In this article I show you how to make Butcher Blocks from an old dinning table sleeve. If you are in the market for a butcher block, you will see that a nice thick 16" x 12" butcher block can run in the hundreds of dollars!
In my case I had an old dinning room table sleeve hanging around that someone had spilled red paint and/or nail polish on and therefore was thrown out. It was a nice piece of wood 16" wide x 48" long and 2" thick. I decided to make 4 butcher blocks out of the sleeve that came out very nicely. Of course you can use any scrap piece of wood - so keep you eye out for any nice/thick piece of wood that would make a nice butcher block - even a cut ring of an old tree??....
Step 1: Cut out your blocks approximately 12" in length - this meant that I would have 4 16" x 12" blocks. I used a small battery operated skill saw to make the cuts, but you also can do these using a hand saw.
Step 2: Sand off the existing finish exposing the natural wood, making sure to round off the corners a bit as you don't want your block too sharp..
- I used an palm / orbital sander with course grade sandpaper and then finished with a fine grain sandpaper
- Sanded product - exposing the natural grains of the wood. In my case a laminated board.
Step 3: Oil up the surfaces of the blocks using "food grade - butcher block" oil
- Make sure to use the food grade oils. You can find it at your local hardware store for about $20 a bottle.
- I spread on the oil with an old but clean facecloth. I saved the cloth in a zip lock bag so that I could re-use it to apply a second coat.
- The oil will penetrate the wood and dry fairly quickly but it is best to wait at least 6 hours before applying a second coat.
Step 4: Put some felt pads or rubber feet on the bottom of the block and enjoy!!
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