# Outside fish cleaning table



## Jags (Aug 12, 2009)

I was wondering if anyone has some suggestions on how to preserve a table that is going to sit outside and serve as a fish cleaning table.  I am building it for this purpose specifically.  Keep in mind that supper will be touching this table so no harsh stuff can be used (like the stuff in rail road ties.)


----------



## EatenByLimestone (Aug 12, 2009)

Why bother preserving it?   For your project I'd think a finish would be a waste of time.   The main issue I see with any finish is your table is going to be outside and subject to the suns rays 24/7.   Any finish that is durable enough to withstand prolonged exposure to UV rays probably isn't the best at standing up to knife knicks and pieces could come off and bed itself into the fish.   I wouldn't want my family to eat that.  Some of the heavy metals used as dryers (such as the boiled part in boiled linseed oil) just don't lend themselves to food prep.  Same with paint and marine varnishes.  Bare wood could be resanded/planed at any time and will live fairly long in the weather.  

An alternative might be a piece of corian countertop.  Not the stuff that is glued to particle board, but the sheets that are loose and you bend them to glue over your existing countertop or as a backsplash.    You would have durability with knife gashes, easy to wash off with a garden hose and it should hold up fine in the weather.

Matt


----------



## woodsman23 (Aug 12, 2009)

I built one using a stainless counter top from craigslist for 40 bucks. I used 4x4 under it with 2x4's for cross support. Simply hose it off when done. Works very well. When cleaning the fish i use a cutting board under the fish to avoid knife touching s/steel top and dulling blade.


----------



## JustWood (Aug 13, 2009)

Find a granite coutertop maker in you area. They usually have busted pieces they give away for next to nothing. I drop a dumpster at my local shop 1nce every 6 months and they pay me to remove it.Some pieces are up to 3x4.
Some heavy duty commercial dump truck liner wood work too.Check yellow pages for truck bed sales/ installers. Commercial not sissy pickups.I have a bunch of it around here for different projects in less than 3' pieces and 1/2 inck thick


----------



## Jags (Aug 13, 2009)

Hmmm...some good ideas here.  The real be-otch is that I got rid of 2 stainless counter tops about a year and a half ago. [kicking myself] :down:


----------



## kork (Aug 13, 2009)

Google "Starboard" material,  It's 3/4" thick poly material used for heavy duty cutting boards as well as may applications on boats, it comes in diffrent size sheets and can be cut and worked with reg. woodworking tools.  I have one mounted on a pressure treated legs.  Going on ten yrs now.
Hank


----------



## d.n.f. (Aug 13, 2009)

Stainless is the way to go.


----------



## TreePapa (Aug 14, 2009)

Why do you only want to clean the outside of the fish?

(ducking and running)

Peace,
- Sequoia


----------



## Jags (Aug 14, 2009)

TreePapa said:
			
		

> Why do you only want to clean the outside of the fish?
> 
> (ducking and running)
> 
> ...



Because the inside is where the meat is???

{perry, perry...thrust!}


----------



## Dune (Aug 15, 2009)

Use either stainless as has been suggested or maple, DO NOT use any form of plastic cutting boards. The stainless is easy to clean, the wood has naturaly antibacterial properties, the plastic holds bacteria in the nicks and grooves and cannot be cleaned properly, other than complete immersion in bleach.


----------



## Delta-T (Aug 15, 2009)

steel is nice, and you can get some diamond plate for accents. heck, use diamond plate for the whole thing and youll have some "traction" to keep fishies from gettin away.


----------



## Gooserider (Aug 15, 2009)

I would say to build the table top out of any sort of easily hosed down material, and get a couple of appropriately sized wood or plastic cutting boards that live in the kitchen and only come out when the fish are actually getting cleaned...  Let the guts and stuff get on the table where they can be rinsed off, keep the parts you will eat on the dishwasherable cutting board.

Gooserider


----------



## Jags (Aug 17, 2009)

LADYGO DIVA said:
			
		

> fish rinsings stink! considered a bidet?



Thats for after the fish is consumed.  Anyways...

I think I got a fix.  One of the stainless counter tops that I gave away a couple years ago was to my brother.  A quick phone call and found out that he only wanted a small portion of it (it was a total of about 8 ft long).  Looks like there will be plenty left to slap a stainless top on a wood frame.  Whooo Hoooo, back in bidness.


----------



## John_M (Aug 27, 2009)

Cleaned a lot of salmon in Alaska many years ago. We used the white colored "starboard" material mentioned by kork because it was NSF (National Sanitary Foundation?) approved for commercial kitchen use, was durable, easy on sharp knife edges, and cleaned easily. It stayed outside for years and never deteriorated from the weather. We also used knives with handles made of the same material. The handles filled your hand and gave a good grip doing a slippery job. I believe the handles were also NSF approved. 

Am currently using one of these 30 year old boards in 1/2" thickness as a chopping board in my kitchen.

John_M


----------



## savageactor7 (Aug 27, 2009)

Jags cedar planking holds up well to mother nature.


----------



## Jags (Aug 27, 2009)

Thanks for all the great ideas folks.  It gave me plenty to ponder.  I think I will be going with stainless though.  The durability and ability to be easily cleaned won the day over.


----------



## Wood Heat Stoves (Sep 7, 2009)

Delta-T said:
			
		

> steel is nice, and you can get some diamond plate for accents. heck, use diamond plate for the whole thing and youll have some "traction" to keep fishies from gettin away.



a flat surface is best to fillet fish on

cool project, wish i had need for a cleaning table at my house.. what kind of fish do you need to clean?


----------



## Jags (Sep 8, 2009)

Wood Heat Stoves said:
			
		

> Delta-T said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Well, this is actually for my cabin on the Mississippi River.  Primarily, it is walleye that see the blade.  I am on a back channel (its about 24 ft deep straight out).  My front yard:


----------



## Wood Heat Stoves (Sep 8, 2009)

damn i miss walleye and pike!


----------



## Jags (Sep 8, 2009)

Wood Heat Stoves said:
			
		

> damn i miss walleye and pike!



This past holiday weekend was a fish fry for about 30 people.  Guess what was on the menu??


----------



## Wood Heat Stoves (Sep 8, 2009)

Jags said:
			
		

> Wood Heat Stoves said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




i hate you, lol!
 we had crappie and striped bass labor day, not walleye, but still good.

i grew up in fishing s.dakota, montana,washington, bc, and yukon


----------



## f3cbboy (Sep 8, 2009)

just my opinion  - but walleye is the best tasting fish.  Don't have enough places to fish for it here where i live, i get to fish it once or twice a yr in Oneida Lke NY.  Freezes really well in a block of ice - lasts a long time.  Mostly fish for trout around here, and that is limited. I yearn for living more rural.
Didn't mean to highjack the thread,  it looked like it changed to what fish instead of material.....


----------



## raven (Sep 15, 2009)

thats it.......... the boats commin off the rack.


----------

