Thread: Jarrah Kitchen Benches - What glue to use ? and What oil finish

I've seen Tung oil used to excellent effect on a Kauri pine bench top. It's a bit of work to build up the layers, but maintenance is pretty easy.

I'd be using polyurethane as it's completely waterproof and doesn't creep like PVA can. Epoxy will leave a larger glue line (you won't really see the line against a dark timber like Jarrah), but it's also non-absorbent so I don't know how it will go with an oil finish.

About two years ago I built a jarrah kitchen bench as you describe with 90 mm boards about 35mm thick. After consulting a friend who is a boat builder he put me onto his brother who runs a glue shop. Bottom line is he sold me Resorcinol. Apparently it is an old school boat building glue. Absolutely amazing result! Really thin red/brown glue line and not a hint of movement since build. Easy to use too. My bench is 3.6m long and I was able to glue 3-4 boards at a time with the working time of glue.

Finished the bench with Danish Oil. Great result too!

Originally Posted by swiftden

Gday guys,
I have been absent for quite some time from the forums. Life got too busy.

I am after some advice. I am looking at replacing my kitchen benches with Jarrah and then sealing it with an oil finish.
My first question is who has done this and what oil did you use to seal the bench and get a good finish on it. I dont want to put a high gloss laquer etc as i dont want it peeling up the track.

My second question is what glue to use. Would exterior grade aquadhere be suitable ? or would Aquadhere durabond be better ?? or should i be looking at using an epoxy of some sort?

I plan on using biscuits between each board which will be about 90mm wide and about 35mm thick .

I dont want to stuff it up as i need this bench to last .

Thanks in advance
Regards
Allan

Resorcinol has mostly been replaced by epoxy and polyurethane. They're more user friendly and easier to find. Resorcinol is also temperature sensitive and won't cure in cold weather which might be a problem as we move into winter

Hi,
I'd say Polyurethane for your glue and Organoil Hard Burnishing Oil for the finish You can see the results and method here It's Tung oil with other stuff. Very water proof and heat proof. If applied properly, then you can fix scratches easily with another wipe with the oil.

Regards,

Rob

Thankyou for all of your responses. This is a big project i do not want to stuff up on . My wife will never trust my judgement again if i get it wrong was had enough to convince her to go jarah in the first place.

I tried to go to damn fine furniture link to see the process for hard burnishing tung oil finishes etc and it says problem loading page. Any ideas.
Also i see you use a ROS. Any particular one? i assume if you are wet sanding with oil it will need to be one without the dust catcher and bag other wise it would get all gunked up ?

Hi Allen,

Sorry about the link, I'm moving web providers and the one I'm leaving are making things difficult. I shall dig out the pictures and post them here.

Essentially, you start at 120g then move through 150,180,240 and 400. Use 10 up and back strokes for each grit and that will be fine. At 400 you change to wet sanding. You need to apply the oil using a rag and make the surface quite wet, but not flooded. The object is to get oil into the surface, but not in excess.To do the wet sanding, you will have no dust extraction attached to the sander. I have been doing this for a number of years now and my sander still works well.

Use the same 400g pad that you used dry, then go through 800,1200,1500 and (if you want to) 2000 and 4000. The difference that using the last two grits is obvious. You should find the surface to be usable almost straight away, but overnight is good as well.

A good wipe off with a dry soft rag and you're done. As always, do a test run on a piece of the timber you will be sanding. A quick look along the board wil show a mirror finish and just looking at the surface will show really good grain differentiation. i.e. The grain pops.

I'll get those photos up asap

Regards,

Rob

Rob,
What Polyurethane glue to you recommend?
And where would i buy it ? bunnings? mitre 10 ?
What about the Organoil Hard Burnishing Oil where do you purchase that and how far does it go . As in how much would i need to buy?
Regards
Allan

I have just glued up a couple of Spotted Gum tops to be used for vanities. For glue I used West Systems Epoxy (https://www.carbatec.com.au/joinery-...n-pack-a-500ml). I had planned on using Titebond III however I too was concerned about stuffing it up and didn't want any glue creep (not that I have experienced it with Titebond III but have with other similar glues). The West Systems was surprisingly easy to use.

As for finishes I have gone with Livos KUNOS Natural Oil Sealer #244. I have had this on the front drawers of another vanity unit and it has held up well. I also tried a sample and have had it on my desk at work for 12 months using it as a coaster for coffee, keys, phone etc. It has held up better than I was expecting. Livos have a few different oil types. The website unfortunately doesn't really explain in much detail the benefits of one over the other. The finish is matt to low sheen which I think looks good for an oil finish.

My success with Organoil Hard Burnishing Oil has never been successful. I know others get good results but I never have. For the Livos I just wipe it on with a rag and its done.

Not trying to push you in any direction but just passing on what I have chosen based on my own research and what works for me.

Hi Allan,

I would use Titebond II or III. Easy on and strong grip. You can get Titebond glues at Master's for about $15-20/litre. You can also get Hard Burnishing Oil at Master's. It's about $38/litre and that should be more than adequate for your purposes.

Sorry to hear that you have had a bad break with the HBO Ian, it's beautiful and functional when done right.

No barrow to push, just like the finish HBO gives me and I've tried a few.

As far as the ROS goes, any reasonable ROS will work OK. I use a Festoool ETS150, but I've done the application using a RO 150, which is like riding a bull and still got good results. The papers I used were 150mm Festool brand. For rough sanding, I would use 100 up to 400g papers with the hole pattern suited to the ROS you are using, but once you remove the vacuum, you can use any reasonable papers as you will not want suction. Sandpaper man (a sponsor of the forums) sells what you need. You can vary the amount of gloss you get by varying the sanding regime after oil is applied. You would use 400, 800 and 1200 to get a satin finish, then 1500, 2000 and 4000 to bump up the gloss. Though even at full gloss finish it doesn't look like plastic.

One crucial area of application is the time for incubation of the oil when first applying. Mess this up and it'll ruin your whole day!!(joke) Pour the oil onto the surface to be finished and wipe it all over the area to be worked. Apply enough to give the timber a wet look, but with no drips off the sides or puddles on the surface. let this sit for about 5-10 minutes (probably more like 10 minutes for dense Jarrah) Then repeat the procedure twice. This will give good protection at the end as it will have soaked into the Jarrah. If you are not sure, then try another light coat at the end. Don't over saturate the wood. If you feel that the wood looks sufficiently wet after 2 coats, then move on. If you need more than four, then go with what you have on the timber already.

Wet Sanding.

Begin with the same 400g pad that you used to dry sand. I use 10 up and back strokes on the wood to get the process started. That is, One "pass" equals one up and one back stroke. Do not wipe the timber down between grits. As you go through the higher grits, you will notice a slurry forming. Leave this on, it's important in the sealing of the oil into the wood. Once you get to the point where you are happy with the apparent look of the timber, you can stop and give the timber a very good rub down to remove the slurry that is left. A quick look along the length of the board will show you the results of your efforts.
If, after you have done the test run you have questions, I'm happy to go through the process with you again.

Regards,

Rob

One more for Titebond 3 and kunos natural oil.

When using this oil or any oil it is important to do a flood coat for your first coat, which means you apply enough oil till the surface stays wet. If it looks dry it is still wanting more oil as it is porous.
Have a cup of coffee and then come back with a clean cloth and wipe of all the excess, do not leave any on as it will jellify and is a pain in the rump to get of.

Once wiped of get your wet rag and work in a second coat, once wiped in buff of the excess.

Leave 24hr between coats and with a kitchen I would put on about 5 coats.

To make sure this or any oil is fully cured let sit for 3 weeks before using as you need the oil to fully cure into the timber. Heat and water are the enemies of any finish so make sure it is done carefully and not rushed.

Make sure all surfaces top and bottom have been coated also if you have a cut out where the sink or hot plates are going make sure to liberally coat the exposed end grain.

It does not matter which brand of oil you use make sure you have trivets and place mats.

Allan I would personally stay away from Titebond 3 for a benchtop, I've had it creep on me on both a dining table and a hall table. I'm certainly not a Titebond hater - I still use it to this day for projects and joinery, but for edge joints that mustn't exhibit creep I've gone over to PU glue. If you Google "Titebond 3 creep" you'll see a few hits, but of course just form your own opinion. There'll be a lot of joints in your benchtop using 90mm wide stock so it would be a shame if you got any creep in those joints.

Thankyou for all of the responses.
Is there really that much creep ? i would have thought Jarrah which is so dense would have to resist most of that ?
I should have my timber by the end of the week. I will post some pictures of what i am laminating together once i pick it up.

Im hoping to laminate them next weekend.
My bench is made up of four seperate panels so there will be 3 joins. I am hoping to cut them to size and glue and join what parts i can and then finish the polishing/oilsanding on those as one unit. The only join i wont be able to possibly do this on is the breakfast bar panel where it joins the sink panel. The cook top is a cutout lik the sink and it is not a freestander as depicted.

The attachment below should give you an idea. kitchen bench.png

Glue creep does happen. Perhaps woodworkers can pick it up more than the average person. You can pick the woodworker visiting your kitchen as they will be running their hand across your bench. Its the sort of thing that would drive me mad.

Below are some images of the vanity units I am currently working on. The first few photos are at the completion of sanding and then the first coat of Livos. The second coat went on today ..... no photos yet but feeling silky smooth. Fortunately mine are just straight benches ..... I do not envy the task ahead of you!

IMG_1058.jpg

IMG_1065.jpg

IMG_1064.jpg