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How to rip a Specrite panel for kitchen benchtop?

My husband and I just bought our first home and looking to do a budget kitchen Reno (current kitchen is truly awful, but we’re on a tight budget) replacing the Benchtop, backsplash and cabinet fronts only. I was hoping to use the specrite acacia 26mm thick panels to achieve this however their max width is 600mm and we have a section of the Benchtop that’s 800mm wide and another that’s 700mm wide. Can I purchase an additional panel and rip it lengthways with a circular saw to 200mm and 100mm widths (plus ~300mm leftover)? Planning to then glue these to the main 600mm panels using titebond 2 and pocket hole screws for additional support.
I’ve never made a kitchen Benchtop so no idea if this will work, the Specrite does say it’s suitable for the purpose, I’m just not sure if what I need to do is doable. Any advice would be much appreciated

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MitchellMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @MrsZ. It's wonderful to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about joining panels.

It is possible to cut down the Specrite acacia panels to achieve the widths you need for your benchtop, as you've outlined. However, as @Jewelleryrescue has mentioned, cutting a larger panel to size will generally result in a better finish. When you cut the panels, be sure to use a circular saw with a fine-tooth blade to achieve clean, smooth cuts, and always ensure your measurements are accurate.

To join the panels together securely, you’ll need a good-quality adhesive like Titebond 2, which you’ve already chosen. In addition to glue, it’s important to use several sash clamps to hold the panels in place while the glue dries. These clamps will provide the necessary pressure to ensure a strong bond. Pocket hole screws are also a good idea to add extra support, but be sure to drill the holes carefully to avoid splitting the wood.

Since this is your first kitchen benchtop project, I’d also recommend doing a test run with some scrap pieces of wood to practice your cutting, gluing, and clamping techniques. This will help you get a feel for the process and make sure everything fits together properly before you begin working on the actual panels.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

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Jewelleryrescue

Hi @MrsZ

I started descripting how to possibly best cut and join the panels up to 700 and 800 mm wide.

But then stopped as it will never really look good with a join.

I highly recommend you start with full width panel solid timber 2400 x 900mm x 33 thick and cut it down to width as it will look great and solves abunch of problems

Specrite have limited colour in that size 900 wide bunnings special order desk might be able to assit you with more options for non standard items avalaible but not carried of more colours.

But for now

Specrite Merbua 2400x900x33mm

Spectrite Pine 2400x900x33mm

ASH Hardwood panel 2400x900x33mm

MitchellMc

MrsZ

Thanks @MitchellMc & @Jewelleryrescue - some great advice to keep in mind. I will have to reconsider my plan. Good advice to practice on scraps, luckily I do have some scrap pieces (even after moving house lol)

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