You could surface it with a router attached to a long board, as shown here:
http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/surface-rough-lumber-witha-router/
- Bob
On Apr 25, 2016, at 4:57 PM, Andrew C. <soshumasamune@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I would gladly make my own butcher block top- but I have no idea how, other
than
gluing blocks together. Plus, we don't have anything big enough to surface it
after
gluing, I'd need a large mill to flycut the top and shape it.
Chad mentioned someone had done it at hack, made their own butcher block.
Was it you James Hyde? Anyone who can make these, I'm interested in learning.
-Andrew
On Sun, Apr 24, 2016 at 11:49 PM, Steven Owens <stevenjowens@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
On Sun, Apr 24, 2016 at 11:10 PM, Andrew C. <soshumasamune@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Normal butcher block isn't thick enough for me... I want to build an
ergonomic custom bench here that
will survive centuries as a true piece of serious furniture. I want to go
all in on it, without breaking my
bank... Maybe a lumbermill can cut me something 1pc out of cherry or
hickory
or oak, 3" thick? But
I'm afraid it would warp... It needs to stay very flat for some of the
other
work done on it....
Thicker butcher block is gettable, or not that impossible to make
yourself, which might be kind of cool for you.
If you want to go the lumbermill route, I can talk to some of the
people I've used. One place, I bought a really nice, two full inches
thick plan of white oak from, for a particular use. That stuff is
very massive.
I love big, solid pieces of wood too,but the big problem is cracking
and warping - the thicker and bigger the piece is, the more that's an
issue. I talked to one of the lumbermills about getting a "round"
(i.e. an entire slice of trunk, a big disc). Never did try it, but he
warned that it was very, very likely to split or crack as it dried
out.
Wood "moves", i.e. it expands and contracts with moisture. Wood
*always* moves. Carpenters tend (or at least carpenters have told me)
to avoid large single pieces of wood for that reason. They make more
cuts and they play the grain of the different pieces off against each
other, or they design the bigger pieces to "float", like an old
fashioned door or a nice tabletop.
--
Steven J. Owens
stevenjowens@xxxxxxxxx
puff@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
412-401-8060
