to seal or not to seal

[feral]

Firstly thanks for having a site that deals with such a wide variety of useful subjects.
I have a whole heap of wattle that has been sawn and air dried for 4 years(stacked properly too i may add). We have aquired a kitchen cupboard that needs a new top and wanted to use the wattle. It will not be used as a wet surface at all, the boards are 100ml wide and we were are going to seal it with so we dont get crumbs etc in between. In other words something that will give a even surface.
Any help would be great.
Cheers:D

[journeyman Mick]

You'll need to joint and thickness the boards (making them straight, with parallel faces and square corners) and then gle them up to form your top. Otherwise you'll end up with a top that catches crumbs and dirt. After that you can worry about what to seal it with.

Mick

[feral]

Thanx for the advice, will keep things level and straight.
I am a girl so be easy with me.
Thanx again will let you know how i go.
Cheers
:D

[Taffy]

Sounds like it will be very nice, if the Wattle is Black Wattle the swirls of grain should be an attractive feature.
I recently did a kitchen and the tops wre Tassy oak, I used a product called "Country oil" it is a wood oil with poyurithane,you can brush it on or use a cloth. the finish is able to stand hot items and wet, just wipe clean, when you think after a few years it is a bit tired just wipe another coat over it. it is a gloss finish but not as glossy as Estapol.
Suggest you Biscuit joint the planks together, if you have a cutter no problem, if not carbatec sell a biscuit router bit.
Remember to "PAINT" the glue along the full length of the pieces before clamping, if you are using PVA glue then Yellow is stronger than white.
DGI (data glass industries ) make the oil. they have a place in VIC. 19 Ricketts Rd Mt Waverly (03)9544 0999.

Best of luck
Taffy