Refinish a wooden kitchen shelf

In our kitchen we were using a butcher block that had never been properly finished or sealed to avoid damage. After storing wet kitchen utensils on the top surface, it started to develop a substantial amount of mildew. After seeing this I decided that it was time to refinish the surface to protect it from further damage. I'm going describe the steps required to refinish a wooden butcher block. This can be applied to cutting boards, tables, etc.*

Things you will need:

1. Power or Hand Sander
2. Sand Paper:
     - 80 Grit
     - 220 Grit
3. Tack Cloth
4. Brush or Cloth
5. Finish of your choice

Step 1 Assessing the surface(s)

The first step is to determine what kind of surface you are working with. This includes type wood and damage occurred. In this case I will be refinishing a pine butcher block. This is a nicer grade of pine, however pine is very soft wood so I want to be extra careful when sanding, especially to avoid creating uneven surfaces in the wood. The damage to the wood is mildew and it hasn't absorbed very far into the grain. Knowing this I can avoid an aggressive sanding technique.

Comments

[Organize74]

Dream Dragon wrote that "a simple cooking oil" should be used. It must be a food grade oil but additionally some oils prohibit growth more than others. Mineral oil is often recommended by butcher block manufacturers.

[Dream Dragon]

This is a nice instructable about properly treating wood. The information you give in this project is valid for many wooden products and correct treatment is sadly often missed out, with the result that a piece that could give good service for many years is turned out into landfill after only a few. I would like to point out however that if someone sold that object as a "Butcher's Block" they're getting very close to a Trading Standards Violation.

A Butchers BLOCK is not only thicker and heavier, it's actually built quite differently. Traditionally it is assembled out of small staves (About 1 inch square and maybe 3 - 5 inches long) arranged so that the END grain is uppermost, and the whole thing is then iron bound or at least framed with reinforced corners. The smaller pieces are necessary to avoid the kind of splitting that you will see if you look at the end of an untreated log after a short time exposed to air, it also minimises the risk of splintering. This kind of block doesn't really need much more than a wipe down after use.

That's going to raise an Eyebrow or two so I'd better clarify. The main purpose of the Block is to stop the Cleaver, when a Butcher is cutting a large joint of red meat into more manageable portions, and while it can be used for cutting smaller pieces of meat it should NEVER be used for "Cooked Meats" (which are usually sliced already), Poultry (which would traditionally be the job of a "Poulterer" anyway), Fish (Fishmonger) and obviously shouldn't be used for Veg or dairy or any other chopping or cutting jobs. If used in this way the normal ultraviolet light from the sun is enough to kill any bacteria in the surface (and actually some depth below, but I can't find the exact numbers right now). Residual moisture, oils and fats from the meat are sufficient to keep the block well "fed", though if your block is unused for a long time then a rub down with simple cooking oil should be adequate to keep it from splitting.

OK, That's turned into a rather longer post than I intended and I do hope you don't take it amiss or think that I'm criticising your project. You have done good work not only with your restoration, but you provide good documentation for others to follow.

Thank you for sharing your work and I do hope your "butchers block" type kitchen counter continues to serve you and your family for many years.

[cgummo]

Thanks for the information. You're absolutely right. I am familiar with how an actual butcher block is constructed, and this is of course not a butcher block but rather a kitchen storage rack. However it works well as a light food prep station.

I was considering renaming the project after posting so as to avoid confusion. Your feedback was perfect timing.

Thanks.