# Help Refinishing Very Large Butcher's Block



## cboyne (Jan 27, 2009)

I have a very large butcher's block from a farm produce store my parents owned in the early 80's. When the store closed my dad brought the butcher's block home and made a work bench out out of it to use in the garage. It stayed there until 2006 when my mom moved. The block has been outside since then but I would like to refinish it and put it in my kitchen.

The butcher's block is made up three large timbers held together with through bolts. The size of each timber is 10" x 6" and the table is 7' long. 

I have attached an image of a very similar but smaller table. Note that mine is in much better condition without such severe warping. 

My question is how can I refinish the surface of the block? I would like to take the surface down a little to remove the years of garage grease, paint, etc. It would also be nice to true it up a little and remove the warping and other damage. There is some damage from the elements but it is not severe. It has been kept against the side of the house and other then a little graying and some lichen it doesn't seem that bad. 

Would it be possible to put something that large through a planer? Any thoughts on what kind of shop would have a planer that could handle something like that? Could I use a handheld electric planer? Should use a belt sander?

I would appreciate any suggestions. It may be worth mentioning that the weight of the block is serious. Thanks,





chris


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## jschaben (Apr 1, 2010)

cboyne said:


> I have a very large butcher's block from a farm produce store my parents owned in the early 80's. When the store closed my dad brought the butcher's block home and made a work bench out out of it to use in the garage. It stayed there until 2006 when my mom moved. The block has been outside since then but I would like to refinish it and put it in my kitchen.
> 
> The butcher's block is made up three large timbers held together with through bolts. The size of each timber is 10" x 6" and the table is 7' long.
> 
> ...


 
Hi Chris - IMO on a piece that size a belt sander would be very difficult to keep a nice flat surface. I would use a router with the largest dado cleanout bit I could handle. Build a rig like this to manage the router. It can be built any size you need, just as long as it's rigid enough not to sag under the weight of the router. :smile:


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## Fishbucket (Aug 18, 2010)

Personally,... At most I would use a scraper to get the grunge off. then just oil the bee-jesus out of it. the patina tells a story.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Agreed!*



Fishbucket said:


> Personally,... At most I would use a scraper to get the grunge off. then just oil the bee-jesus out of it. the patina tells a story.


The worn areas are part of the story. Don't plane it back to dead flat smooth. If that's what you want build a new table. The table you describe has character and a history. Scrape it and clean it and oil it with a food based oil, something that won't alter taste or go rancid.  bill


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

cboyne said:


> I have a very large butcher's block from a farm produce store my parents owned in the early 80's. When the store closed my dad brought the butcher's block home and made a work bench out out of it to use in the garage. It stayed there until 2006 when my mom moved. The block has been outside since then but I would like to refinish it and put it in my kitchen.
> 
> The butcher's block is made up three large timbers held together with through bolts. The size of each timber is 10" x 6" and the table is 7' long. chris


Since the top has been used as a utility top and has various materials used on the surface, it should be surfaced before taking in to a kitchen for use where food will be prepared. There are cabinet and door shops that have wide belt or drum sanders that can do passes on that width or wider.

Doing the surfacing yourself would be a chore. Whether you could keep it flat with a belt sander would depend on your skills. Using a hand plane would work, but again, that would depend on your skills, and the hand plane.

Finally, it should be sanded smooth, with a ROS, or done with a block/sander by hand. For food prep areas, treat continually with mineral oil.












 







.


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## mmwood_1 (Oct 24, 2007)

Some people just don't read the post, or they just ignore what the op says. Keep the original patina? Excuse me guys, but the op stated that it had had grease and other things spilled on it while being used in the garage, and now he wants to use it in his KITCHEN. That means FOOD GRADE. It needs to be seriously surfaced. And while surfacing a piece that size with a standard belt sander can be done, it would not be "easy". It would be a lot of work. If it's to be used as a cutting surface, it's going to need to be reasonably flat. 

So...Chris, I agree with cabinetman. Call around to find a cabinetshop with a wide belt sander. They can surface it with 36 grit, then finish it up with as fine as you want, 150 or 220 grit. However, that won't take the warp out. If you want that, you should take down the high spots roughly with a plane or belt sander so that the wide belt sander has a reference surface that's close to flat.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*I reread the original post*

So based on all the information provided..... including it's use as a garage work table with paint and grease and noting the table is made from 3 timbers, held together by through bolts making it very heavy, I would suggest taking it apart into the original timbers and planing them individually. The whole top as a unit would be tremendously heavy. Three timbers would be easier to manage and a common small planer would be more available. 
Planing down to below any contaminants would be the safest.  bill


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## Jordan (May 22, 2011)

Plane it down, sand it smooth and apply boiled linseed oil as needed for the life of the project.


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## jschaben (Apr 1, 2010)

I still say a router and sled is the way to go on that thing. No dismantling or anything, just set the jig on the top and go for it.
Here's a commercial version of what I'm talking about
Amazon.com: Woodhaven 3004 51" Planing Sled: Home Improvement

This one will go 51" wide and as long as you want. Wouldn't be terribly difficult to duplicate although the aluminum rails eliminate a lot of fussing with rigidity issues.


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## mmwood_1 (Oct 24, 2007)

woodnthings said:


> So based on all the information provided..... including it's use as a garage work table with paint and grease and noting the table is made from 3 timbers, held together by through bolts making it very heavy, I would suggest taking it apart into the original timbers and planing them individually. The whole top as a unit would be tremendously heavy. Three timbers would be easier to manage and a common small planer would be more available.
> Planing down to below any contaminants would be the safest.  bill


That's a good idea, if they're not also glued, which they probably aren't.:thumbsup:


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