The butcher block project...

John Pollman

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Rochester Hills, MI
I got a call from a friend who has a beautiful old butcher block that he wants to use in his kitchen. It's 30" square and 11" thick. It weighs a TON! Well, not quite that much, but he estimates about 250 lbs or so. The problem is that the base was damaged and not usable. We talked a bit about what he wanted and I got busy on Sketchup. I'm going to use 4/4 maple and glue up the legs and they will be 3-1/2" square when done. I'm going to mortise and tenon the top rail pieces and put visible dowels in them. The shelf will be 1" thick and mortised into the legs too. This thing is going to be SOLID!

I just emailed him pics of the drawings I did. If he likes it, I'll give him a price and get started if it's a go. I can't wait, this one's gonna be nice!

Butcher block 3.jpgButcher block stand.jpgButcher block 3-2.jpg
 
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I was planning on just setting the top onto the base. Then some pocket screws through the legs (on the inside) and screw up into the top. Then maybe just some steel angle brackets between the top and the rails. That should hold it. Once it gets put in place, it's not going anywhere.
 
Called the client a couple hours ago and gave him the quote. He said to go ahead and get started! So I'm headed down to Public Lumber in the morning to pick up a mess of 4/4 Maple and get going.
 
It was a productive weekend!

I didn't start the butcher block base until late Friday afternoon, and there's a good chance that I'll have it finished by tomorrow evening. The new jointer is working great and helped speed this project along. I did hit one bump in the road though. I found that my mortiser is USELESS on hard maple. :) But that's OK, I figured out a way to get them cut that worked pretty well. I just used a combination of 1/2" forstner bit, Fein oscillating tool, and some chisels and I'm good to go. The tenons are a piece of cake. I've got all of the pieces cut. The mortise and tenon joints on one of the four legs are all done and fit very nicely. I've got the rest of the mortises cut and just have to clean them up a bit with a chisel. If I get those done tonight, I may get some more tenons cut and ready to go. I've got the shelf glued up in two pieces and in a couple hours, I can glue those together and let them sit overnight and the shelf will be ready for sanding and cut to final size.

Assembly should take place tomorrow!
 
I have a similar butcher block--31" x 38" x 11" in black locust. It is a beast. The top just sits on the stand and is positioned by four small cleats screwed to the underside. I recommend thinking about heavy duty casters on your stand. We have had to move ours within the kitchen several times and it's not a one man job without the casters.
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If it is a real butcher block - end grain up - recognize that it will expand to the side - both directions. I would worry about the frame around the block being broken apart as the block is used. Ted's approach to put the support entirely underneath solves that problem. I saw a design on TV many years ago where the sides of the block were sloped, so as they expanded they rose in the sloping sides of the support.

I don't know the ideal solution to the expansion and contraction of the block, but it needs to be considered. A solid wood frame around it seems like it may be asking for trouble.
 
Charlie, check John's first and third images in the initial post again. It looks to me like the block is going to be sitting on top (the ends) of the 4x4 legs and the frame at the top of the stand. His butcher block just isn't rendered to look very butcher blockish. :)

I do like Ted's cleat idea. The cleats could be attached to allow for movement, too.
 
Yep, it's a real butcher block. It's actually 30-1/2" square. I'm making the base 30" square. The block is just going to sit on the top. I had planned on just putting some pocket screws in the back side of the legs up into the block. But I don't think I'm going to do that. I think it's just going to be some cleats attached to the inside of the rails on the base. We talked about casters, but I think it's just going to be stationary.

I got quite a bit accomplished today. I actually got a bit more done after these shots were taken. The shelf is all glued up and I can sand it and trim it to rough size tomorrow. Once I finish the rest of the mortise & tenon joints, I'll cut the shelf to finished size and install it.

Base 1.jpgBase 2.jpgBase 3.jpg
 
Charlie, check John's first and third images in the initial post again. It looks to me like the block is going to be sitting on top (the ends) of the 4x4 legs and the frame at the top of the stand. ....

Thanks Vaughn. Apologies to John. Reminder to self... leave brain in gear before operating mouth. The original images were fine, but my mind was focusing on the side rails and by the time I had read the other posts, I was too focused on the expansion issues and the steps taken on the TV show many years ago.

Now another suggestion, hopefully not as dumb as my first.... I might just screw four strips, say 1x1x20 to the bottom of the block to keep it aligned on the base - initially perhaps 1/4 inch away from the side rails. The base can be put in place, then the block, both of which are probably quite heavy. The strips will keep it from walking off the base over time. If the block is lifted off for whatever reason, it will still sit smoothly on the floor or wherever, and fingers will fit underneath to lift it. I don't see the need to screw the two together.
 
Change of plans...a

It WILL be getting a set of casters! It will be a much better way to go. I'm going to add some gussets in each corner of the base. This is a very old block that was checking quite a bit and getting loose. He has already sanded the top and sides smooth and filled the gaps with bees wax. On the bottom, he put a piece of 3/4 high density particle board and put quite a few screws in it. That has stabilized it and it's been that way for a while and I think it's working well. I think what I might do is just flip the top upside down and set the new base on it. Then I can trace out the area inside the rails and gussets and then trim the particle board away and remove any screws that are in the area to be removed. I think that the particle board will keep it from sliding around when rolling the unit around. It's so heavy that I don't think any physical attachment will be required.
 
It's 98% done!

Just needs a little final sanding and it's ready for delivery. I wanted the shelf to fit nice and snug and I worked out a way to make that happen. I decided to mark off where I wanted it located, then clamped some scrap blocks in place. I then used some strips of luan to make a template. Once it was done, I just laid the template on the shelf blank and using a very sharp pencil, transferred all of the points to the blank. Once all the points were transferred, I connected the dots and got cutting. It was pretty close on the first try, but I left a little margin for error when cutting. (you can always take a little off, but it's very difficult to put a little back on ;) ) After a couple minor adjustments, it fit very nicely and even had to just tap it into place with a rubber mallet and it was good to go. I put some pocket screw holes in the bottom and screwed it into place. I can't wait to see it with the block on top!

Base7.jpgBase8.jpgBase6.jpgBase4.jpgBase5.jpg
 
john, you need to think about the shelf growing!!! it will move one way across the width around 1/4" for 12" of width and on the length you will grow as well but nearly as much maybe a 1/8" total on this size of shelf.. and Al the reason for the 45 degree tenons was two fold one was glue room possibly but the main reason is that he has them coming together in the post and needed to have the beveled back. i like the chamfers on the legs and shelf..
 
Thanks Larry, I never thought of an "internal" miter joint. Neat! Yet, I wonder how necessary is it when the whole tenon is glued. The tenon shoulders would locate things, so why add another feature that requires a precise fitting & which could prevent the shoulders from seating flush against the post? :huh: So much to learn, so little time.
 
Oops, sorry Al I didn't see your question. The miters on the tenons were so that they would fit together. I wanted to center the dowels which serve to pin the tenon into the mortise and add some decoration to the piece. I made the tenons long enough that they overlapped. As I test fit each of the tenons, I marked where the inside edge of the other mortise came on the other tenon and then mitered it. Now both tenons meet up inside the leg.

I never thought of that Larry! I hope it doesn't cause any problems! I guess it's a LEARNING process all the time. :) Thanks!
 
Al, the miter on the end of the tenons is needed to allow the tenon to be inserted fully. I don't want the tenons to touch since it would add very little strength, and might interfere with full insertion. The strength of the tenon is from the side grain, so allowing one side to be longer is helpful.

John, I agree with Larry (at least to an extent) about the risk of the shelf expanding. I find the expansion lengthwise is small enough to ignore. The expansion across grain, when I crank the formulas, matches Larry's number at around 1/4 inch per foot. I have glued together a lot of cutoffs, and in practice find closer to 1/8 inch expansion/contraction per foot. A quick fix at this point would to trim the shelf where the width touches the leg, then add a piece of molding (e.g. quarter round) above and below the shelf to add support and hide the gap.
 
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