# Mitering butcher block counter tops



## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

My niece asked me if I could miter some butcher block counter top. 

It set me to wondering a lot of things, one of which was----
Should butcher block be mitered, or should inside corners get butt joints?

If it should be mitered, how should that be done? I always hated trying to miter post formed countertops, because even when I had a radial saw big enough to do that, I could never get a good enough cut to make a clean joint. 

I hate to turn her down, but I really don't want to make a mess of it.


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## jdonhowe (Jul 25, 2014)

First, a warning! I have never done anything remotely like this before, but that's rarely stopped me from jumping in with an opinion  .

If the butcher block slabs were being made up on site, I think the coolest look would be having each individual piece mate end to side with its corresponding piece in the other slab, in a herringbone pattern. I assume, though, that the slabs are prefabricated.

I'd also be leery of trying to miter, not only of getting a good tight joint, but I think that all the joint lines of the two blocks would also have to match perfectly at the miter. One thing that occurs to me, if your niece is amenable, is to have a spacer of the same species as the butcher block wood (or maybe contrasting), that would run the length of the miter. It would give you some "wiggle room" by separating the joint lines, so they wouldn't have to match up exactly. Also, you could fine tune the fit of either butcher block with the spacer much more easily than against each other. This might be helpful since most counter top corners I've seen aren't exactly right angles.

I'd cut the slabs to rough length with a circular saw, then use a router with a straight edge to make the finish cut. You may need to fine tune with a hand plane on the edge. A biscuit joiner could help make the edges mate levelly.

Just my $.02


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Assuming you are refering to a formica countertop with a 4" splash built in that is difficult to do. I would turn the counter top upside down and cut it from the back side with a circular saw with a plywood blade. Your circular saw won't cut all the way through the splash. It will be necessary to set the saw on an angle and finish the cut. I normally try to leave the counter top a little long in case you have to true up the cut with a sander.


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## bauerbach (Mar 25, 2012)

I just spend 5min on google images looking at counters out of curiosity.

I see it done both ways, predominantly butt jointed (all but 2 infact). Not too suprising, mitering the counter would be more work, big joint to get dead on, and it needs to be dead on... 

With that said, ease aside, I found the butt joints to be far more pleasing. the mitered ones looked a bit weird to be honest. Or maybe its just that I dont like the narrow plank on this one anyway.


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## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

The other concern I have about cutting a miter would be if there's a metal rod in there. I guess I could check with a magnet , but if there is one, then what?


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## BigBadBuford (Jan 13, 2012)

I installed butcher block for my sister and we just used butt joints and it looked pretty good. The only issue was that the butcher block had a round over on the edges, so we had to use a router to flatten part of the edge then miter the round over so it met tightly at the seam. She got her counter tops from Ikea and they sell aluminum connectors if you are doing butt joints so you don't have to do that but we didn't really like the look.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*postformed or not?*



Quickstep said:


> My niece asked me if I could miter some butcher block counter top.
> 
> It set me to wondering a lot of things, one of which was----
> *Should butcher block be mitered, or should inside corners get butt joints?*
> ...


You haven't made it clear if the tops are HPL postformed...if so avoid the miters if possible. I've done upside down with good success, but it's "scary" knowing you can really screw it up with a bad angle.

If it's wood rather than postformed with a splash, then you are in luck and can do it either way...butt or miter.:yes:


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

woodnthings said:


> You haven't made it clear if the tops are HPL postformed...if so avoid the miters if possible. I've done upside down with good success, but it's "scary" knowing you can really screw it up with a bad angle.
> 
> If it's wood rather than postformed with a splash, then you are in luck and can do it either way...butt or miter.:yes:


Yea, I picked up on the same thing. In post 5 though he talks about allthread so that lets out postform. 

If it's a modern butcherblock it is unlikely to have all-thread in it. The rod would be so deep in the wood it would take a metal detector to find it. If there is a rod in the counter I would probably cut the wood between the rods and finish the cut with a jig saw with a metal cutting blade.


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## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

It's not a post formed counter top I'm talking about; I just mentioned that because (back in the day) when I was cutting post formed countertops; even when I had a big enough saw, I still had trouble getting a super clean joint. Even a little blade runout could leave a gap in the middle.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

If the joint doesn't match up good you could take a belt sander and turn if verticle and tune the joint. It takes a bit of tinkering but the seam only has to be good on the top side. If you spline it and put some pull up bolts in it a little void on the bottom side won't really hurt. Since it doesn't have a back splash like a post form top it shouldn't be that hard to use a straight edge and make a good miter.


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## Improv (Aug 13, 2008)

Rough cut the counter tops to the desired angle so you can align the counter tops with a slight gap between them. Put a straight edge for a guide on one or both of the surfaces. Use a router and run a trim bit so it cuts both edges simultaneously. The final product should result in a perfect fit. 

If it were me cutting it, the miter would be done first, then the top cut to length, just in case I got a wee bit off or my wall wasn't the perfect square I thought it was.

Regards,
Steve


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## bauerbach (Mar 25, 2012)

could be that there needs to be a miter on both ends of the counter top...


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