Hi Lilyj,
I'm not Jeannema, but since I just had my cherry butcher block from Lumber Liquidators installed yesterday, I had to answer!

I saw the samples (maple vs cherry) in the store before I purchased, so I knew what to expect. I was told that the sample was dark because it's had time to darken naturally. What I don't know is how long it takes to get that dark.

I look forward to hearing what Jeannema says. Her counters certainly are gorgeous!

HTH

I'm not Jeannema either, but yes untreated cherry is that light. It darkens up quite a bit with several layers of waterlox or tung oil if you were planning on using it for food prep. You can test patch on the bottom side of your butcher block to see what will make you happy.

Yes, my BB looked light pink before I did the Waterlox. They got much darker after the Waterlox, but not as dark as the LL website (they must have stained theirs).

Good Luck!!

Thanks for the quick responses everyone. We're going to experiment tomorrow. It can be stained and then waterloxed, can't it?

Might be a dumb question... but I was thinking I might use BB for a portion of a prep island. Tung oil is food safe and I could cut right on the BB?

Not a dumb question. I had to look it up, too. Tung oil is food safe according to the John Boos website. You would put several coats of tung oil before or just after installation. Then you would follow up with mineral oil / beeswax occasionally.

I took some pictures of my BB this morning, so you can see how its gotten darker. The first picture is from about a 9 months ago and the second and third is from this morning.
9 months ago...
{{!gwi}}
This Morning...
{{!gwi}}
Another one from this morning...
{{!gwi}}

It is loosing some if the pink color and turning more golden and deep red/brown (in the first picture from this morning it is a little more golden color than in real life).

Thanks, Jeannema! So that's what I can expect in about 9 months? Your counter almost looks like the Lumber Liquidators photo, now! Beautiful.

Gardenburgher, Jeannema, Lilyj : WHO CUT YOUR BUTCHER BLOCK? appr. cost?

Yelenatulip, a local contractor cut our butcher block for $90. I don't know if the shape added to the price or not. (excuse my very rough drawing . . . the edges are supposed to be rounded)

The same guy added the bump out to our existing sink base, so I asked if he would also cut the butcher block.

HTH

Beautiful!! I'd sure love to see a picture of where the butcher block does the curved bump out for the sink base.

Ccoombs1 - I didn't explain it right. Sorry! Let me try again . . .

The contractor did a fantastic job adding a bump out to our existing sink base, which has since been covered with a granite countertop.

We liked his work so much that I asked him to cut the butcher block for a new base cabinet (completely separate from the existing cabinets). It has the odd shape because it's near our basement door. If we had made it a square or rectangle, we'd be bumping into it every time we walked by.

Anway, we're really pleased with how it looks. Still deliberating on whether to use tung oil or mineral oil, though.

I hope I made more sense this time. If you still want to see a photo, let me know.

Tung oil is definitely food safe, being derived from nuts. However, if anyone in your family is allergic to tree nuts (not ground nuts like peanuts) you might want to re-think.
After researching all over the web, I used Rockler Woodworking's Salad Bowl Finish on my butcher block tabletop, and I loved how it came out. Incredibly easy to apply too. There's a thread at Ikeafans.com about the various options for butcher block finishes, and that's where I found out about this one. It has a satin finish, rather than a high gloss finish.

Here is a link that might be useful: Salad Bowl Finish

Gardenburgher, thanks a lot! $90 sounds great! Ikea's table top 60 X 30 (butcher block) costs only $80, so hopefully all total will be under $300. Gardenburgher, please -please post your pics.

Yelenatulip, sorry I just checked the site tonight. Were you wanting to know the cost of cutting the butcher block or the price of the bb? My husband cut mine for free ;-) He's done all the work except for the electrical which was done by my son-in-law. I like the simple, straight edge and I think it looks just right for the farmhouse look I want.

jeannema, I love the way your bb has aged. We're waiting on our Waterlox which was supposed to have arrived today from Kansas City...The store I ordered it from here had never had any inquiries about it. I am not surprised. Formica still rules here, with Corian being the 'new' thing. I haven't decided if I want to stain the bb or not. The Waterlox site stated that it could be done using a 4 to 1 ratio. I don't want to ruin it, but I do prefer shades of brown to red although your wood doesn't seem too red for me at all.

Yelenatulip and Ccoombs1, I just read the thread on cutting butcher block on a radius, so I finally understand your interest!

Here ya go:

Obviously the area is a work in progress, but you get the idea. We're really pleased with how the butcher block turned out.

HTH!

I just applied mineral oil to my cherry butcher block and I like it so much that I had to post another picture.

The flash makes it look more red than it actually is, but I do love how it turned out. It kinda looks like Jeannema's butcher block, only with more of a satin finish.
Before Mineral Oil
After Mineral Oil

gardenburgher, your oiled butcher block looks so pretty. Our Waterlox came in today. I can't wait until this weekend to try it.