9 foot Butcher Block......uses?!?!

[Matt Sollars]

I bought a 9ft x 4ft x 3'' thick Butchers Table from a guy that ordered for an old meat packing plant. I believe it's maple, but i'm not sure.

Anyway...it has leaned against the side wall of the garage for the last 8 years or so and is still in great condition. it was bought by the packing plant as a reserve....but after being open for about 15 years....they never got past the first table. so this is unused.

i'll have to take some pictures and add them to this post, but i'm trying to come up with some ideas for it.

i'd say it's close to 400lbs......was going to be used as a wall to wall desk in my office (using some husky 'x-horse' sawhorses...rated at 700lbs each...one on each end)

i'll need to do a bit of sanding and replace an end cap...other than that it's several skinny 9 foot long pieces of maple laminated together....and then there are probably 6 all thread bolts going across the width of it...throught the center to hold the laminated piece together. i think i'll replace those if i do something nicer with it. (dining roome table 'esque)

anyway....thanks for reading. give me any input you want. i paid $100 for it 8-10 years ago..''as long as i hauled the big old thing with no help from me'' (the seller) value, use, possible wood used, tackling a restoration of this magnitude...etc.)

thanks guys.

matt

[Dennis Hook]

That thing ain't woth nothing but firewood...:p...then ya gotta clean up the ashes, whew, what a mess. I'll save ya the trouble and buy it from ya for &100 so ya don't feel like ya lost anything. ;)

Seriously....Make a new bench top out of it. That's what I'd do anyhow.

[Joe Chritz]

over 100 BF of maple for $100 isn't a bad deal by any stretch. Since it already has bolt through it the uses are limited to leaving it as is and making something from it.

A really long, nice hand tool bench would be an obvious first choice.

I would assume it is maple since that seems to be the wood of choice for those types of tops.

Someone who is good with a hand plane could flatten that top in no time. It would take me a week or more and would likely end up about 1 1/2" by the time I was done.

Joe

[Matt Sollars]

thanks for the offer, but i'll hang onto it for a while.......

i was thinking about a bench top....of course for a shop i don't have.

i was thinking about a dining room table....for a house i don't have...that may or may not have a dining room big enough for it.

i thought about a desk...as mentioned.

i thought about refinishing it very nice to a table....and putting it along a wall in the basement...until of course i ''maybe'' had that big dining room to put it into.

tons of ideas....and not enough gumption or know-how to act on any of it. (or feel comfortable acting on it anyway)

anyway...keep the info or comments coming.

thanks
matt

[Paul Atkins]

It's the first part of your new kitchen - or your new house.

[Eduard Nemirovsky]

build a new house around it:D:D

[Karl Brogger]

That's a sweet find! I've got a 30"x96"x2-1/2" butcher block for my desk top. Personally if I had an island in my kitchen that's what I'd use it for. But then again, you'd never want to prepare meat on it.

[Richard M. Wolfe]

Clean a 9 foot bass on it. I've caught several of those. :D :D

[Laurie Brown]

I bought a 9ft x 4ft x 3'' thick Butchers Table from a guy that ordered for an old meat packing plant. I believe it's maple, but i'm not sure.




Holy heck! I would LOVE to have that as a top on a massive kitchen island!! ;)

[Vince Shriver]

Clean a 9 foot bass on it. I've caught several of those. :D :D

My biggest bass, the photograph weighed 8.5 pounds. (First lier doesn't have a chance.)

On another note, and some might think ths sacriledge - you could make a nice six foot bench and a 3 foot square or some similarly dimensioned table. Probably be a bit more manageable and useful. That 9 ft slab needs a special place. Of course, as soon as you cut it up - that special place will undoubedly present itself. Good luck whatever you decide.

[Alex Shanku]

Holy heck! I would LOVE to have that as a top on a massive kitchen island!! ;)


Thats the first thing that came to my mind, too.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

I'd love to have something like that in my kitchen but realistically, WORKBENCH!

[Gary Herrmann]

Oh definitely a workbench. Heck, I'll buy it from you and give you 50% profit over what you paid - inflation adjusted even. How's that for an offer?

Btw, that makes my cost $193.10. I even rounded up for ya.

[John Schreiber]

That says workbench all over it.

All the other ideas mentioned would work fine with much thinner wood. If you don't want a workbench, I'd suggest selling it and spending the money on what you want.

[Chris Kennedy]

So far, it seems to have a natural use -- making all of us jealous.:o

Workbench, of course. Along the kitchen island idea, I would look at replacing part of your kitchen countertop. You could make a whole mess of cutting boards, too.

Cheers,

Chris

[Richard Dooling]

Take the metal rods out.
Find a 50" planer.
Buy it and hook it up in the shop you will have to build.
Plane wood down to 3/4".
Cut into 6 x 10 inch sections.
Mill a decorative edge.
Finish with melted bee's wax.
Give as cheese plates next Christmas.

Simple

[Matt Sollars]

i like the workbench idea.....i don't have any tools or work to do on it yet.

i'm awaiting my first round of tools and first project: a walnut crib for a first child.

my first post here was the equipment you'd recommend for a 5,000 budget.

i was selling my motorcycle....for 5000, and thought that i would use that for a start into woodworking.........then ''WE'' found a house........seeya 5000 bucks.

so now i'm starting again....from 0 bucks.....and trying to get the necessities. i've been here so much though....wood is on the brain and woodworking questions keep coming up. like, for example, what to do with this butcher block.

thanks for all the input and keep it coming. again, i'll try to post some pics if i find time to take them.

matt

[Chris Padilla]

Pics for sure, Matt...I would LOVE to see it. I had thoughts about building such a workbench myself (an endgrain maple top) but wondered about stability and how it would hold up to such abuse.

I guess if it has leaned against a wall for 8 years and is still flat, that might be good enough for me.

Find someone with a wide belt sander and pay to have it sanded nice 'n clean.

Still waitin' on those pics!! :D

[Matt Sollars]

Ok.....photos....

these were taken with my iphone....so they're crap. but they'll give you some idea.

i failed to mention that i have a pretty beat up butcher block table as well.

same story...but in two pieces....and it's 5 inches thick. maybe 4-5 feet long and maybe 2-2.5 feet wide. each plank is dovetailed to the ones around it....there are some cracks etc. steel base. any comments on it are appreciated as well.

thanks guys.

[Matt Sollars]

couple more of the second beat up one....

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Wow...that's cool!!! Sure wish I had one like it.

[Jim Glock]

shuffleboard?

[Jim Heffner]

I can see maybe two very nice old world ( european style or German type) solid workbenches with built in shoulder vises and tail vises. With a top of that thickness and overall size those benches would last at least 2
lifetimes!

[Peter Gregory]

Put that baby on hinges and fold it up, when not in use. Just a long bench top, floating off the wall. That would be nice. :)

[Tony Bilello]

for 8 to 10 years and now are asking what to do with it. I think it's time to get rid of it. That's just me though. I am not a collector. If you sell it you will make someone on here very happy, make a few bucks and get rid of something you dont know what to do with.
Sounds like a win/win idea to me.

[Tom Adger]

I agree with all the posters who have said workbench. If you go to some of the workworking suppliers websites, you will get an idea of how expensive hardwood workbench tops are. I suggest you arrive at a reasonable price which will make you a nice profit, and make some woodworker very happy. You did not give your location on your post, but where ever you are, someone would be willing to drive quite a ways for this piece of wood.

[Matt Sollars]

thanks for the comments guys. i'm not interested in selling the piece. i am just looking for ideas. i've had it since i was 17yrs old or so....and have only been in my own house for about 2 years. this is why it has gone unused. now that i have my own place...and i'm starting to settle....i can settle this in as well.

not something i'd want to mount and move very often.

anyway...thanks for the input. it's much appreciated.

thanks.
matt

[Matt Sollars]

also.....i had thought of hinges......

but any ideas or links to some hinges that could handle this?

i'd just be worried about anchoring it to the wall.

thanks.
matt