How to join timber panels to form L-benchtop on pantry cabinets?

I'm so sorry @barydos. I've provided an incorrect product there, as it's only designed for benchtops with a minimum thickness of 20mm. We do have the 2200 x 600 x 26mm Beech Laminated Panel that would give a more premium look, and its thickness would allow you to use the joiners. You'd need to trim the width down as it's 600mm. On the plus side, it doesn't appear to have chamfered edges, so you could have a butt-join which would be easier to achieve than the mitre. Unfortunately, the Taskmaster and Hafele joiners are also 18mm thick and are not suitable for your 18mm panel.

On the Kaboodle kit, the 12mm is a reference for the nut size, and the spanner is included for that. The bored hole to accommodate the head is to be 35mm, and it would need to be 18mm deep to accommodate the thickness of the joiner. Then, the channel needs to be around 12mm for the bolt. Here are the Kaboodle instructions on the joiner installation. I'll also include the video below.

Mitchell

All comments

Hi @barydos,

If you look at those panels' edges, they've been chamfered. This means that if you butt join the two bench sections together, there will be a chamfered side joined to a square-cut side. I've created the below renderings to illustrate.

To avoid this, I'd recommend a mitred diagonal join in the corner.

Given the cabinets are 370mm deep, and the panel 405mm wide, the overhang of 35mm would be around right.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

Thanks for the reply @MitchellMc

I understand your concern around the chamfered edge, that totally makes sense.

When it comes to joining the mitre cuts, would you recommend applying wood glue to join them? And BEFORE securing these to the cabinets?

And afterward, do you think I'd need to do anything extra for that join. Or would you expect the cut to be seamless enough to else as is?

Thanks again! Excited to do this soon

@barydos,

Wood glue will be needed, and the Kaboodle Benchtops Join Kit would be useful to get a seamless joint. It includes biscuits if you wish to use them for alignment, but that would require a biscuit joiner. It also includes benchtop joiners that pull the edges together and compress the joint. At a minimum, you would need wood glue and flat brackets to join the bench sections. I'd recommend joining the sections in situ to avoid any fitment issues.

You could achieve a seamless join if your mitre cuts are perfect (I'm not that good). I suspect a little timber filler would assist in hiding any inconsistencies.

Mitchell

@MitchellMc,

Based on what you've said, I'm interested in going down the benchtop joiner kit path. Also the description of that product says it has 12mm benchtop joiners. Which is that metric referring to?

Just thinking that I'd need to consider what size boring bit to use to fit the joiner, and also the fact the benchtop is 18mm thick - so the depth of the cavity to fit the joiner.

Mitchell

Thanks for that clarification and video, all super useful resources for me!

Moving forward, I think I'll do some practice attempts with some off cuts first. Anyway, is the order basically getting the measurements and joining done first (no glue) and then disassemble to apply oil (then reassemble after)?

On that note, I remember applying some water-based polyurethane on my office desk (used the beech laminated panel) and had some struggles (used brush and random orbital sand 3 times basically with 2 hr waiting in between). Is there a good video for the proper technique on this? I was also a bit unsure on the proper way to discard the excess varnish. Thanks!

Hi @barydos,

Were you going to use an oil or polyurethane? Either way, I'd suggest cutting done first, applying your oil or poly to any hidden edges that will be hard to access once the bench is installed and then joining the sections. Once the bench is in place, you can apply your coating to it.

What sort of struggles did you have applying the polyurethane coating? Typically, you'd require three coats and a light sanding in between them.

Excess varnish can be dropped off to your local recycling and waste management centre that accepts paint cans.

Please let me know if you have further questions.

Mitchell

Thanks @MitchellMc.

My bad, I think I'll go with water based poly. I hear it seems to do well protection-wise and require less maintenance thereafter.

I think I previously struggled with probably over brushing? And also the varnish that would drip over the side of the timber panel - would just sand it down again after I guess. And still not too sure what's the best approach to cleaning the brush and storing it between coats as well.

EricL

Hi @barydos

The best way to keep your brush in good condition is to wash it after you've finished painting for the day. However, if you are letting it sit in between coats, I suggest getting a small bucket and filling it with water. Place the brush in the bucket making sure that the water level is above the brush head.

When it's time to apply another coat, tap the brush on the side of the bucket to remove the water. Wrap the brush in an old tea towel to remove all the excess water in the brush. Do it several times and when the brush is dry you can then begin painting again.

Just remember to give your brush a proper wash at the end of the day. Do not leave it sitting in the bucket overnight as this will damage the brush ends.

Here is a handy step-by-step guide: How to restore wooden furniture (the techniques used are applicable to your benchtop)

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

Re-visiting this thread to close it off - thanks everyone for all the info!

I ended up using the Kaboodle kit and Acacia timber panels (2200 x 600 x 26) and butted them together on the cabinets, also butted the boards on some angle brackets for shelves above the cabinets.

I caulked the gaps the cabinet benchtops made with the wall, and just left the shelving boards as is because that's less visible. There were some/minimal gaps at the butt joints due to concerns of expansion (though I'm not sure how much of an issue that would be).

Here's the final look of the pantry:

Wonderful work, @barydos and many thanks for sharing your results!

Mitchell

jasonboz

Is this the same for larger 2200x600x26 bench tops also? Or can the be connected via square cut instead of 45degree cut?

JacobZ

Hi @jasonboz,

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is wonderful to have you with us.

The 26mm thick panels don't appear to be chamfered in the same way as the 18mm ones, meaning a butt join would be a viable option.

If necessary, you can always sharpen up the edge using a block plane or planer before joining. This will ensure you get a nice, clean connection between your panels.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob

jasonboz

Thanks legend

Piggy backing here. I am recycling some 40mm thick hardwood table tops on my kaboodle cabinets. It is an L-shaped kitchen and I will use a butt joint. Are the joiners in the kaboodle joining kit still suitable?

Cheers

JacobZ

Hi @crisis,

Yes, they will work.

Thicker panels won't have any issues; thinner ones will have issues because of the depth that needs to be routed out to accommodate the joiners.

With your situation, you may have to route deeper into the underside of the benchtop so they are more central in the panel and the force is applied evenly through the panels, but this shouldn't really be an issue.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob

This is very good news. Thanks

Noyade

The video on the previous page is interesting - recommending a wood glue joint.

Long time ago - but when we did our 'Masters' kitchen a neutral silicone was what they insisted on.

Not mitred though - small curve then a butt joint.

Maybe because it was close to a sink?

Timber Bench tops are in and joiners worked a treat. Due to my unstraight walls though I have a gap between wall and bench in one section that I’d like to fill before tiling. The gap is 2-8mm at its widest point and maybe 8cm long. The tiling will hide the gap but I’d still like to fill it. What caulk am I best to use for this? Pic to show bench tops, gap not visible

JacobZ

Hi @crisis,

I'd suggest using a silicone sealant like this Selleys Wet Area Waterproof Silicone Sealant.

You might also need to add some 6mm Gap Filler Rod in the wider spots to stop the silicone from falling through the gap before it can set.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob