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A few months ago I shared with you my DIY kitchen island which gave us so much more counter space and storage. It’s been a lifesaver and I use it daily! When we bought the butcher block it came in a standard size, so we ended up having to cut it to fit the cabinets before install. Unfortunately we had this awkward piece of really nice wood leftover after we made the appropriate cuts. My initial thought was that it would become scrap wood as we had the part that we needed. Boy am I glad that when the hubs asked me what I wanted to do with the “scrap” piece of butcher block that we cut off, I told him we could hold onto it for now. There must be something we could use it for…
Flash forward a few weeks when we were preparing for a wedding the hubs (husband) was a groomsman in. These good friends of ours getting married love great food and really know how to cook. I immediately knew what I was going to use the leftover butcher block for! I had enough to make two functional, personalized, and cute cutting boards that would really be personal, meaningful and functional!
Tools
Your Choice of Wood
In the weeks leading up to the wedding, I watched so many youtube videos. It’s a wedding present! I didn’t want to screw it up! But those youtube channels can really suck you in! How to create so many different butcher blocks from scratch. All the fancy woodworking you can do. It’s crazy and mesmerizing. You can use different woods to create inlays, etc. Essentially I just went with what I knew, which was very basic. I just cut the leftover butcher block to the sizes I thought would be appropriate and useable. They tended to be on the smaller side, but still very function. I tried squaring it up as much as possible.
Next I sanded all sides really well. I wanted to make sure that everything was as smooth as possible for wood burning and application of butcher block conditioner. I slightly rounded the edges of the wood and the corners to make them less harsh. I tried out many different font styles and sizes to determine what I thought fit and looked good. I printed out many sheets of paper, traced the outline to scrap wood, and then practiced! I did so much practicing because I was extremely worried that I’d mess it up. However, in the end I finally took a leap and wood burned the actual cutting boards. In actuality, it was easier! The scrap wood I used was not sanded and also was not even the same wood the cutting boards were made of.
Lastly, it was time to condition! I did a lot of research regarding which product I wanted to use. There are many people who use mineral oil for their butcher block counter top. Ultimately I chose to use Howard Butcher conditioner. It is a combination product of mineral oil and beeswax which I thought would be perfect for a cutting board. The mineral oil would condition, while the beeswax would provide a wax protective coating with all the hand washing it would need after use. I just followed the directions on the bottle, applying the recommended coats to all sides and buffing for that waxy sheen! I have to say it came out better than I thought. While the boards might have been on the smaller side, they really were hefty and made of quality wood. Even better, the newlyweds seemed to love them!
You really can make any sort of cutting board with many different cuts and types of wood. If you aren’t feeling particularly crafty or are short on time, you can also buy pre-made ones and add your touch! What do you think? I’d love to try some “fancy” techniques or even make my own butcher block at some point.
