Most often we move into a new house and find a built in butcher block top. At first, it looks great but on closer inspection, it doesn’t look so good. Butcher blocks aren’t something new on the market or even old fashion like from the 70?s. They go back hundreds of years. At that time, the favored wood was maple or various other types of hardwood. In today?s building of the butcher blocks, they are quite often made from imported hardwoods, which gives a bit more of a variety. It must be remember that years ago there wasn?t the equipment for slicing meat that we have today. Back in the good old days, it was a lot of arm work and a good cleaver that was used to cut the meats. So needless to say why a butcher block was in order.

In our modern kitchens today, we are far gentler with our butcher-block tops and in most cases, we opt to use a cutting board and leave the butcher block top for esthetic purposes.

You can restore your butcher block if is showing the worst for wear and tear. The first thing you need to do is sand it down. This will remove the other varnish and urethane that probably has begun to chip anyway. It depends on just how bad the condition of the butcher block is to determine the sanding techniques. If it?s very bad then start with an 80 grit sandpaper. Then each time you sand it reduce the grits. This mean each application of sanding is being used with finer sandpapers. The purpose of this is the heavy grit removes the gouges out of the wood but the finer sandpaper removes the scratches made from the previous sandpapers. It actually turns out to be a process of elimination.

One thing you need to remember though when you are sanding out all these gouges the top is going to become uneven with a lot of dips in it. The best thing is to leave some of the deeper gouges. Besides, it adds character to it.

Once you have your butcher block back in condition you need to treat it. Don?t use the urethanes and varnishes that are used on regular furniture. Instead use a good finish of food grade mineral oil. Don?t us your regular cooking oils because they spoil and leave a bad taste on the food. All you do is with the mineral oil is wipe it onto the surface of the butcher block and you will see it rapidly soak in. Keep doing this until the wood has become saturated then remove the excess. Ideally, this should be done one a month. Then ideally, to finish it off perfectly a good coat of beeswax is in order. The food grade mineral oil soaked into the wood but the beeswax will sit on top and give it added protection. It retards moisture and bacteria from getting into the wood surface.

The one thing you want to avoid is having your butcher block becoming too wet. They are made from wood so naturally the moisture is going to eventually break it down. If it becomes too moist the wood swells then the butcher block begins to swell then as it dries out it begins to crack. The same effects can occur from the wood drying out too much as well.

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When it comes time to finish your project you need to know that for wood treatments it is either stain, paints or finish. They are each providing a different outcome. To tint the wood you would use wood stains. Paints sit on the wood and protect it. Some finishes are pretty much paint without any color added to it. They are the ones that give that clear protection.

Probably one of the most well known finishes is varnish. It?s a great finish because the more layers you use the stronger the finish. The major problem with varnish is it dries slowly which increases the chance for dust to get into the finish. If possible, try to do your finishing work in an area where there is the least amount of dust.

A mixture of resins and synthetics boiled together is what makes varnish. If you are using polyurethane?s then you are simply using a varnish that has had a polyurethane resin added to it. When you are using a varnish that contains a higher quantity of oil, it makes the product more flexible and this is known as Spar varnish, which makes it perfect for outdoor use because of it flexing properties.

If you are going to use varnish as your finishing product then you need to know how to apply it properly. Working in a dust free room is a priority. Then using a tack cloth wipe down your project as it must be perfectly clean. Put some of your varnish into a container that you can work out of .That way if it becomes contaminated with dust you can just discard that amount. Apply the varnish using long steady strokes with a brush working in the grain direction. Tip off your brush strokes. Wed sand in between coats with fine sandpaper.

There is also wiping varnish but read the labels carefully before using this product to be sure that it is varnish and not tung oil.

Then there are oil and varnish blends. They work similar to an oil finish but have a bit more protection to them but they are not for building layers.

Shellac is a natural resin but not is as durable as the others are. It?s not good for items such as kitchen counter or cabinets for example. It is a fast drying product though and you can get it in various colors.

Lacquer is usually applied with a spray gun but the fumes can be dangerous and the dry dust is explosive.

There are some really good what are labeled as water based finishes but they all have a certain amount of solvent in them. Their two weaknesses is they show brush marks and they bubble when you are applying them so use a synthetic brush for this.

Proper sanding between coats of your finish is one of your most important steps. Be sure to use fine sandpaper. The sanding removes bumps and uneven spots. Especially made sandpaper for wet sanding is ideal. Really, take the time to research the various finishes you are going to use to get the best application and intended use from them.

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If you’re a woodworking, you’ll know that woodworking tools are expensive. If they are well looked after though they will provide many years of satisfaction and service.

Ideally, to start with you want to purchase tools that can be used for multiple things. A good example of this is the Router. It?s wonderful for cutting shapes, patterns and trims for example.

When its time to buy one then there are some specifics that you should know and there will be decisions to make.

You will need to choose between a fixed base and plunge router. With the fixed how deep you are going to cut has to be preset. These are the cheaper of the two. A plunge router will let you do your depth adjustments while it is running. This is good when you need to make several passes.

When you are looking for how much power a router consists of you will note it is rated by HP. Naturally the higher the HP the more power but also more weight. Motors contain copper wire and the more wire there is usually the stronger the motor is. You may have noticed that most of your tools are rated by amps as opposed to the HP. Amps requires independent lab testing but HP ratings are done by the manufacturer so may not be as accurate. So when you are purchasing check out the amp ratings.

Router bits are referred to by their shank, which is the part of the bit that goes into the router. There are three sizes ? inch, 3/8 inch and ? inch. There is a wider choice of ?-inch bits available so keep that in mind when you are buying your router.

You may hear the term EVS this is referring to electronic variable speed which are the newer type routers for the woodworking enthusiasts. This means you can adjust the speed of the bit. This is a safety feature that allows you to slow down the larger bits. The smaller bits are not a major concern at higher speeds. Your project will determine if you really need this type of router.

Changing the bits on routers can be a bit of a drag especially for the older models, which require the use of wrenches. The newer models have spindle locks, which only require the use of one wrench instead of two.

Various models come with different switches with some being toggle and others trigger switches. Then aside from your router, there are several accessories you can purchase such as edge guides, jigs, bushings or router tables.

When you are ready to purchase shop around and see what the newest models have to offer. Then make you choice of that which is going to meet your needs and your budget. It?s better to buy a quality piece of equipment that you may pay a bit more for now but is going to last you a lot longer than one of the budget models.

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