My workplace today was clearing out some rooms that were filled with general household bits and pieces ‘in storeage’ for a relly of the boss. Turned out she didn’t want any of it (after 10 years, she figured she could probably live without most of the junk!!) so it was being piled into a trailer to head to the tip. Shame really, there was a lot of good stuff there that could have been readily taken to a Goodwill Store for resale…but, whatever.
I spied a wooden chopping board being chucked, so grabbed it. It’s one of those hardwood cube-laminated things: not sure of the name, but they were really popular in the nineties. It weighs a ton, and shows no warpage at all…but it is scratched and dull and I was wondering how I could ‘renovate’ it.
The ‘dull’ I’m sure could be rectified by an application of some linseed or peanut oil or similar, but I want to get the cut/scratch-marks out first. They’re not too deep (perhaps .25mm or so) but I was wondering whether it’s possible to just sand the bugger to remove them, or would that damage the joints between the cubed bits?
Thanks Prinny. Looking at it more closely now, I’m not even sure it really needs sanding at all. The scratches/cuts are purely surface stuff (not even .25mm), so I might give it a go over with a bit of steel wool first to see if that evens them out a bit.
What sort of oil would you recommend to bring out the colour again? It’s a **dark ** wood and heavy as all fuck, but it smells like cedar to me.
Cedar is light, so it’s not cedar. I’m not very good with finishes. We just use grape oil on our boards, and that’s what I’d use. You wouldn’t want to use anything other than a food oil, I shouldn’t think.
If you want to try to get an answer on the type of wood, post a question on
When it comes to Australian timber the guys there can often tell you what wood, where it grew, which side of the tree and the maiden name of the mother of the guy that drove the truck to the sawmill.
The recommendation that I’ve always seen for cutting boards is plain old mineral oil aka baby oil. Not sure if it’d have a different name in Australia.
Have fun with the chopping block - I’ve often thought about building one myself out of maple end grain, I know how to do “indestructible”. IMHO the nicks and cuts add character to the wood, I’d clean it off but I don’t know if I’d try and sand it down (sanding hard end grain could take you a while btw).
I know cedar is light (both in colour and weight) most unlike this board, but the scent of the timber was fully cedar-like, thus my question…is there a timber that smells like cedar but is a dinkum dark hardwood??
I’ve decided to try ONE oil on one side, one oil on another and yet another oil on the sides of the board ('bout an inch and a bit thick). And I’ll see which one works best…thus far we have Olive, Sesame and Canola in the race!
Valgard, we also have mineral oil (aka Baby Oil) but it’s always sold scented here in Aus. It also has the reputation for leeching moisture out of baby’s skin from all I’ve heard, so I’d prefer probably to use a vegie oil base.
You’re right about the nicks and cuts adding character though…I would probably be too scared to use a virgin chopping-block, but this one is jst the right size and just the right weight and battered enough to get yet another decent workout in MY kitchen!!
If you use mineral oil, be sure to remove any excess. Mineral oil binds with fat soluble vitamins. They are then excreted without being absorbed or used by the body.
We’ve always used cooking oil on our boards. I have one that was my grandfather’s, that still looks great.
I’ve always used mineral oil on cutting boards and butcher blocks (which is what it sounds like you have). The reason being is that it doesn’t go rancid like vegetable oils are prone to do. You should be able to get food grade mineral oil at the hardware store.
Cuts and scratches are a result of the board’s function,so unless you intend to display it only,let them be.
If you are going to use knives,don’t sand the board unless you can ensure there are NO bits of abrasive left,which includes what the eye can’t see.Even carbide suffers edge quality when contacting it.
I’m not a fan of oiling cutting boards,but I keep them dry and wipe only with a damp cloth.Part of the kitchen has wooden counters where I use the mineral oil.
Being as you're down under,the wood might be Mulga.
I use boiled linseed (flax) oil on wooden items designed to come into contact with food - it doesn’t go rancid, but it’s also quite edible - a good compromise, I think.
You may want to just wander into a butcher shop for a pound of ground beef or some pork chops. Strike up a conversation with the butcher and ask him how they maintain their boards. You might get some helpful tips and some shortcuts.
In the US, most of the stuff sold as “baby oil” is scented mineral oil, which is not what you want. Plain mineral oil is sold under that name.
Walnut oil is excellent for kitchen items - it hardens slightly over time, which makes it a bit more durable. But I think most vegetable oils will work. All will need to be re-applied every 3 months or so.
You can definitely take out scratches with sanding. But since they will soon reappear in use, why bother?
Sanding won’t hurt the glue joints between the blocks. I would use a random orbital sander with a dust collector attachment. After you have restored the top, finish it with a food safe Butcher Block Finish. What are the dimensions of the piece?
At least here in the States, our “boiled” linseed oil isn’t. What sold as boiled linseed oil in fact has drying agents, like Japan drier, added so that it’ll cure quicker. I suppose you could boil your own raw linseed oil, but I heard it’s an awful process.
In short, I wouldn’t use “boiled” linseed oil on surfaces that I prepare food on. A random website I found claims to quote from a label on a can of boiled linseed oil as follows: “Use of this product will expose you to arsenic, beryllium, chromium, cadmium and nickel, which are known to cause cancer; and lead which is known to cause birth defects and other reproductive harm.” Can’t vouch for the veracity of that – in fact, on the face of it it seems a little suspect – but I’d still proceed cautiously.
If you want a truly food-safe oil that does dry over time, try walnut oil.
Yikes. The stuff I have is 100 % linseed oil - in a plastic bottle. Never seen it sold as linseed with all that stuff in it (that would be ‘Danish oil’ or some such on our shelves).
ETA: actually, I’m pretty sure Danish oil won’t even have all that stuff in it. I think you simply wouldn’t be able to sell something that had that kind of warning on it in the UK.
You can buy that at the grocery store in the states. Flax seed oil is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, so it’s sold as a supplement.
Obviously it’s food grade; it also works nicely for finishing wood. Flax oil = Linseed oil
But is it sold boiled, or do you boil it yourself? Because given how long the “boiled” stuff takes to cure, I imagine raw linseed oil would take next to forever.
No! Don’t use steel wool! Often times steel wool will leave microscopic bits behind. You may not have a problem with that with ordinary woodworking, but not with something you plan to contact with food. The potential may be small, but you could end up with steel wool stubble in your food that ends up inside of you, and stays there.
