Building and Installing Live Edge Walnut Countertops
We have been building a lot of live edge tops lately, especially in walnut. I try to keep plenty of walnut slabs on hand, but it seems like they are going out as fast as we can get them in and dried (which is the slowest part). For our latest countertops, I cut down a 13′ long x 28″ wide single slab of walnut into two 6′ long countertops. They are right next to each other, separated by the oven cabinet, so I wanted to use one piece for a continuous look.
Below is a video of the construction and installation of both of the countertops. It starts with transcribing the cardboard template onto the slabs with spray paint. I landed on using spray paint because it is quick and accurate and very visible. The countertop on the right side has an undermount sink, so we got to use the CNC router for the cutout (I don’t know how we ever got by without that thing).
Tom went with me on the install and everything went very smooth. Plus, he got to try out a new tagline for our videos.
Visiting Mueller Brothers Timber
I love visiting Mueller Brothers Timber in Old Monroe. It just feels right to me. I like the the guys that run the place and I like that it feels like I’m out in the country, even though I’m less than thirty minutes away from the shop. I visit there somewhat regularly just to see what is going on, look at logs and to purchase lumber. They run a big operation that I have written about before (click here to read more), but this time I decided to shoot a little video while I was there.
My main reason for visiting was to purchase some hard maple lumber for an upcoming project, since I don’t get hard maple logs, and therefore, hard maple lumber very often. While I was waiting for my lumber to be pulled, I took a look around the log yard to see if anything caught my eye (I don’t purchase logs very often – but I can be persuaded). I’m always amazed by the amount of logs that they have and this time they had even more than normal. I know I love to look around their sawmill and I thought you might too. Check out the video below to go on a quick tour with me.
Some quick notes:
The lumber bundles I am looking at are dry and available for sale, but they only sell by the bundle (usually in the 300+ bf. range). They move a lot of product and don’t sell in smaller retail amounts.
I mention cutting maple logs in the winter, which is desirable because the white (sap) wood of maple logs discolors and stains quickly and easily in warm weather. It is better to cut white woods in cooler weather because they decay or discolor more slowly.
I passed over the double-trunk white oak because I have a lot of white oak slabs and white oak is difficult to dry, especially when cut extra thick. Water doesn’t move readily in or out of white oak which makes the drying very slow and any attempt to speed the drying usually ends with the lumber splitting. Thick white oak can be dried effectively, just not quickly.
