I made our peninsula top from wide plank maple. It is a soft maple and spalted (interesting stains from just before rotting) so it is softer than most maple. We have a 15" overhang, and I made hidden steel braces out of 1/2" thick steel that are anchored in the cabinet. It is very, very strong, and there's nothing to bang your knees on when sitting there.
I used Waterlox, 4 coats of Original, and a finish coat of Satin. I finished it in the garage (the fumes are strong) so the finish was full of little dust particles. I thought I needed to sand and refinish, but I used a cabinet scraper to remove the little bumps, and then buffed it out with fine steel wool. It came out amazing, and feels so satiny smooth. It has held up perfectly for three years, although the soft maple dents easily. We like a rustic look, so the tiny dents just add to the patina.
Between the soft maple and spalting, ours came out dark enough- in fact, it matches our reclaimed pine floors (same Waterlox finish). Harder, newer maple would be lighter. Always test finishes on scraps of the same wood before you commit. Maple doesn't always take stain well. Our piece is 42 X 84, and nearly two full inches thick. It is HEAVY!
I also made a cutting surface for our prep corner out of 2" strips of the same maple. I use wax on it as it is intended for cutting on, but I haven't been able to bring myself to use a knife on it. It's not nearly as pretty as the Waterlox finish.
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