A friend of mine wants to do a cedar strip counter top in his kitchen. He knows that I enjoy this forum for all the useful info that is brought here every day so he asked me if I could ask a few questions.

The type of counter is typically called a butcher block counter and is made of hardwoods so no sealer is used (i believe) he wants to do cedar with pine accent strips 3/4 x 3/4 mounted on a sheet of 3/4 ply and then burried in west 105/207.

Questions... should a layer of cloth be used under the epoxy?
will the epoxy be toxic if you put food on it after full cure?
how durable will the epoxy be used like this?
should a clear coat be used as there will be no direct sunlight but still...?

Any thoughts would be great as this is just a theory and most of the problems with it have probably not even been thought of yet.

Thanks
Dave