The width of the joint strip would need to be about 1/2" for a single connector to span across it or wide enough for a double set of connectors.

I would use the thinner strip and glue it well.

Why not have a carpenter or millwork shop make it to the length you want?

Here is a link that might be useful: the link

well, the stock only comes in max 6' sections so i'm gonna have to build it up. now, my connectors are around 6" long so they'll cover the distance i need...i think i'm with you on a thinner strip though. could still look strong enough unstained. thanks for the advice.

Ikea, for a wood counter top? Bad choice.

Wood moves. Temperature and humidity are the reasons.

The movement us usually related to the direction of grain. When joining wood, paying attention to the grain structure is important because if that is ignored, the wood will move in different directions and cause problems.

What you are proposing is to join wood incorrectly. At some point, using those connectors, the joints will open up or slide.

Those connectors are designed for joining MDF material. MDF has no grain, so does not move the same as wood.

If you must connect the sections, do so without adding any material. That aligns the grain patterns and allows the wood to move the same.

However, I doubt the sections edges will be true enough to butt end to end without gaps.

"Wood moves. Temperature and humidity are the reasons. "

Mostly moisture content.

Actual thermal expansion is very low.

Wood is also anisotropic.
It does not move equally in all directions.

It moves very little the length of the fiber (AKA 'grain') but significantly more perpendicular.

You can use the numerous methods used to joint sections of Formica covered counter just fine.
They are often routed into pockets in the bottom of the counter so nothing shows.

You will need to make sure the but joint is just about perfect though.

Adding another coat of finish to the counter over the joint would be a good idea.

no matter what, it is going to be a weak spot in the finish prone to moisture intrusion.

About the worst thing you could do would be to add a pece of actual wood across the joint underneath.
That will restrict the normal movement of the wood throughout the year and can result in the counter splitting from the 'cross grain' structure you have created.

Chapter 3 of the Wood Engineering Handbook linked below covers wood movement.

The wood is not going to be moving along the grain.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wood Handbook, Chapter 3

MAN, you guys are good. handymac, you definitely have a good point about having square joints and i'm still working on that problem.
brickeyee: what if that wood strip addition was a cutoff from the same material and it was assembled end grain to end grain? i have to cut it to fit anyway and i'd use some of the scrap. i'm just trying to avoid such an obvious break in the grain pattern at the joint and i thought this might dress it up. was thinking finish all separately then connect them and see what's up.

you guys have been a big help already. thanks.

"what if that wood strip addition was a cutoff from the same material and it was assembled end grain to end grain?"

The placement you have doubles the number of butt joints near the sink.
Put the patch out on the end, or better yet by another long piece (or two more) you can get shorter sections out of with fewer joints.

It ewil be very difficult to secure across the narrow piece you have.

But joints are bad enough, but joints in a narrow piece are that much worse.

I'm no woodworker but we used ikea wood countertops to replace the counter in my office (so not as hard-working of an area as a kitchen). We did a scarf joint with biscuits. It's been in a little less than a year and so far so good. No idea if that's a good idea or not, but it worked in my situation.

"We did a scarf joint with biscuits."

Might be OK for a mostly decorative counter.

All the water a kitchen counter is subject to is the problem.

Even with biscuits, a scarf if NOT that strong a joint.
It is better than a simple end grain butt joint, but is still more for decoration than heavy use, especially around water.

sardaukar-
If it were me, I'd consider using a farm sink, and having a single joint right behind that sink. Yes, it's in an area with a lot of water, but it would be only a couple of inches of seam in the back-center, and you could have unbroken countertop on both sides. This would eliminate all the complications you are looking at with trying to join full-width counters in two places. It would be much more aesthetically pleasing and you would only have to be concerned about the small seam. If your sink is off-center enough that you can't use just two 6' sections of butcherblock and have the seam centered behind the faucet, do two small seams at either side of the sink. You could even have a stainless steel cap fabricated to cover the wood in the area directly behind the sink and then not have to worry about any water in that area doing damage to the seam or the wood.

Here is a link that might be useful: Farm sink examples

kudzu9, wow! i like your thinking. the single seam would in fact not be centered but i understand how the farm sink would help there. i'll admit i've had my heart set on my posted drawing but, i understand i will probably have to do some basic design changes. i like the idea of capping the back side too. thanks very much.

sardaukar-
You're welcome...thanks for the feedback. Sometimes I get too close to the design details of my own projects and it helps to get an insight from someone else who doesn't have as much invested in my design as I do.

Good luck with whatever you do.

We have Ikea butcher block in our kitchen. There are two 8-foot sections joined by a butt joint in the middle of a topmount sink. There are small seams visible in front of and behind the sink. So far so good, but it has been only a few months. I wasn't the installer, but the butted ends were trimmed so they'd be square (they come eased) and screwed to the cabinets below. (I told them to leave room for movement but they didn't -- we shall see what happens over the winter; maybe it's just as well since it's at a sink.) The installers were not the most careful carpenters in the world so I filled the tiny gap they left with color-matched wood filler, then went over the whole thing with many coats of Ikea's Behandla oil. The finish it has produced is hard (I know this because of where it got on the wall) and water-resistant.

I couldn't face having a full-width seam across the butcherblock. Because of the way it's constructed, the seam would have been extremely obvious, and with my kitchen layout it would have been the first thing you saw when you walked in. I looked at options for different sink-surrounding materials (like stainless steel) but there would still have been full-width butcherblock seams on each side of that, and I did not want to worry about water or crumbs getting in there. The concession I made to having a sink in a wood top was to go with topmount. Other people have put undermount in them, but I was more comfortable with this approach and I was able to find a flat-rim sink that looks more modern than most. It also has a wide back rim so that the faucet is sitting on steel, not wood, and the rim also covers most of the wood seam behind the sink.

Good luck with your countertop -- I am really, really liking working on a wood top in the kitchen. It is quiet and doesn't chip my dishes. I don't cut directly on it. Ours is oak because that's what they had in stock; the beech is very nice looking and less, well, oak-y. ha. (Meaning more modern in style because of less grain pattern, though the darker oak suits our house well.)

glad you like yours, north and it's good to know it's working out. i think i saw one of those (slim line?) sinks in a store and it looked very nice. made me second guess but i think i'm gonna go with undermount and make it work somehow