Wood – the proper method to creating butcher block for a computer workstation

pipewood

I've been looking into creating my own custom computer workstation and for the top I wanted to create butcher block but I am needing it pretty thick to be able to hold the weight of servers, monitors, and laptops I am working on. I am using pipe underneath to support the top so that will effect how thick the wood will be, such as this:

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After several weeks of research I have seen a variety of methods used from:

With all the weight of the hardware I dont want the wood to bow and I will be running supports in the center as such:

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Image from this tutorial

So my questions are:

  • What wood should I use and how thick for a 36" x 84" table?
  • What is the best method to build the tops?

I did see some butcher block at IKEA but sadly I dont have an IKEA near me.

Best Answer

I honestly have to recommend that you buy the work bench top pre-built. You can buy these for about the same cost of the raw material itself. The ready built ones are beautiful, nicely sanded and sealed with rounded edges. Look for work bench tops at certain online business supply places. Tops can be found that are about 1.75 inches thick which are very sturdy. A typical top is 60x30 inches in size.

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As I recall the IKEA ones are way thinner. Maybe 1.00 or at most 1.25 inches thick.

A web search will turn up many sources. One name to keep an eye out for would be ULINE.

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