Maple flooring for benchtop

[JimDantin]

I picked up some unfinished maple flooring that was salvaged from a theater (Habitat for Humanity fundraiser). It's been de-nailed and appears to be mostly unsanded. Its 7/8" thick, 2 1/4 face width. I have 40 square feet, with plenty more available if needed. It's probably 15-20 years old. A lot of it was painted black, but I picked some of the unfinished bundles.

I'd like to build a surface for either a 3' x 6' kitchen island, or workbench if the kitchen project doesn't work out.

Despite extensive googling, I can't find any references to using this material for a bench or table top. Am I pursuing a really bad idea? Any suggestions, plans, or links would be appreciated.

My thoughts are to build the surface as a glue-up on top of a piece of exterior-grade plywood, and then use that as the island countertop for a kitchen remodel. Maybe put some screws through the plywood as added stabilization, but I don't know if bowing would be an issue.

Thanks.

[charliex]

Not a good idea for a wood working bench. It is very hard to level. I did it, so I know. Wouldn't do it again. For anything else it should work fine. My concern would be using it in the kitchen island, Water could be a problem.

Chas

[JimDantin]

I was going to plane/sand it level after assembly, and would oil it like a butcher block in the kitchen application.

Are you saying your's didn't stay flat?

Thanks

[Rich P]

One of the contributors over at Fine Woodworking (Garret Hack) built up the top on his workbench using three layers of 1x material. The bench is described in the 2010 issue of FWW tools and shops (available now). I made my bench top by laying 1x red oak flooring over a 2 layers of 3/4" MDF. I may rebuild it at some point (I'd like to change the vise arrangements) but the layered approach seems a fairly cost effective way to go.

[JimDantin]

I've been reading (drooling actually) over that article. Obviously flooring boards aren't as massive as the 1x stock that he used. I don't plan to use MDF in the kitchen, to avoid water issues. I don't think the 7/8" boards will have warpage issues like thinner flooring.

For a workbench, I'll probably do exactly what you did and use two layers of 3/4 MDF under the maple.

How did you attach the layers of your workbench? Did you install any cross-clamping like rods?

Thanks

[dkerfoot]

How about stacking it on edge for a laminated top? How wide are the boards?

.

[Knottscott]

I think it would work if you put a good sturdy substraight under it. If you have a planer, you can piece it together in planable sizes, then just work the seems. A #5 or #7 hand plane will do a nice job with final flattening of a surface like that.

[JimDantin]

The boards have a 2 1/4" wide face (plus the tongue). I've thought about that approach -- ripping both the tongues and grooves off would leave about a 2" board -- Stacked up as a benchtop would give a VERY sturdy structure and easily allow for through-bolting of needed.

If I find access to a planer, I could true up the surfaces and really have a nice sandwich.

If I leave the boards in their normal orientation, I'm planning on using a layer or two of exterior grade plywood as a substrate. That would be hidden by the facing boards.

Hand planing would also be an option for final surface finishing (and a reason to pick up a #7 plane!)

[vaking]

Standard floor planks have a profile cut on the underside. If yours have that profile - the first thing I would do is run them over planer or jointer to get rid of that profile. After that you can try to glue up boards into layers. One thing I would be concerned with layering hardwood on top of plywood is different expansion of wood versus plywood, so I would probably try to glue up 2 or 3 layers of such flooring together without plywood permanently attached. I would also make sure seams don't line up on different boards and layers.

[Rich P]

Jim

I placed threaded inserts into the bottom of the top and then bolted things together through cleats in the top rails of the base. If you build the workbench believe me you will want to be able to partially disassemble it to move it. As Hack said, his top comes in at around 200 lbs. He didn't indicate if he was using 4/4 or 5/4 material but for most folks 1" nominal = 1x = 3/4" actual. What you are after is mass and stability which you will get from the MDF. With 7/8" maple on top to start with I imagine you can get a few years of use before starting over!

I used the base design by Lon Schleining as a starting point and modified it for my situation. He has a follow on article where he builds two drawer units that slide into the base. I did the same and have been fairly satisfied.

[JimDantin]

Standard floor planks have a profile cut on the underside. If yours have that profile - the first thing I would do is run them over planer or jointer to get rid of that profile...

Why do you think that it is important to mill off the profile?

[Rich P]

Good question on the profile. I didn't on my red oak and glued and toe nailed into the MDF through the T&G. If your maple has the grooves in the bottom then you don't really have 7/8" but if properly applied still could last you for few months. If you rip off the T&G and plane it all down you can still toe nail into whatever substrate you want and wind up with a reasonably flat top. Sounds to me like you have access to enough material to do your counter top (if you want) and (more important to me) the workbench. As the old monk said, "Choose wisely grasshopper!" I repeat that to myself several time each day.

[phi1l]

My parents have had maple Kitchen counter tops for about 45 years. They are made from 3/4"x 1 1/2" pieces glued together on edge. Water has not been a problem, but staining can be. Every few years they get scraped to remove the stains & re-oiled with mineral oil. I really like them, but I would not try to put one together unless I had a 36" drum sander handy to make the surface flat.

[JimDantin]

That is the classic construction method, unless you want end grain like a butcher block, and I might decide that's the way to go. Of course, it requires a lot more maple material.

I can simply buy commercially made maple tops that would eliminate all the fabrication challenges, but what fun is that? The Habitat for Humanity salvage project was rather cleverly promoted -- How would you like to have a kitchen counter that you could say that Mikhail Baryshnikov danced on?