# Old time stand alone Butcher Block



## CO762 (Feb 22, 2010)

I used to use one at a BBQ in NC a long time ago and have been thinking of making one down the road. It was about 3x3, a stand alone table, so it had a lot of depth and heft to it. And after we'd chop/cut up the meat from cooking all nite, we'd salt it down as a final "clean".

Any idea how/what it was made out of? I'm thinking face glued maple strips, about 1x10, but it was in the 70s and was pretty well used at the time.

Any ideas?


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## Gus Dering (Oct 14, 2008)

Anyone with a basic set of carpentry tools and decent skills could do one like this.


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## CO762 (Feb 22, 2010)

But that's not it. That's more along the lines of what someone would have in their home kitchen. This was commercial grade.

The top of this was IIRC about 10 inches thick. We used to chop down with meat cleavers and not budge it, sometimes 2 people at a time. Being so thick, I was wondering if there were any considerations at laminating all the pieces together for the top. I don't remember if they stuck horizontal dowels thru it also mid/bottom to get some mechanical fastening or not and it wasn't capped along the edges--it was just one big block. Heck, for what little I remember of it, it could have been one huge block a generation or three old.

And it was used and abused all ending up with a good salt rubdown at the end of each use. Heck, with all the government regulations now, they may not even be allowed anymore. 

I have some time to kill an this popped into my head. I'll continue searching the net.


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## CO762 (Feb 22, 2010)

You're right, there's really not much to them. I guess way back when, I thought it was something special.

Found them:
http://www.butcherblockco.com/prbl.html


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## Snobnd (Jul 1, 2008)

Could it be Maple end grain up like this?


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## WarnerConstInc. (Jan 30, 2008)

I have 2 of the one on the right that snobnd posted. Takes a couple strong guys to move them.


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## thom (Nov 3, 2006)

The real old style butcher blocks were end grain. They could just keep wearing them down while extending the legs. When they got difficult to use the butchers would have a carpenter come level it off.


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## CO762 (Feb 22, 2010)

Snobnd said:


> Could it be Maple end grain up like this?


Wood was light like the top, but built like the second. I figure it was bleached out due to all the salt used on it to degrease/clean it. No allthread thru it though, which now makes me wonder if they used dowells. How good was glue 40 years ago? I guess if ya make the top components small enough and sandwich them together with enough glue, each joint wouldn't have to support enough wood/weight until another glue joint came into being.

I dunno.


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## CO762 (Feb 22, 2010)

WarnerConstInc. said:


> I have 2 of the one on the right that snobnd posted. Takes a couple strong guys to move them.


That's why if I were to build one, it'd be "site built"....in my kitchen.


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## CO762 (Feb 22, 2010)

thom said:


> The real old style butcher blocks were end grain.


How'd they joint the pieces? I can't imagine their hide glues were that capable, but then again, they were building trains while civilization was still defecating in buckets. Mebbe the one we used did have allthread but they plugged it?


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## Resta (Feb 11, 2009)

I like this..very much ...

http://www.contractortalk.com/attac...-time-stand-alone-butcher-block-0270_1_lg.jpg


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## Gus Dering (Oct 14, 2008)

If you end up fabricating one of these you will need a planer. If you have a wide belt sander or can rent time on one that is at least as wide as your top, life will be easier.

Lets say you want your end grain cross sections to be 2" square and the top is 10" thick and 30" square.

- Plane your stock to 2" thick while it is still in random widths. 
- Rip strips to about 2 1/8" wide.
- Glue up as much stock that your planer will handle.
- Plane down the long section from 2 1/8" to 2 1/32" +-
- Glue the sections together so it is 32" wide. Very careful to be as smooth a joint as possible.
- Send this through the wide belt and clean it up with 120 grit
- Cross cut to 10" pieces. 15 total
- To stagger the joints, rip every other section so there is a 1" board at the edge.
- Then rip all of them the same width.
- Glue the assembly up into a "form" to keep them as close to square as possible. 

Something like that anyway:whistling I hope it makes sense


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## Snobnd (Jul 1, 2008)

Gus Dering said:


> If you end up fabricating one of these you will need a planer. If you have a wide belt sander or can rent time on one that is at least as wide as your top, life will be easier.
> 
> Lets say you want your end grain cross sections to be 2" square and the top is 10" thick and 30" square.
> 
> ...


 
You mean like the ones I built in the Top Photo? :whistling


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## CO762 (Feb 22, 2010)

Gus,
I wasn't asking how to make one, but realized it may have come across like that after your first response. My bad. 

I was wondering the means of bonding all the pieces for the top as they were quite sizeable, unlike Snobnd's first pic. For items with that much face, I figured there'd be a mechanical means also, sort of like a laminated header or glue with mortise and tenon joints.

"Honey, will you build a smoker in our next place?" is what started that whole thought process of mine. Slow day in the livingroom, so something to talk about here...


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## CO762 (Feb 22, 2010)

Snobnd said:


> You mean like the ones I built in the Top Photo?


Yup. Can I just glue all four of them together to make on of the dimensions I want?


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## Valuster (Jul 25, 2010)

CO762, check out this link:

www(dot)mapleblock(dot)com/detail/monarch-meat-block-16/

(contractortalk wont let me post links yet...)

this northern hard maple is double-dovetailed.
12-16" thick. end grain.
they have a size similar to your 3x3.
hope this helps your project.


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## CO762 (Feb 22, 2010)

Valuster said:


> CO762, check out this link:
> 
> www.mapleblock.com/detail/monarch-meat-block-16/
> 
> (contractortalk wont let me post links yet...)


I think I can....(I did, edited your post in my quote).... Nice looking tables. Thanks. 



> this northern hard maple is double-dovetailed.


I've never done dovetails and hopefully never will. While i appreciate them, they're just not for me. 
But that's along the lines of what I was thinking, some sort of mechanical/interference fit to help with the glue. I don't see how some of the old ones don't split when there's a heavy use of salt when cleaning them after so much grease/oil was on them prior. Like i said, I used one when a cook in a NC BBQ and we did multiple racks of whole cooked pork shoulders. Amazing stuff.

I don't have anything going now, but down the road I'll prolly make one and spline it. But that won't be until next winter as this one is booked and summer/fall are always busy.


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## CO762 (Feb 22, 2010)

I just checked on that site and on their thin (2.25) tables, they do use a version of allthread. I could see that in thin tables, but IMO they defeat the reason of a "chopping" block and are just a thick "cutting board". But I'm thinking of cooking again.


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