Best place to order a butcher block top for island.
thundersweet
16 years ago
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scramla
16 years agonovember
16 years agoRelated Discussions
For those of you with butcher block islands
Comments (20)Quietlife 3, we cut down 3 large Douglas fir trees before we started building our house, and had them milled to use as interior trim, etc. in the house. Since it's there and already paid for (basically free, at this point), that's what we'll use for the island counter. I was going to do an edge-grain butcher block, taking some of the 5/4 x 4" stock, up on edge, and glue them all together with Tite Bond II or III...Can't remember which right now. That would have made a bb slab the size of the island and nearly 3 1/2" thick. Running short on time and material we came up with Plan B. Since I'm not going to cut on it, and the face grain has a little more interest, we put down an underlayment...Actually 3 layers of 3/4" MDF, because I still want the countertop to appear to be 3+" thick. We'll take strips of the fir, glue the edges together, face up, then edge them with a piece that's 1" x 3 1/2" (5/4 x 4" stock). So it will be like a shallow box, upside down...Like a wooden slipcover over the MDF. I'll finish it with Waterlox. I hope this makes sense....See MoreButcher block top for the island, what is it like living with it?
Comments (6)I've had edge grain hard maple in my basement kitchen (now an apartment) for 20 years & my new kitchen for 6; basically, it's the only counter space so both have gotten a lot of use & I cut on it & set hot pots on it. I use mineral oil but after the 'new' wore off, I became lazy & oiled maybe twice a year without any bad side effects. The 2 big no-nos are letting water stand & using a serrated knife. Stains like beet juice or crushed raspberries can be a problem if not cleaned up immediately but maybe it's because I don't oil enough. For dough, I use a large cutting board (actually it is the sink cutout) on a table because it's lower & more comfortable for kneading but there's no problem with sticking. Usually I use flour or sometimes, EVOO but if I oiled more, I could probably do without anything. Personally, I'm not a fan of end grain blocks because they're too absorbant no matter how much they've been oiled & tend to pick up odors that linger for days. Shallots are the worst, LOL! I've never had a dark block so I don't really know how they would look after a while with heavy use but I would question how vibrant the wood will look if it isn't oiled regularly. I have a sneaky suspician it will be dull & faded like unfinished wood if the main use areas are not oiled every day or so. I could be wrong but it's something you probably should research before sinking a fortune in a piece of furniture quality wood. Another question you might ask if you're considering some of the dark woods that aren't naturally dark , i.e. oak. Has it been stained & if so, with what? Oak is very hard to stain using penetrating stains (I've refinished a lot of furniture) & the finish tends to set on top so I'd question if I wanted to cut food on it. Even if it's been treated somehow to age it, I suspect it will show knife marks. Whatever you decide, enjoy it. BB are very forgiving & can hold their own regardless of the abuse - just no wet feet!...See MoreHow thick is your butcher block island countertop?
Comments (11)So far I have stained the top (3 feet x 7 feet) and put one coat of Waterlox on it, and it has been SUPER easy. I had the top put in our great room (we made two wooden horses for it to sit on) flipped over with the bottom up so I could do some sample finishes on the bottom. My original plan was to finish it with mineral oil so I could use it for chopping. When I put a sample of the mieral oil on it I didn't like it :( It was pretty but just not the look I wanted. It had dark brown, golden brown and blonde stripes and had a slightly orange tint. Some might love the striped look but I wanted it to be less "busy" and an overall darker brown color. I decided to stain it and tried out several stains (on the bottom). I picked a color called "Moorish Teak". I let the stain dry for 24 hours and yesterday applied the first coat of Waterlox. I will try to post some pictures today! So far it looks absolutely beautiful!!!!!! :)...See MorePros & Cons of Butcher Block Top on Island
Comments (17)Hi, I am another who has had a butcher block island for more than 20 years. It has been a love-hate relationship. I loved the look but hated the upkeep, particularly when my kids where small and there were more important things to do. The Bad: around the sink, we often got black stains, tin cans would leave black circles and berries and wine would stain it. Bleach cured the stains but the black marks needed to be scraped and sanded. I did this several times over the years. Also, though I used a cutting board, other people assumed butcher block meant cutting board so there were lots of small nicks and knife marks. I did oil it with mineral oil but probably not enough. I have been looking forward to an easy care granite counter which will be coming next Spring when I finally renovate. The good: several months ago, I was fed up with the way it looked and knew we were a long way from granite, so my husband got out the belt sander and went to it. The sawdust was unbelievable and went everywhere but when it was done, the now almost new looking counter had a nice uniform colour. I used a food safe finish that I suspect is something like waterlox and it looks amazing. Water beads on it and foods wipe up easily with no staining. And no more black marks. The wood is very nice to work on - warm and soft. So now I am wondering if I wouldn't like some in the new kitchen after all!. Good luck on your choices....See Morethundersweet
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