Oak block kitchen worktop

[Boatfixer]

I'm helping a friend out with a kitchen refurbishment ( its much warmer than being in my workshop at the moment!). He has just had the worktop delivered - 27mm oak block and as I have only fitted laminate tops I have a couple of questions. The top is square edge with sharp corners. Is there any point in doing masons mitres in the corner of the room or would a straight butt joint be ok? It would save firing up the router and jigs with all the noise and dust that involves.... He wants an oiled finish. I assume we need to get some coats on the bottom before we fix it in? For some reason beyond me he wants to fit an undermount sink. He has no template for the sink. I assume that the top has to overhang the sink. If so by how much?

 

[fluffflinger]

Butt joints are fine. In fact preferable to masons mitre as the top will expand and contract across it's width and this will not compromise a butt joint.. Oil on underside definitely (as many coats as the top if you can) and if he insists on an undermount then copious coats on the cut out. We fit a few solid wood tops a year, usually with a belfast sink and if the wood is correctly prepared and then maintained they are fine.

Personally if it's a traditional kitchen I'd try to convince him an overmount ceramic looks good or if it's modern (unlikely I imagine) then a stainless overmount. Undermounts and butler sinks are always a worry to me over the long term you are almost certain that water will be standing on the drainer section for extended periods. I've seen too may horror stories of badly maintained timber tops and if the owner is not diligent with re-oiling it will potentially discolour and at worst rot!!!

I'd recommend Liberon Finishing Oil best I've found by far.

 

[Boatfixer]

Thanks Richard, I hate worktop jigs........ We already have the sink so no changing of minds going on there unfortunately. I am still a bit concerned at the actal cutting out. In the absence of a template how much overhang do you think we will need? One thought I had was to cut the hole undersize then with a bearing guided straight bit use the sink as a guide to finish the hole. In some ways this seems the safest option for sizing but the thought of damaging the ceramic sink is a bit worrying.

Graham

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I had some correspondence with a lady from Mylands a while ago, and she stated that Danish oil is not recommended for use on oak. I did try to find out why, but a further email wasn't answered. Finishing oil isn't recommended for exterior use, so draw your own conclusions from that. Consider Osmo PolyX maybe? It's certainly the easiest to re-coat. Whatever you use when you think you've put enough on the end grain, go back and do it all over again.

 

[Racers]

I did mine with Danish oil and its been fine, obviously it needs regular maintenance a Scotch Brite and re-coat.

I did but joints and rounded it over when it was fitted.

I cut my round sink hole with a circle cutter from both sides drilling a pivot hole all the way through.
I had to make a template for a mates sink and use a guide bush.
I used one of these for finishing cuts on the ends http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-2-dia-long- ... 19fa82b479 it leaves a lovely finish on end grain.

Pete

 

[fluffflinger]

Personally I prefer an oil finish as it will penetrate deeper into the timber. Usually thin the first couple of coats to aid this process, and try to apply the oil in a warm environment. It's long and laborious process but you really need six coats minimum with a little hand sanding to get the smoothest finish. I have wide stave European oak tops at home and they got 12 coats and I re-oil 3 times a year.

There are some recommendations on line for polyx but I like the enhancement to the look of the top you get from oil and it's never failed me in all the time we used it. Liberon endorse it's use on wortops and anecdotaly there are a lot of goods reports out there but I don't say there are not other ways that may be successful and no I would not use Danish Oil.

With regard to overhang about 15mm. So whatever method you use your cutter will be along way from the sink. If you have no template then you can quickly knock up one from MDF or simply lay it out and use a straight edge guide or work to line after rough cutting with plunge saw or even a jigsaw.

One thing is important, you will be routing draper grooves in the top, please put a fall on them. They look better and although not perfect they will encourage the water to drain.

Good luck with project there is nothing particularly difficult about the process.

 

[novocaine]

you don't need a template for the sink
measure the inner length then subtract 20mm for a 10mm over hang, 30mm for a 15mm (I prefer 15 mm as it gives more room for a drip groove)
measure the inner width (as in front to back) and subtract the required overhang.
flip the worktop. attach battons at the required dimesions, pilot hole and screw will be fine. cut out by hand leaving 5-10mm waste inside depending how confident you are about cutting straight lines. the more you leave the more work you will have to do with the router.
now flip it back over, 2 people are better than one here as you now have a weak point where the cut out is.
now use your router with a bearing guided flush cutter and remove the waste to using the battons as the guide, you will have a nice round corner at the rear the with a matched radius to the router bit, looks good over a belfast sink. be careful not to let the router tip as it could damage the cut. little cuts are best.
once done flip over again and remove the battons.
the run a groove round the edge 5mm back with a suitable bit, I prefer a v groove.
flip it back over after oiling. before fitting to the cabinets lay a bead of silcone on the top edge of the sink to seal it.

(don't forget your tap hole)

 

[Phil Pascoe]

As above - fleet the grooves more than you think necessary. I've a cast resin? sink, and although obviously purpose designed as a draining board it holds water as the fleet isn't enough. If I were installing a solid top, I think I would fleet the whole top slightly as well as the grooves, rather than risk its holding water.

 

[novocaine]

last time I did a solid top we decided not to use it as a drainer, so used the piece cutout to make a drainer that sits on top the side. a strip across the back and drainer grooves on top, looks great and can be removed when not in use.

 

[xy mosian]

When fitting the, overhanging, top is it worth putting a drip groove on the underside?
xy

 

[Phil Pascoe]

^^^ as Novocaine said.

 

[novocaine]

Yes, you should put a drip groove in, stop 30mm from the front of the worktop, this should be beyond the front of the sink and thus not needed, will also look neater.

 

[xy mosian]

I'm not sure I understand.
I was thinking of the drip groove as used under a window cill. To stop water from wicking backwards to the joint with the sink itself.
xy

 

[paulrockliffe]

Sadolin IP67 is absolutely great for wooden worktops. Not an oil finish, but will be far far more resiliant.

I know it's too late, but using a tanin-free wood would be better too as the oak will just do everything it can to turn black. I used iroko for it's natural oil content.

I also made a template for the corners of the cutout for the sink, the router bit radius will be half inch, which won't match the curve of the sink. You'll need to add a bit of extra over-hang all over to accomodate. Template was made with a suitably sized hole saw into a piece of ply, then two tangential and perpendicular cuts to make an L shape. Cut the ply edge parallel to one of the tangents and you can use a straight edge to align for one corner, then flip the template over to get the other.

mind you, it took me longer to make the template than to do the cut!

 

[Racers]

The template I had to make was for a bowl and a half sink, loads of fun! but say you said you can get the corner curves right.

Pete

 

[dexter]

Once you have cut and cleaned up the hole for the sink don't forget to run a roundover bit around the top of the hole before you fit/fix the top in place, espescialy if the back edge of the hole is near to the wall. Or you might find out that your router base plate is too big to alow the cutter to make contact with the timber.

Dex

 

[lurker]

I used one of these for finishing cuts on the ends http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-2-dia-long- ... 19fa82b479 it leaves a lovely finish on end grain.

Pete

I assume you use this bit in your router?

 

[lurker]

I use liquid parafin on oak boards.
It's cheap ..... Five quid for 500 ml
Looks good and is food safe

I buy it from a place that sells it as horse medicine

 

[Boatfixer]

Thanks everyone - some really useful advise there. I reckon if it had been my own worktop I would have ploughed straight in and it would have been done by now. However as its someone elses and the only remit I have from the end user of the kitchen is that it has to be perfect I have spent a lot of today looking at it...... I think given the large radius of the corners that I will be making a jig for it over the weekend in my workshop so Monday is when it will get cut. I have run out of other jobs to do whilst procrastinating.

Anyway its off out into the cold tomorrow. No more drinking coffee in a warm kitchen whilst putting off cutting holes in someone elses timber. Its out in the snow in wildest Northumbria as I have to service 4 patrol boats for the scouts activity centre at Kielder. Now where did I put those thermals???

Graham

 

[Racers]

I used one of these for finishing cuts on the ends http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-2-dia-long- ... 19fa82b479 it leaves a lovely finish on end grain.

Pete

I assume you use this bit in your router?

Yep 1/2" so just chuck it in, the spiral makes lovely shavings.
I have a solid carbide 1/4" one that seems to sharpen its self as I can't seem to blunt it.

You can also plunge and cut mortices, I cut all my chair mortices with one.

Pete