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fresh-cut walnut slab as office countertop?

16 years ago

I have a possibility of getting a counter for our remodeled workspace to be made out of one slab of walnut, which would be 25" x 86".

I know I've seen tabletops made out of one slab, but I'm wondering if there's something I should do, like have it dried or something, before I use it? How should it be dealt with before I can sand/finish it (just a sealant, no stain) and use it? Is it a good idea or should I go for laminating planks together instead?

Thanks.

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Comments (4)

mahatmacat1
Original Author
16 years ago
ps: is there a minimum thickness I should ask for? This could be milled from a tree that's just downed that's 30" in diameter. Thanks.
sombreuil_mongrel
16 years ago
Hi,
walnut tends to be reactive- it will curl and twist as it dries. The rule of thumb for air drying is one year per inch of thickness. If you want to end up with a one inch thick top, have the wood cut to two inches; a lot of wood will end up as chips, but they will be able to flatten it once it's dry. You will need to find someone with a thickness planer as wide as the board, and probably a thickness sander to give a final pass. 36" wide sanders are more easily found than planers.
It may in the end be more practical to have the wood made into a glued-up panel (a series of narrow boards) which will be more stable and could be worked on more common equipment. You'd still want a 36" sander, though.
Casey
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I've used it once for a special needs project where I had to finish a buffet in a living room. I do use a lot of W/b products, just not this one in particular. W/B products can be difficult to apply evenly without spraying. But since you are looking for a low-gloss, you can always rub it out at the end. W/B finishes have a tendency to look terrible right after application but even out before curing. "Spray and go away," is what I remind myself when I've sprayed a piece and it looks like its orange peeling. It would be more durable than the oil or wax approach. However, W/B products can be rather "cool" looking with more white-blue than amber that we have come to expect from finishes. If this is your plan, I suggest doing a couple of light coats of amber or orange shellac (DEWAXED!) such as SealCoat from Zinsser to warm up the walnut a bit. W/B will go over it just fine as long as it's dewaxed. By tomorrow, I'll have a couple of boxes together with walnut panels that I plan to shellac. I have a little more work do to on them before finishing. I'll try and post some photos. First rule of finishing: run your whole finish schedule on a piece of scrap before committing it to your project.
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Do you know who makes those cabinets? Info on the pic says they were custom made. But you can use this picture as an inspiration picture. Start looking through your yellow pages for custom cabinet makers. Also ask friends where they got their cabinets. If you are looking at big box stores, I would say Kraft Maid from Lowe's would be a good choice. However, price out custom, there are many on here who got custom for the same price or less as big box. And do you live near an Amish area? Some on here have gotten great custom Amish cabs at great prices. Again, ask around. And if you do a search on here, lots of very happy Ikea cabinet owners. It shouldn't be hard to find what you are looking for. Also, where would I find solid surface counter tops? Lowe's sell's LG Hi-Mac and Home Depot sells Corian around here. There are other brands as well. (Joseph Corlett could list them all, I don't know them all, as I am focused on Corian myself) Again, try looking at kitchen and flooring shops in your area. You can also go to the website of any brand and they should have a dealer locater. Now Joseph will say they are all the same. Maybe they are, but all I can say is, in researching (an insane amount) LG Hi-Mac "seems" to have an awful lot of cracking issues. Corian use only their trained fabricators so maybe that's why there are less issues. Thank you so much for the great suggestion and for the photos. You are very welcome, I'm glad I could be of help. :)
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brickeyee
16 years ago
I would find someone with a home kiln and have them dry the slab. Expect to loose a few inches from each end to checking.
A wide sander is the best way to thickness the wood since the grain will run from nearly quarter sawed at the edges to flat sawed in the middle.
You have to have a correctly designed frame under the slab.
The slab will move with changes in humidity through the year.
Cross grain restraint must be avoided or splitting will occur in pretty short order.
mahatmacat1
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks, sombreuil and brickeyee...sounds like a lot more trouble than I feel like going to. You have convinced me :) but I will keep your detailed responses in my permanent files. Much appreciated. And I appreciate those wood-slab counter/table tops I see now a whole lot more :)

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