My buddy wants me to make him a shelf that will fit into an opening he cut in a wall. The wall is 7" thick drywall to drywall and he wants 1
1/2" overhang on either side. He also wants it about 1 1/4" thick. The width of the opening is 48" to which he wants to add 1 1/2" to each end so the shelf wraps around the opening. Here is a basic diagram: (fancy fixed width font drawing follows) _________________________________ /_ _\ | | _| |_ \_________________________________/This shelf will be installed in his condo in Florida and my concern is the wood movement may cause the shelf to split since it will be prevented from shrinking by the walls. He wants a wood without the pronounced grain of oak. I'm thinking maple or cherry. Whatever it is it will probably not be stained and just coated with clear poly.
So I need a piece of wood 10x51 that is stable across its width without eye-jarring grain, any recommendations?
To install it I'll probably have him run a bead of liquid nails down the center of the shelf, any better way?