Thread: Crows Ash Kitchen Benchtop

Pete, if you wipe the joints down with acetone immediately before gluing it will remove the natural grease for long enough to get a better join with whatever glue you choose.

Good idea FF, I'll be sure to do it. Thanks.

Just a thought on your plan to glue something this wide onto a stable surface.
Do you think the shrinkage may cause joint failure at some point in time.
Is the house air conditioned.
Possibly just glue the edge board and slot screw the rest.
I have a section of flooring in Crows Ash and its Really lovely stuff.
H.

Whats the timber look like?

Its a yellowish timber isnt it?

FF thought on gluing. .... yep

If you have any off cuts before you resaw i might be interested



Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

I've made a quite a few stools out of it.

The trick that worked for me is to use acetone and sandpaper passes on the joints.

I'd take all the movement out of the joints first like one should (if time allows regardless if KD or not imo) with all timber. That meant joint them for gapless dry fits….then let sit spaced around for a few weeks. rejoint if the joints have moved….sit again …on and on until your last check finds the joint unchanged which signals its time to glue up.

then just before glue up as quickly as possible to reduce the chance of grease working its way to the surface again and after clamps are ready to go and process is clear in your mind…..you acetone the joints (gloves. Betcha that stuff has caused cancer) with a fresh cloth each wipe to maximise the amount of grease you pull off….
then immediately after run say 180grit paper on a flat block along each edge to be glued. One pass centred on the edge so you don't round any edges that will be noticeable at glue up.

The sandpaper pass I noticed helped cohesion. The acetone definitely made a difference too I felt. My first attempt failed without it. 2nd and future attempts worked when I started using it.

Then I consider ways to ensure wide surfaces are allowed to move. Float. e.g. No attachment to a moving house if possible…..etc

But having said all that, I would still be worried about any glue up of a greasy timber where its completely unacceptable to have glue lines opening up down the track. i.e.. For wide surfaces, if someones easily going to get shiiites with it opening up down the track, even if it was their idea to use it or whathaveyou, and your going to end up being the fall guy regardless,,,,,,forget it. Its going to move one day. I'd only do it, if the people living with it are easy going and like the idea of developing a history of their own in their own kitchen. meaning…..scratches in the top….cracks in joints….repairing as they go….etc. I find that warmer than a unrealistic wooden spotlessly shinny kitchen where everyone is afraid to relax for some kind of fear of scratching or dirting the 'perfection' on a daily basis.

just an opinion. Not an expert on australian teak ( I mean crows ash) . 2 cents worth.

Originally Posted by DaveTTC

Whats the timber look like?

Its a yellowish timber isnt it?

FF thought on gluing. .... yep

If you have any off cuts before you resaw i might be interested



Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

Yeah Mate, it's very golden, waxy, hard ,heavy and the dust is irritating to the throat. The lengths I have are very long, thick and need to be resawn........Looks good though.

There might be some offcuts if you're a good boy. Or I could make myself a tool chest .

Pete.

Would it be good for pepper grinders?

Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

Thanks for your response JD,

I agree that the client needs to understand the risks of movement involved with this sort of benchtop. I have discussed it with the Architect. He's a real woodie so understands the risks well.

The acetone clean and scuff up that you outline is good advice. I've used this processes in the past and it really does help. I will probably domino each joint so that there is no vertical movement at least.

I'll start posting some pictures once I get started.

Regards

Pete.

Originally Posted by DaveTTC

Would it be good for pepper grinders?

Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

Cant see why not. Let's do it!

Pete.

Here's the stack of Crow's Ash that I'll be using to make the kitchen benchtop.

Crow’s ash ( Flindersia Austrlis) is a large hardwood species that is native to northern NSW and parts of Queensland. It is used mainly for flooring, boat building and outdoor furniture.
Other Names: Australian Teak, Flindosy, Nutwood, Colonial Tea.
(Source: http://www.woodsolutions.com.au/Wood-Species/crows-ash)

I've got 9 lengths of 170mmx 60mm x 4.2m and a few shorter bits.
image.jpg

They have been recycled from a demolished building somewhere (don't know where as the timber was supplied to me by the client). They have been skimmed all around to clean them up. You can see a bit of paint still showing on the plank on the left. I have already made two smaller Benchtops for the bathroom vanity cabinet and the laundry (photos will come during the week), so I know what to expect from it. Here are a few photos of what it looks like up close.

Left : Milled & raw. Middle: same piece oiled. Right: Back showing surface checking.

image.jpg image.jpg image.jpg

There is an option to use either the weathered side of the timber showing the surface checking to get a recycled look, but in this case the client wants a fresh clean look. I agree in this case because the timber is really quite unique and interesting. It mills up beautifully with very few imperfections.

image.jpgHere is a piece with a bit of fresh oil rubbed into it. The colour is pretty true to what it is in real life, so you could only call it golden.

image.jpgHave a look at how it cuts and planes. Smooooooooth. It is very hard though. The waxy properties of it make it good to machine. It is really, really hard though.

image.jpgAnd here is a pic of my 1920's 5 1/4 Stanley Jack Plane.
(I think it's 1920's ). I'm sure someone can confirm or enlighten me.
Just thought I'd chuck that in, otherwise it all gets a bit to serious. It's not a great photo, but if you could see, it has the original Sweetheart blade in it. If you are at all interested, I'll take a couple of better shots tomorrow. I haven't had this plane very long and really don't know much about it. Don't think I'm gonna be milling that stack of Crows Ash with it.

That's it for now as I am waiting on client confirmation on the design of the benchtop, but I can promise you, It won't be normal or simple.

Regards

Pete.

Looking good

We always like pics of tools

Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

Yes, I think CA is a great timber, both visually and to work. Damned hard to get these days.

Sure is hard to get!

And Dave wants to make pepper grinders from the offcuts. He might have to come up with a plan B????

Pete.

Might have to settle for pine

Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art