Cutting Board Question

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drunkenmeatfist

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I was recently given what I believe is a Butcher Block brand workbench top. It is a large slab and I cut it to fit over one of my countertops. I believe it is maple and I am in the process of cleaning it now. However, after looking online I saw where "most" of these workbench tops are marked food safe. I can find no such marking on the hunk of wood I have.

Is this something I should be overly concerned about? Would you still use it as a prep area/cutting board?
 
That top is already known to the state of California to be a health hazard. With all the hazards they've found out there it's a wonder that the streets aren't littered with dead bodies.

Seriously, the issues if any will be with the finishing chemicals (varnish, solvents) if any and with the adhesives. You could try calling the manufacturer but it's probably not in their best legal interests to tell you everything is OK or to identify the chemicals for you. Only downside for them.

So you roll the dice. I have taken bigger risks.
 
Sand it down to raw wood, then use (or finish it in a food safe manner). Plenty of info on making and finishing your own wood cutting boards in the interwebz.
 
airedale said:
That top is already known to the state of California to be a health hazard. With all the hazards they've found out there it's a wonder that the streets aren't littered with dead bodies.

Seriously, the issues if any will be with the finishing chemicals (varnish, solvents) if any and with the adhesives. You could try calling the manufacturer but it's probably not in their best legal interests to tell you everything is OK or to identify the chemicals for you. Only downside for them.

So you roll the dice. I have taken bigger risks.
Click to expand...

Their website says that their standard finish is food safe, they have an oil finish that is food safe, and the only other option is unfinished. Weird that some aren't marked as food safe. I guess I can clean the chit out of it and re-oil.
 
Overthinking it.If you are REALLY concerned,sand it down to raw wood and reseason it with mineral oil.Good to go.Things do not soak into wood as much as some would have you believe.Drop a wood chunk in a bucket of water and leave it 3 days.Remove the chunk,cut it open with a saw and see how far the water penetrated.Not much.
 
jzadski said:
If it's used I would be more worried what had been put or spilled on it. If new not so much
Click to expand...

I believe that the original owner was an attorney. Not to say that lawyers can't do some wrenching, but the board looks mostly unused.
 
Pretty rare that anyone smart would put an actual film "finish" on it, because you'd just scar it up with knife cuts.
Typically it's just rubbed with mineral oil because it's non-toxic and doesn't harden into varnish.
 
"Butcher Block brand workbench top"

Meant for a hand tool woodworkers bench? As opposed to a countertop?

The first would probably be finished with a urethane of some sort, the second a mineral oil beeswax blend.
 
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