Sealing Butcher Block Counters/Wood Cutting Boards

[phaelon56]

Belt sander yes but go to increasingly finer grits as you progress and then use an orbital palm sander to finish. I found that periodically there was a gooey substance coming to the surface that gunked up my sanding belts really fast. I'm not usre if it's acceptable practice but I did a quick wipe of the surface with a mineral spirits soaked rag a few times to remove the effluvia. After the sanding I let it air for several days before ooling

[peppyre]

That block is in amazing condition, considering it was probably neglected. The block that used to sit in my grandpa's butcher shop and is now in my dad's wine cellar, has a huge "hole" in the top from 40 years of use, but it's very far from being damaged. What a wonderful thing to have for your kitchen. Excellent find.

[WolfChef]

I'll have to post a pic of the cleaver I just bought to go with it. Started sanding and it's going good. At first I wasn't going to sand the sides, but the top is coming out so good that what the heck. Now I need to decide what color to paint the legs. The white just doesn't do it for me.

[winesonoma]

I'll have to post a pic of the cleaver I just bought to go with it.  Started sanding and it's going good.  At first I wasn't going to sand the sides, but the top is coming out so good that what the heck.  Now I need to decide what color to paint the legs.  The white just doesn't do it for me.

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Red so the blood dosen't show.

[WolfChef]

That's what my wife said too(red not the bit about the blood). But she already has a red thing going in the kitchen with two walls very sharp red to match the knobs on the wolf stove. In fact now she wants a new Kitchen Aid mixer because the red one is almost a perfect match. But for me it's too much of a good thing. What I really wanted to do is cut the nasty bastards off and have a stainless steel pedistal made for it. Four 2" stainless tubes in the center about 3 to 4" apart with stainless plates top and bottom for mounting and base. The base plate would be larger than the 2' of the butcher block to make it stable. This turned out to be cost prohibitive and the brushing of it to make it look professional a real pain in the ass. Next I was thinking of getting some 2" copper water pipe and appropriate fittings to solder up a base. That one still has me going...sometimes. Those four wooden legs on the corners just don't do much for me.

[natasha1270]

What a gorgeous block! Do you think the legs are the same wood? If you can't spring for the stainless base (Search for "John Boos" "BBS01", they cost about $390), I would think about sanding the legs and oiling them, too.

enjoy!

N.

[nr706]

Maybe too late, but it looks like there are some dents in the top. Before sanding, I'd try steaming them out - just take a wet washrag, put it over the dents, and put a hot iron on top to swell the wood fibers. Gets out the dents. Also raises the grain, but you'll be sanding afterwards anyway.

[andiesenji]

That's what my wife said too(red not the bit about the blood).   But she already has a red thing going in the kitchen with two walls very sharp red to match the knobs on the wolf stove.  In fact now she wants a new Kitchen Aid mixer because the red one is almost a perfect match.  But for me it's too much of a good thing.  What I really wanted to do is cut the nasty bastards off and have a stainless steel pedistal made for it.  Four 2" stainless tubes in the center about 3 to 4" apart with stainless plates top and bottom for mounting and base.  The base plate would be larger than the 2' of the butcher block to make it stable.  This turned out to be cost prohibitive and the brushing of it to make it look professional a real pain in the ass.  Next I was thinking of getting some 2" copper water pipe and appropriate fittings to solder up a base.  That one still has me going...sometimes.  Those four wooden legs on the corners just don't do much for me.

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On one of the "makeover" shows, they had a similar thick chopping block that had been sitting in the owner's garage for years.

They took it off the legs and mounted it on top of two second-hand, 2-drawer file cabinets that they took to an auto body shop and had powder coated (like enamel) in a bright yellow. The metal cabinets were welded together with one with drawers opening on one side and the other with drawers opening on the opposite side.

They bolted that one to the floor but it could probably have been left free-standing.

I have a 2-drawer fireproof file cabinet in my office that is only 26 inches from floor to top.

It looked pretty classy.

I have had several things powder coated, including some old metal lawn furniture, the base for one of my old electric roasters, an all metal step/seat stool and a couple of old metal waste baskets.

It doesn't cost all that much and looks good.

I saw a couple of oak 2-drawer file cabinets in the window of a thrift shop a while back, $20. each.

Considering the weight of the block, you would have some difficulty making it stable with a pedestal-type base. You really need a broad-base, otherwise you might have the thing fall over and do considerable damage.

Check out industrial bases. You can get steel legs with a steel top that could be fastened to the block- those legs can also be powder coated any color you want. The base on my band saw is close to 2 feet square, I think. I haven't measured it lately, but that is the kind of thing I would look for.

Edited May 10, 2005 by andiesenji (log)

[jsmith]

I hope nobody minds me reviving this thread, but I'm hoping someone can give me some advice on my board.

I bought a end grain cutting board from Ikea last weekend. I know, not the best but the cheapest at least.

Some questions:

1) I've been saturating the board with mineral oil periodically, and it keeps sucking the oil up. So far its taken over 500ml of oil. Is this typical? It seems like a lot more oil than I was expecting. Do I just keep on going until it won't take any more?

2) The board always feels "wet" from the oil, even after it's been dried and sat there for a day. Is this how a end grain cutting naturally feels, or am I using too much oil? I assume finishing it with 10% paraffin wax will get rid of this feel, or is it too late?

Thanks, this is an awesome thread.

[paulraphael]

Not a direct answer to the unquenchable-thirst-for-mineral-oil isuue, but this link offers some interesting science on oils and wood (from a musical instrument perspective):

http://www.recorderhomepage.net/wood.html

Personally, I've been using a butcher block made with a 3 foot piece of maple countertop material (that I sanded the urethane off of) for about 10 years now. I oil it with cheap olive oil, and have never, ever had an issue with rancidity or bad odors. It doesn't even smell like olive oil, even after it drinks up several ounces of it. It smells like wood.

Once every few years I sand it (with a finishing sander) and then oil it with a lot of oil. The only issue I've ever had is that recently it's started warping upward (suggesting that the top surface has dried out a bit).

My question based on the linked article is if there are any food safety issues with using a polymerizing oil (like tung oil or boiled linseed oil). These are the "real" oils that offer significant protection for wood. If they're not hazardous, it might make sense to do an initial coat with one of these oils to form a protective seal. After this, the surface could probably be maintained with food grade oil, and I'm guessing it would require less of it.

For what it's worth, I've been advised by a couple of custom musical instrument makers to never use lemmon oil ... that it's just lemmon sented mineral spirits, and it will actually dry out the wood over time.

[scubadoo97]

I found a 3" 20X20" end grain cutting board at Tuesday Morning. I must have put a full bottle of miniral oil in that board. I would pour it on, spread with a paper towel and within an hour it would be dry. I continued doing this until I had used up the entire bottle over a couple of days. I think I could have kept going but was worried about it splitting from soaking up too much oil so I stopped.

[Louisa Chu]

No wood board - end or edge grain (or bamboo for that matter, which is actually a grass, but also needs oiling) should feel wet. Mineral oil is a fast drying oil - it will quickly feel dry to the touch. A truly dried out board will look and feel like dry chapped hands. Wood boards only need a light even coating of mineral oil, best applied with a rag (old t-shirt or kitchen towel - not terry, too absorbent - don't use paper either, it shreds).

[tim]

Wood boards only need a light even coating of mineral oil, best applied with a rag (old t-shirt or kitchen towel - not terry, too absorbent - don't use paper either, it shreds).

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Hi,

Some of us cheapskates apply mineral oil with our hands. That way, the oil goes on the cutting board and almost none is left in a rag.

Tim