Help Me Build My Coffee Bar - Page 2

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blutch (original poster)
Posts: 183
Joined: 3 years ago

#11: Post by blutch (original poster) »

Thanks.. I'm going to go with cabinetry.. some fairly cheap, premade stuff and the butcher block. I'm not looking forward to the process of sealing it, but I would like it to be indestructable and to not worry about putting anything wet on it. Thanks for you ideas though!

PeetsFan
Posts: 255
Joined: 3 years ago

#12: Post by PeetsFan replying to blutch »

Sealing it with fast-drying varathane/urethane is not a lot of work at all. I gave you a lot of details but it was very easy.

But you have to buy fast-drying urethane. The regular stuff takes 12 hours or more to dry. Oh, and I just used the cheap, disposable foam paint brushes. Nothing fancy. Cheap and worked fine. Don't shake the can of urethane, just stir very gently. You want to avoid bubbles.

SandraF
Posts: 374
Joined: 3 years ago

#13: Post by SandraF »

Not sure if you have a Rockler woodworking store near you but they really know their stuff. General Finishes is a brand in good standing, and I have used this product with good results, although for a coffee table, and not for a surface that would have heat or water on it.

https://www.rockler.com/general-finishe ... coat-satin

NicoNYC
Posts: 180
Joined: 3 years ago

#14: Post by NicoNYC »

blutch wrote:Thanks.. I'm going to go with cabinetry.. some fairly cheap, premade stuff and the butcher block. I'm not looking forward to the process of sealing it, but I would like it to be indestructable and to not worry about putting anything wet on it. Thanks for you ideas though!
Hey there, I'm a professional woodworker, hopefully I can shed some light on some of the vast array of finishing products available out there:

- Shellac: literally an alcohol-soluble insect shell. These days it's used as a barrier coat between incompatible products, as a sealer before staining, for repro/resto work, and not much else. Not great for water & wear resistance.

- Water-based polyurethane: Technically these are an acrylic finish w/ added polyurethane resin... These dry quickly (you can sand and reapply within an hour or two), are odorless, and cleanup is easy. Application can take a bit of practice, usually it needs to be brushed on carefully, and sanded w/ 320 grit between coats. Has a bit of a "plastic" look, and doesn't bring out quite as much "depth" as an oil-based finish. Excellent water-resistance, pretty good wear resistance.

- Oil-based polyurethane: Probably 3/4 of what you'll find at a hardware store are a form of oil-based poly. Great water-resistance, great wear-resistance. Application can be easy or difficult, depending on the product. A thicker finish needs to be brushed on, a thinner one can be wiped-on with a cotton rag (no brush-marks, faster dry time). Again, sand w/ 320 between coats. Count on about 3-4 hours dry time in t-shirt temps.
  • For a beginner, my choice would be "Minwax Wipe-On Poly" or an equivalent from Varathane, Watco, etc. It's polyurethane that's been thinned to a viscosity that can be wiped on easily with a rag. 3 coats of satin gives a nice natural look, gloss can be trickier to apply, sanding any bumps or runs is key, expect 4+ coats to get a "glass-like" look.
- Oil-varnish blend (aka. Danish Oil): This is oil-based polyurethane, thinner, and boiled linseed oil. It's a slightly more delicate, more natural-looking variation on poly. Fantastic for furniture, but I'd steer you towards straight polyurethane for a surface that sees water and coffee grounds.

- Stain: not a useful finish on its own. Most are bits of pigment suspended in a very, very thin poly finish. Depending on the wood, these can be prone to splotching, ideally use a sealer before application, and follow with the finish of your choice. Oil-based stain -> oil-based finish, water-based stain -> water based finish.

- "Butcher-block finish": mineral oil + beeswax. Great for cutting boards, but offer zero protection to wear, and are only mildly water-resistant. These require re-application over time.

- Lacquer: this must be applied w/ a spray gun in a booth. Often a 2-part product that must be mixed before application. It's like the espresso of finishing, needs lots of tweaking, practice, usually a .1g scale, and is inaccessible to all but the most dedicated diy-er.

If you have any questions about a particular finish I'd be glad to share any thoughts or experience I have w/ it. Also, I highly recommend any articles by a man named Bob Flexner. He literally wrote the book on finishes and does a fantastic job of explaining the differences in finishes, application techniques, etc.

Also, IKEA is great for cabinets. Inexpensive, reasonably sturdy, lots of widths available, you have some options for different door & handle styles. These days a lot of "custom kitchen renovations" are IKEA cabinets with custom drawer faces & doors, there are even companies that offer premium doors made to fit: check out Reform or Semihandmade.
LMWDP #718

PeetsFan
Posts: 255
Joined: 3 years ago

#15: Post by PeetsFan »

NicoNYC wrote:Hey there, I'm a professional woodworker, hopefully I can shed some light on some of the vast array of finishing products available out there:
  • For a beginner, my choice would be "Minwax Wipe-On Poly" or an equivalent from Varathane, Watco, etc. It's polyurethane that's been thinned to a viscosity that can be wiped on easily with a rag. 3 coats of satin gives a nice natural look, gloss can be trickier to apply, sanding any bumps or runs is key, expect 4+ coats to get a "glass-like" look.
- Oil-varnish blend (aka. Danish Oil): This is oil-based polyurethane, thinner, and boiled linseed oil. It's a slightly more delicate, more natural-looking variation on poly. Fantastic for furniture, but I'd steer you towards straight polyurethane for a surface that sees water and coffee grounds.

- "Butcher-block finish": mineral oil + beeswax. Great for cutting boards, but offer zero protection to wear, and are only mildly water-resistant. These require re-application over time.
I tried the Mineral Oil first. It was awful. The wood stained whenever I spilled anything or moved the equipment (rubber marks). It sanded out easily before I applied the Minwax Wipe-On, which is the urethane I wound up using. I used the sandpaper grit they recommended on the container. I thought it was 150 but maybe it was finer; I forget.

CantinaCoffee
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Posts: 237
Joined: 3 years ago

#16: Post by CantinaCoffee »

I recently built a coffee bar.... it's a temporary solution until we remodel / expand the kitchen area, so I was trying to do it as cheaply and quickly as possible.

I used a 30" unfinished wood cabinet from home depot (this was the largest I could fit in this space). It was pretty flimsy, so I added some supports on top, and also enclosed the bottom right side with MDF to use for some pull out trash cans:

I didn't want to pay for butcher block, so I used some scrap 2x8 lumber that I had laying around, and screwed it together with a pocket hole jig (this is super easy even if you don't have woodworking skills). I sanded it pretty heavily with an orbital sander and rounded off all the edges.

I finished the top with several coats of gray water based poly (varathane from Home Depot). If I wasn't trying to do it so cheaply, I would have used epoxy to fill in the small gaps between the wood.... The top is screwed to the supports from underneath, and also caulked around the perimeter with silicone. Overall, very happy with how it turned out for about $150 budget.

Btw, I think 30" wide and 24" deep is really the absolute minimum you could get away with.... my future coffee bar will be much wider.

PeetsFan
Posts: 255
Joined: 3 years ago

#17: Post by PeetsFan »

CantinaCoffee wrote:I recently built a coffee bar...

Btw, I think 30" wide and 24" deep is really the absolute minimum you could get away with.... my future coffee bar will be much wider.
Your coffee bar looks great!

I agree about the width!
I bought a 36" cabinet and a 42" countertop. The countertop overhangs, but there's no way I'll cut it down. I'll probably put a trash can beneath... but if I had a six foot coffee bar, I'd take it! Although, 42" is fine, of course.

CantinaCoffee
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Posts: 237
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#18: Post by CantinaCoffee »

Thanks! I would love to have the extra space of your overhang.... looks like a good workable area.

I think when we eventually remodel, a 6' combined coffee / smoothie bar is definitely in the cards. Time to call the architect, and then wait a year for lumber prices to come down :shock:

PeetsFan
Posts: 255
Joined: 3 years ago

#19: Post by PeetsFan »

blutch wrote:Is there anyway you could take a pic of it from the front with he finished top?
Here's the photo. I hope this helps! If you want a different angle, let me know.
That's my $200 coffee bar. I haven't taken the plastic off of the cabinets or put knobs on the doors yet.

blutch (original poster)
Posts: 183
Joined: 3 years ago

#20: Post by blutch (original poster) »

Is this the right stuff?