Expert: Jamie Yocono - 7/11/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hi jamie, I am making a bar counter using two slabs of ash wood 1 year old. They both are approximate. 10'x 1.5'x 2.5". The bark is on. I like to cut one side (long wise)of both pieces to make them straight on one side and glue them together. How do I best do this to make the bar counter as strong as possible? Would you use biscuits.....etc??
Thanks for your time
Leif Simonsen

ANSWER: Leif,

Believe it or not, the answer to your question is pretty complex. The short answer to your question is - biscuits will work for alignment issues, but not too much for strength. If you're looking to beef up that glue line, dowels might be a better choice. But the common belief is that if you do a good job of gluing the two boards together,  the glue joint will actually be stronger than the wood itself. So - if the board was going to break in two, it wouldn't break on the glue line, but rather, in the solid wooden area.

So make sure you clean up those edges well, with no gaps, and apply the glue liberally. And don't starve the joint, by tightening the clams too much.

Whew! There are a lot of things that can go wrong when making a top.

OK, that's the simple answer. But the more complex issue is of wood movement. The wider the board, the more it has a tendency to cup. And it will cup in relation to the end grain rings. So look at the end of a board - see the rings? They're either shaped in a U going up, or a U facing down. Most woodworkers that glue up panels will cut the wood into narrower (4-6") strips, and when laying the panel up, they will alternate the direction of those U's. The theory is that one piece will cup up, one will cup down, and so on, and the final board will remain relatively flat.

Now- some woodworkers disregard that theory, and they simply glue up a panel according to the way it looks. They ignore the end grain, and choose beauty over technical data.

My best suggestion - let the wood acclimate in the room where this bar will be located, maybe for 2 weeks, if you can afford that time. Take a look at the boards, to see if they've cupped at all while in the climate controlled environment. If they're still flat, I would simply go ahead as you've planned - clean up one long edge and glue them together. Forget about the end grain, just use the boards however you want to. It' sup to you about the biscuits, but they really don't add to much strength. They do help with alignment, so if you're not too good at clamping, then add them.

But if those boards cup or bow after they've acclimated, then that means there is a tendency for them to have a mind of their own. They probably will give you problems down the line with movement. If that's the case, you might want to do one of two things - first, position the two pieces so that one board has it's end grain U cupping up, and the other board is cupping down.

The second thing - it sort of depends on your bar design, but if the bar has an apron under the top, so that you can attach it and hold the top from moving too much, that might also help in reducing the tendency to cup.

The boards will move less if they've been kiln dried, by the way. Air dried wood might move a lot! So be forewarned.

Good luck, hope this information helps. Write back if you have any more questions.

Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
Las Vegas, NV
www.wooditis.com
My woodworking blog: www.wooditis.blogspot.com


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks a lot for your time and thoughts....very helpful.
Would you use Elmer's wood glue or something else?
Thanks again

Answer
Leif,

Caught me at my desk at the end of a long week, so you get a quick response!

Yes, Elmer's wood glue is fine to use. I personally use Titebond glues, like the Titebond II which is water resistant. But Elmer's is fine, too.

Good luck, when you finish with the bar, if you'd like to share a picture, I'd love to see it. There isn't a way to send pictures through the All Expert's website, but you can send it to my personal e-mail account:  jamie@wooditis.com.

Good luck, sounds like you're really thinking this through. That's half the battle!

Jamie in Las Vegas