# 2x4 fir work island top



## daryl in nanoose (Feb 18, 2007)

Well I am going to take the plunge and build a 4 foot x 6 foot counter top out of 2x4 kdfir for a work island. The wood is 3-1/2 " by 1 -3/8" by 6' 
I am wondering if I should just edge glue it all or should I also t&g or buscutts? Should I also add a sheet of pywood under the whole thing or cleats?
First time building one .


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## ShaneLyall (Jan 12, 2010)

I built my island in my kitichen with 2x4s. I jointed them to make tight glue line and take off the rounded tops and sealed with several coats of clear polly. I used 1/4 ply as a base and glued the 2x stock to it and each other. I leveled it with a belt sander and sank my stove top into it. I'll get some pics posted as soon as I can. If you need any more info let me know.


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## Richins (Jan 5, 2010)

If you have a big enough wide belt then you could just edge glue it and sand it flat. If not I would recommend either t&g or biscuits just to help you have less work in the end leveling it out.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*What type of wood is available near you?*

Doug Fir, Spruce, other? How about 3/4" pine laminated? Same amount of wood, twice as much glue! Just a thought. Wide belt sander will even things out in a hurry, if you can access one. If not, I would build 4 sections, one at a time, then glue 2 together, then 2 more, then the final glue up. JMO bill


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## Tony B (Jul 30, 2008)

daryl in nanoose said:


> .... I am going to .. build a 4 foot x 6 foot counter top out of 2x4 kdfir for a work island. The wood is 3-1/2 " by 1 -3/8" by 6'
> I am wondering if I should just edge glue it all or should I also t&g or buscutts? Should I also add a sheet of pywood under the whole thing or cleats?
> First time building one .


I would just edge glue it and not bother with T&G or biscuits. I would also glue it up in sections wide enough to fit your planer and then join the sections. This planing would remove the rounded edges qiuckly. 
Why would you add a sheet of plywood underneath?

Also note that at Ikea, you can buy solid glued up wood countertops at a very reasonable price. You could simply edge glue 2 of these together to make it 4 foot wide. Recently I had sliced one up for someone that wanted one 'slice' for an island counter top and the other 'slice' for a hall bench. It was very heavy and seemed to be of reasonably good quality.


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## Gerry KIERNAN (Apr 20, 2007)

Hi Daryl

I would just glue the pieces together, but if you wanted extra strength and security you could predrill the pieces and run redi rod right through the middle from side to side. The fasteners can be inset on each side by drilling with a Forstner bit, and installing plugs after the glue up is completed. This is the basic process I used for my work bench that I built up out of 1x4 and 2x4 alder boards on edge. Worked out quite well.

Gerry


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## daryl in nanoose (Feb 18, 2007)

Thanks everyone, great idea's and how to's.:thumbsup: I am going to just edge glue. I will post pics when I'm done:thumbsup:


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## seanmacdougal (Feb 5, 2010)

Glue will suffice, but a good many woodworkers like to reinforce edge joints with splines or biscuits. I've always worried that they know something I don't. But in decades of using modern glues, the only edge joints I've ever had come apart were in oily wood. Fir accepts glue well. It is, however, extremely soft, and would be a poor choice for a work surface in a kitchen.
whatever you do, be sure to finish top and bottom sides of the slab.


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## daryl in nanoose (Feb 18, 2007)

Thanks again for the great info:thumbsup:
We have scraped the fir idea and are going with Plyboo http://www.plyboo.com/
I am going to reinforce it with a double layer around the outside to give us 1-1/2"
I built my workbench years ago the same way and it goes through climate changes constantly and is still as flat as when I built it:thumbsup:.


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## JohnK007 (Nov 14, 2009)

Never heard of plyboo before until I checked out your link. Looking forward to seeing your island when done!


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## Richins (Jan 5, 2010)

We've used their products several times. Enjoyed working with it.


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