Filling a butcher block

[Jim Colombo]

My neighbor is remodeling her kitchen and plans to use her deceased fathers butcher block. It's a beautiful block that's over 3" thick. She has had it stored in her garage in Arizona for a couple of years and it's been exposed to temperatures from 115 to 31. It has significant cracks and separation.
The people who are going to install it have told her they will fill the cracks with a food safe filler and coat the top for "protection".
She plans to use the block and I don't know what they're talking about for "protection". I should think a coating of mineral oil would suffice.
As far as the filler is concerned, what, if any do you guys recommend?

Thanks for your input

[Jerry Wright]

Use colored 5 minute clear epoxy. You can color it from clear to tan to brown to black with increasing amounts of rotten stone. I also use it to fill missing knots. I have never had a delamination.

[Stan Zolenski]

Mineral oil will suffice for a food safe protection. There are other numerous food safe wood conditioning products on the market, but all have a majority base composition of mineral oil. They tend to add things like beeswax and fragrance's.

[Bob Coleman]

For this application, I would probably just go with clear epoxy. I think, for non-fine furniture applications, trying to match the color wouldn't be worth the effort, and being a little off would look funny. With the clear it would be obvious that a repair was made, but shouldn't detract at all from the look of the old block. Just my $.02.

[Joe Angrisani]

Use colored 5 minute clear epoxy. You can color it.....with.....rotten stone.....

Probably not the best idea in this application. Knife edges will take a beating.

[Thomas Hotchkin]

Jim
My vote is on 5 minute clear epoxy, not a strong at as slow drying epoxy. But will be more self leveling, in deep cracks. Tom

[Carl Beckett]

I haVev heard there is epoxy grout for tile countertops.. Wonder if an unfilled version of this would be useful?

[Eric DeSilva]

Add me to the list of people who think epoxy and kitchen knives are incompatible.

If this is a real user, any chance of filling the voids with some kind of routed inlay of the same (or contrasting) species of wood? 3" is pretty deep, but you might be able to rout 1/2"-3/4" in from the top and bottom and "fill" the void in the middle of the board. Then reflatten and mineral oil?