Mountain Ash slabs for benchtops

[dinium]

Hi @one,

We're using big mountain ash slabs for our benchtops (I know all the reasons why we shouldn't be, but the slabs are from a tree a couple of hundred meters from where we got married and SWMBO is adament she wants them). The slabs will be used in a white kitchen with newly polished Tas Oak floors - it would be terrific if we can match the neutral tonings of the floor boards.

Any recommendations for:

1. Epoxing a couple of big holes (200mm x 40mm)

2. Sealing and coating all slabs (Poly vs Oil)

Is there anything we need to be wary of? This is the first time I'll be playing with large slabs of this size as benchtops - any hints and experiences will be greatly appreciated.

The slabs are air dried to 12%, and do have very minor cupping (which I was going to ease by cutting strips on the peaks and then sealing all sides).

Thanks in advance!

[Rusty]

G'day Dinium;
I'm in the middle (between oil coats) on my first slab benchtop- so , naturally I'm an expert now...

I needed to supply a matt oil finish (oil-based would be my preference, anyway) and after much to-ing and fro-ing and forum advice seeking, settled on Organoil Garden Furniture Oil. It is tung oil based and apparently poly free, and claims to rot-proof timber. Easy as hell to apply, and presumably to maintain. For a brighter, satin finish I would use Feast watson Floorseal, which I reckon would be more durable anyway. Most people (judging from past threads on the subject) seem to favour sealing the timber with a plastic finish; I say let it breathe a bit. But I could be wrong!

The slabmaster advice you got in your other thread might be the way to go for flattening; 1000mm is big for a thicknesser, and you'd be looking at quite a few passes on a wide belt sander. The slab I'm using started at approx 600 wide and 40 thick, with cupping of about 4mm from edge to centre.

I had it dimensioned at 538 wide and it came out a smidge over 35 thick after thicknessing. Baker and Davies Joinery in Moorabbin did a top job of this in 24hrs for 50 bucks (plus tax). It saved me a world of hassle.

Mountain Ash (E. regnans) is one specie in the grab bag marketed as Vic Ash, as you probably know. It will mix well with that other mix known as Tas Oak. The big qestion (in terms of matching the tone) is: what are your floors finished with?

No idea about epoxying the holes (they sound way big) but I know that there has been quite a bit of discussion on this in the past. The board's search function (upper right) will yield a treasure trove of info.

Hope this helps a little; I'll be watching this thread cos I reckon any responses you get will help me as much as they'll help you!

Cheers,
Rusty.

[rsser]

Epoxy the holes with, well, epoxy. Mix with sanding dust to get a match. (It won't be exact btw).

Finish with a quality oil and an ROS. The slurry will fill the grain. Repeat as necessary.

[dinium]

Thanks for the responses... it is appreciated.

And thanks Rusty for the info on Baker & Davies. Most of the benchtops will be 650mm wide - there's only one that will be 850-950. Unfortunately, it will be butting into the others.