finishing.
All the best
Rob

 

[wobblycogs]

I'm pretty sure glueing 1" oak boards to ply would result in a warped top. What I think would happen is the oak will absorb moisture and swell faster than the ply causing it to bow up in the middle of the worktop. Not sure I'd be willing to risk it though.

I've considered making our final worktops though and the plan I had was as follows:

Screw 18mm ply to the top of the cabinets to give a sturdy and flat base to work from.
Make up a 20mm oak work surface and attach it to the ply with screws but only along the front edge giving some room along the back edge for expansion.
Fit a 40mm lipping along the front edge.

I think by giving the top the freedom to move I should avoid any serious problems with warping. Some slotted holes might be needed further back but that can always be added later. Would be interested to hear what the more experienced guys think.

 

[tomatwark]

You would need to fix it further back than the front edge, putting slots in the ply would allow for movement.

The problem I think you will have is if the top shrinks it will crack the lipping because the ply will stop it moving with the top.

Also if you are thinking of a belfast sink you may run into problems as well.

But on the whole it would be easier to do solid tops.

Tom

 

[wobblycogs]

I was thinking the lipping would only be attached to the oak, there would be a 1 to 2mm gap between the back of the lipping and the ply to allow for the small amount of shrinkage that might take place in the oak to the front of the fixings (hope that makes sense - need a diagram really). Anyway, don't want to hijack the thread, was just a thought on how solve the problem.

 

[jeffinfrance]

that is a very doable project in my opinion.

keep the lengths at 2m and i would consider taking the cut and dimensioned stock to a machinist to face edge and thickness, as the but joint might be a bit tricky on a little planer. not impossible, with decent infeed/outfeed table extensions it would be a breeze.

double biscuit and end join as normal with bolts. make sure you adhere to growth ring direction alternation and only fix at front edge and the very back.

for effect i would leave the boards as wide as possible to give variation and aesthetic effect.

jeff

 

[Pond]

Thanks for the advice chaps.

I have looked at cost of timber, albeit only online so far.

50mm x 180mm oak (to give a finished 40mm x 160mm stave, this way only four wide are needed) is VERY VERY expensive!

Unless I can source it for MUCH less than the figures I've seen, it's just not worth all the work and aggro!!

 

[jeffinfrance]

dont know where you're getting prices from, but if i have done my calculations correctly, you are looking for about 12linm of worktop. allowing wastage of 50% thats about 3 quarters of a cubic metre. even in england, you shouldn't pay more than 1500 quid for it waney edge.

jeff

 

[Chems]

I know local places that will supply hardwoods planed and thicknessed for very reasonable amounts. Doing that then jointing it yourself would be better.

 

[bugbear]

Do you lovely people think it is feasible to make oak worktops in a home workshop?

I have been looking for 'planked' oak worktops, the only place I've found that sell them is 'Norfolk oak' and they are £400 a linear metre for 620mm wide!! :shock:
I ain't paying that! :x
This would work out at £5000 plus for what I need!

"Sawdust" in the recent thread "Traditional kitchen installed" said:

Out of curiosity we went into the Chalon shop in Harrogate and were told it would be between £35,000 and £70,000 to do the full kitchen depending on fittings and worktops. Ours came in at just over £2,000 which includes £750 for the oak worktops.

traditional-kitchen-installed-t48523.html

BugBear

 

[Pond]

I know local places that will supply hardwoods planed and thicknessed for very reasonable amounts. Doing that then jointing it yourself would be better.

Well don't keep it a secret, you little tease!! Do tell! :shock: :lol:

 

[jasonB]

Bugbear those are staved worktops Pond wants wide full length boards. As I said earlier the staves use up all the scraps and cut out the defects thats why they are cheaper than using prime boards.

J

 

[Pond]

"Sawdust" in the recent thread "Traditional kitchen installed" said:

Out of curiosity we went into the Chalon shop in Harrogate and were told it would be between £35,000 and £70,000 to do the full kitchen depending on fittings and worktops. Ours came in at just over £2,000 which includes £750 for the oak worktops.

traditional-kitchen-installed-t48523.html

BugBear

I've looked at this chap's pictures and, although it's very nice and a very good job, those worktops are small stave 'butcher's block'. I can get those for little money.

I want these:
http://www.norfolkoak.com/worktops/supe ... ktops.html

hence the reason for this thread

I cannot stop looking at those pictures in the above link. Apart from the cherry they do, which are even more money, those are a real thing of beauty IMHO!

 

[jasonB]

Pond have you tried British hardwoods, £175 +Vat per meter so maybe £200 for 650 wide

http://www.britishhardwoods.co.uk/oak-w ... prices.php

Edit, How did you get £400 from Norfolk Oak, when I put a 650 worktop in its £266 inc vat???

 

[Pond]

Jason,

yes sorry, I must have remembered the cost of the cherry, £488 per linear metre!! :shock:

£266 per metre is still an awful lot of money!!