Hardwood countertop

[Robatoy]

over in 115

[Jack Stein]

I think this is where Mike is detecting some exaggerated perceptions. Yes, solid wood moves, cups, warps and all that, yet and still, plenty of tops are made out of flat boards, and for most of history, that was all there was. The main thing is choosing the correct grain patterns and assembly techniques. Someone posted a link to a Roy Underwood Side table:

if you watched it, you'll see the top is 1" thick 32" wide flat boards glued up with breadboard ends. Counter tops are generally 24" wide or less, and have even more support under them than his side table.

It takes a lot of knowledge to pick out the right wood as well as some luck to avoid problems, but most woodworkers have successfully glued up wide panels. Naturally problems often arise, thus un-natural solutions have been developed to solve, but still not uncommon to see wide, solid wood tops with no problems.

[SonomaProducts.com]

Yes but...

Mr. Mike said in his post #20 that he "glued, screwed and nailed" and has never seen a problem. Mr. Roy in the first 4 minutes of the referenced video shows that you need to account for wood movement. So you can't just glue everything with no problem. So Mike is totally wrong and ignorant to the fact that you MUST account for wood movement and this "notion" has NOT "taken on a set of legs of its own." but rather is a known fact that any intelligent woodworker accounts for in his design, even back in the days that Mr. Roy is exploring. They very concept of a breadboard end and the traditional attachment method proves the point.