Would ash be a good wood for counter tops and tables?

TBarCYa

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A winter project is to replace the counter tops in the bathroom and kitchen of the 1971 Concorde. I could buy laminated particle board but that will fall apart eventually just like what's in there now so I'm thinking of something like ash that would be stained and covered with clear epoxy. We're also thinking about building a new table top that will be treated to stain and epoxy but a map will be epoxied to the surface for decoration. Any comments on using ash for a project like this?
 

gm280

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I would certainly avoid anything made out of particle board. Even a little humidity is huge concerns for trouble. Not sure about Ash, but other solid woods like Red Oak or White Oak is even better for such a project. Then there is Hickory, Walnut, Mahogany and lots of hard quality woods that would work. Personally I would make sure to seal whatever wood I used all the way around to help stop water intrusion... Not sure too many know this or not, but they use White Oak to deliver pipes for road construction type work. Usually sewer pipes are delivered with 4"X4" White Oak wood between them for the simple reason that it resist rot very well... And almost always those 4 x 4 or even larger sizes are sent to the dump... You can ask them for those boards and they will be glad to let you have them. But then you will need some other woodworking equipment to make them usable... Just a thought!
 

alldodge

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A winter project is to replace the counter tops in the bathroom and kitchen of the 1971 Concorde. I could buy laminated particle board but that will fall apart eventually just like what's in there now so I'm thinking of something like ash that would be stained and covered with clear epoxy. We're also thinking about building a new table top that will be treated to stain and epoxy but a map will be epoxied to the surface for decoration. Any comments on using ash for a project like this?

If it is not white Ash then it could work. Regular Ash or Black Ash is hard wood, but most Ash folks find is white Ash which is soft
 

Woodonglass

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Well here's some fuel for the fire! If you plan to totally encapsulate the wood with epoxy (top, bottom, & sides) then you can use any wood you want! The chances of it ever seeing any meaningful water penetration of any kind is miniscule. Epoxy does such a good job of sealing the wood,the woods innate properties don't come into play
 
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TBarCYa

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The existing counters are particle board and are falling apart badly so no way I'd go back down that road. The wife and I are headed to the lumber yard this weekend to see what we want to use. I like the look of the ash and the price seems right. Whatever we use will be stained and sealed with epoxy so we never have to replace it again.
 

rickryder

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If you are worried about wet areas use a decking type lumber... Ipe, Cumaru, Tigerwood, Massaranduba, Garapa
 

keith2k455

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I'd think you want whatever will shrink/swell the least with temperature. Not sure if one type would be better than another for temp.
 
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